Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years
Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years is the home video version of Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration, a special aired on PBS during their pledge drive on March 6, 1994, that commemorates Sesame Street’s 25th anniversary in 1994. This program was originally released on October 29, 1993 under the title Sesame Street's 25th Birthday: A Musical Celebration!. 25 Wonderful Years focused on celebrity segments, many coming from segments filmed for the show's upcoming 25th season, of artists such as En Vogue and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
| Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Mustapha Khan Jon Stone |
| Produced by | Arlene Sherman Karin Young Shiel (associate producer) |
| Written by | Luis Santeiro Sara Compton Judy Freudberg Jeff Moss Norman Stiles |
| Starring | Caroll Spinney |
| Music by | Robby Merkin (musical director) Dave Conner (associate music director) Danny Epstein (music coordinator) Michael Rubin (additional music) Nick Balaban (additional music) Christopher Cerf (songs) Sara Compton (songs) Stephen Lawrence (songs) Jeff Moss (songs) Joe Raposo (songs) Norman Stiles (songs) |
| Edited by | Evamarie Keller (videotape editor) Linda M. Long (videotape editor) John R. Tierney (videotape editor) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Random House Home Video |
Release date | October 29, 1993 |
Running time | 60 minutes |
| Language | English |
Plot
While noticing the many talents that people have throughout Central Park, Telly, Prairie Dawn, and Big Bird get the idea to put on a big show. They audition dancers and "la-la"-ers (singers). However, when the Amazing Mumford attempts to audition, he makes everyone sound like different animals. In between, classic Sesame Street songs are shown, such as "Count it Higher", "I Love Trash", "Rubber Duckie", "C is for Cookie", "Adventure", and "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon". All hope begins to be lost for the show as the auditions fail, as Big Bird sings "Sing" all by himself. Then, Ladysmith Black Mambazo comes in by singing the "la la la la" part. Soon enough, everyone starts singing with him, making the show successful after all.
The cast of Sesame Street
- Carlo Alban as Carlo
- Alison Bartlett as Gina
- Annette Cauld as Celina
- Savion Glover as Savion
- Angel Jemmott as Angela
- Sonia Manzano as Maria
- Bob McGrath as Bob
- Jou Jou Papailler as Jamal
The Muppets of Sesame Street
- Caroll Spinney as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch
- Frank Oz as Bert, Grover, and Cookie Monster
- Jerry Nelson as The Count, The Amazing Mumford, Boy, Martian #1, Biff and Herry Monster
- Jim Henson as Ernie, Kermit, and Guy Smiley (archive footage)
- Martin P. Robinson as Telly, Fish
- Fran Brill as Prairie Dawn and Little Bird
- Kevin Clash as Elmo, Baby Natasha, Orange AM Monster, and Hoots the Owl
- David Rudman as Humphrey, Chicago the Lion, Martian #2 and Davey Monkey
- Joe Mazzarino as Joey Monkey and Merry Monster
- James Kroupa as Bird in La La Line
- Richard Hunt as Gladys the Cow (archive footage)
Additional Muppets performed by Pam Arciero, Noel MacNeal, Jim Martin, Bryant Young, Stephanie D'Abruzzo and Alice Dinnean.
Song list
- Sesame Street Theme (Calypso): The Kids
- Adventure: En Vogue
- Batty Bat: The Count, Ftatateeta and his bats
- The Alligator King: Bud Luckey
- I Love Trash: Oscar the Grouch
- Count it Higher: Little Chrissy and the Alphabeats
- Montage of Ernie songs:
- Rubber Duckie
- The Honker-Duckie-Dinger Jamboree
- Put Down the Duckie
- Do De Rubber Duck
- "C" is for Cookie: Cookie Monster
- Monster in the Mirror: Grover
- I'm an Aardvark: Joe Raposo
- Fuzzy and Blue and Orange: Grover, Herry, and Cookie Monster
- Skin: Kevin Clash
- It's Not Easy Bein' Green: Kermit
- Happy Tappin' with Elmo: Elmo
- Doin' the Pigeon: Bert
- Dance Myself to Sleep: Bert & Ernie
- Feel The Beat (Part 1 only)
- I Don't Want To Live On The Moon: Ernie
- We Are All Earthlings: The Sesame Street Animals
- Sing: Ladysmith Black Mambazo