Elmo can sing

Sesame Street: Sesame Sings Karaoke (Video 2003)

Video
20032003
TV-YTV-Y
41m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

YOUR RATING

ShortFamily

Kids of all ages can sing and dance along to renditions of such Sesame Street favorites as "ABC-DEF-GHI," "You Say Hola, Ladybug Picnic," "New Way to Walk," "Let's Go Driving."Kids of all ages can sing and dance along to renditions of such Sesame Street favorites as "ABC-DEF-GHI," "You Say Hola, Ladybug Picnic," "New Way to Walk," "Let's Go Driving."Kids of all ages can sing and dance along to renditions of such Sesame Street favorites as "ABC-DEF-GHI," "You Say Hola, Ladybug Picnic," "New Way to Walk," "Let's Go Driving."

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

YOUR RATING

Directors
- Emily Squires
- Jim Martin(home video segments)
- Ted May(segment director)
Writers
- Lou Berger(head writer)
- Annie Evans
- Christine Ferraro
Stars
- Kevin Clash(voice)
- Fran Brill(voice)
- Martin P. Robinson(voice)

Directors
- Emily Squires
- Jim Martin(home video segments)
- Ted May(segment director)
Writers
- Lou Berger(head writer)
- Annie Evans
- Christine Ferraro
Stars
- Kevin Clash(voice)
- Fran Brill(voice)
- Martin P. Robinson(voice)

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Photos

Top cast

Kevin Clash

Elmo
(voice)

Fran Brill

Zoe
(voice)

Martin P. Robinson

Telly
(voice)
…

David Rudman

Baby Bear
(voice)

Carmen Osbahr

Rosita
(voice)

Matt Vogel

Jennifer Barnhart

Gladys the Cow
(voice)

Caroll Spinney

Big Bird
(voice)
…

Pam Arciero

Heather Asch

Lisa Buckley

Tyler Bunch

Stephanie D'Abruzzo

Eric Jacobson

Grover
(voice)

John Kennedy

James J. Kroupa

Tim Lagasse

Rick Lyon

Directors
- Emily Squires
- Jim Martin(home video segments)
- Ted May(segment director)
Writers
- Lou Berger(head writer)
- Annie Evans
- Christine Ferraro
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Details

Release date
- August 5, 2003 (United States)
Country of origin
- United States
Language
- English
Production companies
- Sesame Street
- Sesame Workshop
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Box office

Technical specs

Runtime
41 minutes
Color

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Did Elmo Ask To Use a Slur on 'Sesame Street'?

In March 2021, the Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind the children’s TV show “Sesame Street,” introduced two new Black characters as part of its “ABCs of Racial Literacy” program. As Elmo and the other the muppets welcomed Wesley and Elijah Walker to the show, a suspicious screenshot started to circulate on social media that supposedly showed Elmo asking if it was OK to use a slur if he was singing it in a song.

This is not a genuine Elmo quote from “Sesame Street.” The above-displayed screenshot shows a message that was originally posted in jest by “Ol’ QWERTY Bastard” (@TheDillonOne).

While some who encountered the post may have quickly realized that this was a step too far for the children’s show, others may have found this quote plausible, as “Sesame Street” truly has tackled some difficult topics, including racism, in its 50-year history.

The above-displayed image, in fact, comes from a scene that dealt with race, albeit in a much less controversial fashion. The following clip, entitled “Explaining Race with Elmo & Wes,” features Elmo asking some innocent questions about why Elijah and Wesley have brown skin. Wesley tells Elmo that his skin is brown because of melanin. Wes’ father Elijah goes on to say:

“Melanin is something that we each have inside our bodies that make the outside or our bodies the skin color that it is. It also gives us our eye and our hair color … The more melanin you have the darker your skin looks. The color of our skin is an important part of who we are. But we should all know that it’s ok that we all look different in so many ways.”

Here’s the full clip from the Sesame Street:

When the Sesame Workshop announced its new “ABCs of Racial Literacy” content, they explained that one of the goals of the program was to use “age-appropriate language and strategies to answer sometimes-tough questions around race and racism.”

Kay Wilson Stallings, executive vice president of creative and production for Sesame Workshop, said:

“Sesame Workshop has always stood for diversity, inclusion, equity, and kindness. As a trusted source for families, we have a responsibility to speak out for racial justice and empower families to have conversations about race and identity with their children at a young age … The work to dismantle racism begins by helping children understand what racism is and how it hurts and impacts people. Sadly, today’s announcement comes at a time of racial and social discord when many families are in need of support in talking to their children about racism. We’re proud to reaffirm our Coming Together commitment to racial justice, which will be woven into new Sesame Workshop content for years to come.”

'Sesame Street' adds 'Elmo the Musical'

On a hot June morning, five four-year-olds from a Harlem kindergarten lined up on the floor and stared at a tiny television. Half a dozen young women sat around them in miniature chairs, closely watching their every reaction. Did the kids look away? Smiling? Are you making a negative comment? Clap?

Sesame Street's love interest Elmo was on screen, playing a self-proclaimed explorer chef. While he was asking the "Rhombus of Dipping Recipes" questions to satisfy the queen of Nacho Picchu, the children were chatting with each other until they suddenly began to sing the song: "We want guac, we want guac." When Elmo counted 14 avocados, they counted without being prompted. When he added his three tablespoons of onions and the sauce was successful, they rejoiced. When the last song played, they danced in place.

It was all a good sign, but a bigger test will come on September 24 at the start of season 43 of Sesame Street, when Elmo the Musical - his adventures with guacamole - just one part - is broadcast nationwide. This is a major change to the PBS show for preschoolers as it is phasing out the long-running "Elmo's World" segment.

Over the past decade, there have been five daily episodes of Sesame Street every week, typically watched by 5. 9million viewers, culminated in Elmo's World, a show within a show in which the furry red protagonist and his pet fish Dorothy explore their mind's chalk-drawn wonderland centered around a simple everyday theme - frogs, say, or teeth.

Picture of

A scene from the new musical 'Elmo'. Credit ... Sesame Workshop

The segment, created in 1998 and gradually introduced until it became a daily element of the show, was a hit among the youngest viewers of the show, those for whom it was developed and 14 years later it shows no signs of losing steam even though it is from 2009no new episodes were released during the year. But Sesame Street itself is now attracting an older audience, puppeteers need new challenges, and producers want to keep the program fresh before viewers start looking elsewhere, especially at a time when there are more options in the overheated world of preschool media.

Elmo the Musical enters. Although segments of Elmo's World will appear in reruns from time to time, they will primarily be streamed online and on home video as more musical episodes are created that rotate on the show.

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- 'Inside': Written and filmed in a one-man feature, Bo Burnham's comedy special, streaming on Netflix, draws attention to internet life in the midst of a pandemic.
- Dickinson: B The Apple TV+ series is the origin story of a literary superheroine who takes her subject matter seriously but isn't serious about herself.
- Inheritance: In HBO's cutthroat drama about a family of media billionaires, being rich is nothing like it used to be.
- "Underground Railroad": Barry Jenkins' thrilling adaptation of the Coulson Whitehead novel is fantastical yet utterly real.

The musical incarnation has been a closely guarded secret for the past year: until recently, only the toy licensee partner, as well as some parents and oblivious preschoolers, including those in Harlem, who participated in the meticulous process, watched the episodes show testing. (In fiscal year 2011, Sesame Workshop, a non-profit organization that hosts the show, received licensing revenue of $46.9million dollars from products such as toys, DVDs, clothing and food. No new Elmo musical-related toys are currently planned.)

In each 11-minute musical, Elmo stars in a stage performance of his imagination with the help of his buddy Velvet (Purple Curtain, played by Leslie Carrara-Rudolf, who also is the voice of the Muppet doll Abby Cadabby). Strolling in front of an animated set, Elmo travels the world conjuring up playmates like a penguin about to get married wearing wedding regalia or a villainous octopus playing table tennis. Elmo looks for a really big flop in Guacamole the Musical, hunts down Moby Pink in "Sea Captain Musical" and, dressed in an astronaut outfit, delivers pizza to Mars in "Pizza Musical".

Image

Sesame Street cast members Matt Vogel, Joey Mazzarino, Bill Sherman and Sean Havens (left to right) at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens. Credit...Chad Dad for The New York Times

"The show is captured what happens on stage is so magical,” said Elmo's voice and puppeteer Kevin Clash (the subject of the 2011 documentary Being Elmo). We kept hurting ourselves by filming this, all the puppeteers, because we have to sing, he said, and not just with the voices of the characters.

Each adventure - there will be 10 in rotation this year and 5 added next season - includes original original songs, a special musical cue indicating that Elmo is using his imagination (and therefore the audience should too), and math skills that are part of the game. The show currently focuses on the science, technology, engineering, and math curriculum commonly known as STEM. More educational activities will be online.

Visually, this is Elmo because viewers don't see him often: wearing a white tie and a tap ponytail, doing a headstand and climbing the stairs before entering the tightrope. As a puppet, Elmo rarely shows his legs on screen: it takes not one, but three deformed puppeteers to create a full-length Elmo, as the show's creators call him. In the world of preschool TV, the competition is mostly animated, with no limits as to where the characters can go and what they can do, which is why the creators of Elmo the Musical have taken it upon themselves to see how far we can go by watching Elmo from head to toe. . Collision said.

Even before production on Elmo's World ended, Sesame Street executive producer Carol-Lynn Parente was eager to update the hour-long show's final segment. But with limited budgets and audiences seemingly happy with the existing status quo, she said, it was hard for me to justify spending money on something new.

Image

Credit ... Sesame Workshop

The original Elmo's World joined Sesame Street at the time the show, which first aired at 1969 to prepare children with disabilities for school, began to attract a much younger audience, including many under 2 years old. Although television time for them should be strictly limited, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the show's producers felt compelled to cater to the youngest and their attention by adding a shorter Elmo's World movie. “However, we were dejected by the statistics about how young the audience has become,” Ms. Parente said. The curriculum was not designed for this.

In Season 40, Sesame Workshop made a conscious effort to win over older preschoolers who felt the show was too childish. It was a success: three-year-old audiences grew 41 percent that year; 4-year-olds are up 4 percent; and 5-year-olds, 21 percent. As a result, "Elmo's World" became the show's youngest element, which should change with the introduction of the Elmo musical, though the producers hope the younger set will still enjoy Elmo's antics even if they don't follow the math.

Elmo the Musical began to take shape in June 2011, when Sesame Street head writer Joey Mazzarino and five other writers retreated for two weeks to an empty refurbishment room in their Manhattan office. According to Mazzarino, the search for what could replace Elmo's World was emotionally charged: Judy Freidberg, co-creator and writer of Elmo's World, had just been diagnosed with cancer and wasn't there. (She died this year.) We didn't want to touch it, he said.

Mr. Mazzarino said that among the dolls, the innocent and pure Elmo is one of the most difficult to channel. More whimsical characters, such as the bumbling Grover or Bert and Ernie, with their pull-pull opposites, lend themselves more easily to comic effect.

Picture of

Kevin Clash, the actor behind Elmo, in the 2011 documentary Being Elmo: The Puppeteer's Journey.Credit ...Scott McDermott/Submarine Entertainment came to the conclusion that he really is every child and he is so excited about everything, with great energy and great imagination. Add to that Mr. Clash - the greatest singer we know - along with the realization that Elmo, when you put him on any kind of costume, is hilarious, as well as the popularity of television musicals such as Glee and Disney's High School Musical, and - said he.

The writers did come up with an alternative concept - taking Elmo on a tricycle ride - but, according to Ms. Parente, it was the musical that clicked. She said it was simple but brilliant. You just never run away from the simple. However, she acknowledged a slight fear that those who loved 'Elmo's World' would scream.

For each $275,000 episode, Mr. Mazzarino and his team wrote the lyrics and music was commissioned by several Broadway orchestrators, including Alex Lacamoire (In the Heights). Among the many regular Sesame Street puppeteers who took part in the productions was John Tartaglia, creator and star of Johnny and the Sprites, a Disney Channel pre-school show that also features stage music.

The episodes, including those featuring Broadway star Audra Macdonald (who sings "Keep Cackling" in "The Circus of the Musical"), were filmed in just over a day each on the Queens set in front of a blue screen so that the puppeteers could be in digital form. erased by the animation company Magnetic Dreams. Then the full score was added. Finally there was the sound mixing. In early August, Mr. Clash was painstakingly working on "Airplane" in an editing studio near Union Square. The footsteps sounded too flipper-like, the music drowned out Elmo, and the cows, well, they needed to sound more cowish. "I'm going to have to sing some of those cows," said Mr. Clash, jumping into the sound booth to re-record the Flap Your Wings chorus.

There was a practice test in the middle of the process. No episode of Sesame Street is released without a preview by preschoolers to make sure the messages get through to them.

At a kindergarten in Harlem, Elmo's new adventures mostly garnered rave reviews from two viewers. Later, sitting with her adult monitor, the girl in braids with bright purple beads was one of the few in two different age groups who did not notice what a rhombus (diamond shape) was, but instead pointed to a triangle. However, you could bet that she would look again. "I love it when Elmo danced and danced and danced and danced," she said, giggling.

E3340 Playskool Sesame Street Singing the Elmo Alphabet Instructions

OVER 18 M - 4 YEARS
IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ
COMPLETE MANUAL
BEFORE USING THE TOY.

Sesame Street
ELMO ABC Singing

Press Elmo's belly to hear him talk and sing about the ABC!

English to Spanish Mode:

To switch Elmo's speech from English to Spanish, do the following:

Press and hold Elmo's belly for 3 seconds.
You will hear a beep and Elmo will say a phrase in Spanish.
Release Elmo's stomach before he finishes talking to stay in Spanish mode.
If you release Elmo after he has finished speaking and hear a beep, he will return to English mode.
Repeat steps to switch Elmo back to English mode.

To replace batteries:

2 x AA 1.5 V ALKALINE AA
Replace the demo batteries with alkaline batteries. Use a Phillips/Phillips screwdriver (not included).

Troubleshooting:

If Elmo doesn't talk or make sounds, it might be time to replace the batteries.

IMPORTANT: BATTERY INFORMATION

Retain this information for future reference. Batteries must be replaced by an adult.

CAUTION:
TO AVOID BATTERY LEAKAGE

Always follow instructions carefully. Use only specified batteries and be sure to insert them correctly, following the + and - polarity markings.
Do not mix old batteries with new batteries or standard (zinc carbon) batteries with alkaline batteries.
Remove exhausted or depleted batteries from the product.
Remove the batteries when not going to play with the product for a long time.
Do not short-circuit the power terminals.
CHARGING BATTERIES: Do not use with any other types of batteries.

Always remove from product before charging. Charge batteries under adult supervision. DO NOT CHARGE OTHER TYPES OF BATTERIES.
If this product causes or is affected by local electrical interference, move it away from other electrical equipment. Perform a reset (power off and on again or remove and reinstall the batteries) if necessary.

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Songs Lyrics
If the little ones want to sing along
Elmo, this is what he sings:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M , N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U,
V, W, X, Y, Z. Now our alphabet is ready, singing the alphabet is so much fun!

FCC STATEMENT: This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
NOTE. This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
Increase the distance between the equipment and the receiver.
Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

WARNING: Changes or modifications to this device not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to operate the equipment.
ICES-3(B) / NMB-3(B)

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