Starring Bob McGrath, Debbie Chen, Will Lee, and Roscoe Orman; Muppet Voices of Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Carroll Spinney, and Jerry Nelson
Directed by Jon Stone
Music and Lyrics by various
We celebrate the holidays in New York with the 70's cast of one of the most beloved children's shows on television. By the time this and the prime-time show A Special Sesame Street Christmas debuted in 1978, Sesame Street was an institution that taught children numbers, letters, and many life lessons via short clips, skits, cartoons, and its diverse cast of Muppets and humans. Many of the most famous Muppets and humans appear in this charming special that was one of the big holiday offerings on PBS that season. Is it still as much fun over 45 years later? Let's head to a skating rink in New York City as the Muppets, their neighbors, and skaters from the professional show Holiday On Ice show their stuff and find out...
The Story: After the skating party, Oscar the Grouch (Spinney) tells Big Bird (Spinney) and little Patty (Chen) that if Santa can't get down those skinny New York chimneys, no one will get any presents! The duo spend the rest of their Christmas Eve trying to figure out how Santa does it. They ask Kermit the Frog (Henson), but his and Grover's (Oz) interviews of local kids don't produce the desired results. Having Mr. Snuffleupagus (Nelson) pose as Santa only ends with him stuck in a trash canister. Big Bird finallydecides to go to the roof and find out himself...but when Patty realizes he's gone, the entire neighborhood turns out to find him.
Elsewhere on Sesame Street, Bert and Ernie want to buy presents for each other, but they have no money. They turn to Mr. Hooper (Lee) to exchange the things they love most for them. Mr. Hooper, however, knows what they really want. Cookie Monster would love to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas...if he could stop eating the writing utensils!
The Song and Dance: This couldn't be a greater contrast between this and Special Sesame Street Christmas. Made by Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) on PBS with the regular cast and most of the regular Muppet characters of the time, it's heartwarming, adorable, and very funny rather than too cheesy or over-the-top. Spinney has the most fun as the wistful Big Bird, who just wants to know if Santa will get through, and the cynical Oscar. Ernie and Bert's side plot is just as sweet, especially if you're familiar with the famous O.Henry short story it's based on. Cookie Monster has a few good gags with him getting so into thinking about cookies and treats, he eats anything he could use to write Santa.
The Numbers: We open with the skating party and the Holiday On Ice ensemble. Full body puppets of Ernie, Bert, the Count, Oscar, and Cookie Monster show off, while a child helps Big Bird skate to the tune of "Feliz Navidad." "True Blue Miracle" is a chorus number, performed by all the human neighbors as they buy their trees and wreaths on the way home from the skating rink. Big Bird spends the song telling an unimpressed Oscar his ideas for how Santa gets down those chimneys.
Bob Johnson (Bob McGrath) performs "Keep Christmas With You" as local kids do the song in sign language for his deaf girlfriend Linda (Linda Bove). Oscar's not a fan of holidays period, as he complains in "I Hate Christmas." Bert and Ernie sing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" after they open their gifts and realize how much they mean to one another. The entire cast reprises "Keep Christmas With You" just before the end credits, after they find Big Bird.
Trivia: This won an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Program in 1979.
What I Don't Like: This might seem slow or corny compared to many children's holiday specials today. I'm not sure what younger children will think of this now. It was made well before the debut of such popular recent Muppets as Elmo, Julia, or Rosita. Most of the neighbors are very different, too. Maria's with David rather than Luis, Bob has a girlfriend, and there's Mr. Hooper, who has been gone for so long, many adults may not remember him, let alone their kids.
The Song and Dance: If you have fond memories of seeing this one on TV or video in the 70's and 80's or have children who love Big Bird and won't mind the lack of recent characters, this sweet trip to Sesame Street during the holidays is very highly recommended.
Home Media: It's on Amazon Prime and Max, but most streaming copies cut either the "Feliz Navidad" skating sequence or the end stinger with Cookie Monster after having eaten Olivia and Gordon's Christmas tree. You may be better off looking for this one on DVD, either solo or paired with the much later holiday special Elmo's Christmas Countdown.
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