8 Days — October 05, 2017

18

8 DAYS

Tickle

Me This,

Elmo is the smartest three-and-a-half-year-old you will ever

meet. He’s also a puppet and very, very real. We caught up with

the super cute monster from Sesame Street who was in town

recently to spread his #ShareTheLaughter campaign.

Laugh all you want

but Elmo is real.

He (and we’re assuming

Elmo’s a he ’cos Elmo

always refers to himself

as just Elmo) may be a

furry red puppet but he’s the most

real furry red puppet you’ll ever

meet. 8 DAYS is waiting for the

Sesame Street (also real) resident

at the Conrad Centennial, and

we hear Elmo is on his way back

from the Singapore Zoo, where

he had spent the entire morning

touring. The three-and-a-half-year-

old monster is in town for Sesame

Workshop’s #ShareTheLaughter

campaign, which is a movement

that hopes to spread kindness

around the world. Before Singapore,

Elmo was in the Philippines and

Thailand.

Prior to our meeting with him,

we had been asked to submit

our questions for the monster.

One question: “Are Bert and Ernie

really just friends?” was of course

rejected.

Accompanying Elmo is his

puppeteer Ryan Dillon, who is not

only the voice but also the soul

behind one of the most popular pop

culture characters in the world. After

all, famed puppeteer Frank Oz once

said, “When a puppet is true and

good and meaningful, it’s the soul of

the puppeteer you’re seeing.” And

there are few puppets as true, good

and meaningful as Elmo.

Elmo is now sitting on the

couch in front of us. (In case you’re

wondering, he’s propped up by Ryan,

who’s sitting on the floor). Elmo’s

much bigger than we expected. He’s

also a lot furrier, like an Elmo plush

toy that’s been hugged and played

with too many times. Meeting Elmo

is like seeing an old friend with

Elmo

with his

puppeteer

Ryan

Tickle

Me That

scene & Heard