Common Sense Media Review
By Emily Ashby
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Role playing reinforces affirming themes in fun TV special.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 3+?
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When You Wish Upon a Pickle: A Sesame Street Special
What's the Story?
In WHEN YOU WISH UPON A PICKLE: A SESAME STREET SPECIAL, a mysterious delivery causes mayhem on Sesame Street when a magic pickle grants wishes that have unexpected results for the residents. Suddenly Bert's a TV star, Elmo is running Hooper's store, Chris (Chris Knowings) is revisiting childhood, Cookie Monster has lookalikes running amok, and Abby and her favorite book character, Natalie Neptune (Amanda Seyfried), are hot on the case to figure out what's going on and how they can fix it. As everyone gets the chance to see what life is like in someone else's shoes, will they want to stay as they are or get back to being themselves?
Is It Any Good?
In keeping with Sesame Street's new "Learning Through Play" curriculum, this special sees three characters role playing in areas of career interest a store owner, a TV personality, and a detective. By making a wish (or having one made for them), Bert, Elmo, and Abby get to try these jobs and learn some of the skills that go along with them. There's mixed success in every case, but the experiences still teach them valuable lessons about their own capabilities. Meanwhile, other residents turn to the wish-granting pickle for hopes that don't turn out exactly as they had planned.
Sesame Street's nearly 50-year presence in preschool programming is no lucky accident. It has set the bar for TV that draws and maintains viewers' attention while incorporating quality prereading learning content and social themes. When You Wish Upon a Pickle aptly heralds the start of another season with classic puppet characters, a diverse human cast, and an amusing newcomer in the magic pickle who's "kind of a big dill" around town.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what the characters in When You Wish Upon a Pickle: A Sesame Street Special learn from making and being granted their wishes. How does the reality compare to what they imagined it would be like? Are they happy to get back to their real selves at the end of the story? What do they learn from having had a different role?
Kids: How does seeing a situation from someone else's point of view help us to understand him or her better? What opportunities do you have to do so in your life? Whom do you admire for characteristics like courage or perseverance?
If you got a visit from the magic pickle, what would you ask for? What if you faced a choice like Oscar did, choosing between his own wish and making a wish on someone else's behalf?
TV Details
- Premiere date : November 10, 2018
- Cast : Blake Lively , Amanda Seyfried , Chris Knowings
- Network : HBO
- Genre : Educational
- Topics : Arts ( Music and Sing-Along ) , Puppets
- TV rating :
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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