What Does Elmo Think Of Durians?
There's a reason Elmo is the smartest three-and-a-half-year-old you'll ever meet.
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 with his puppeteer Ryan Dillon.
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 whom you’ve lost touch over the years. We may not have anything in common anymore (we have long mastered the alphabet) but years of watching Sesame Street as a kid alone at home while our mum and dad were at work also means that there’s a kind of enduring familiarity between us.
We’ve always wanted to meet Elmo. It’s just that after we grew up and got on with life, we kinda forgot about our wish. But now that he’s right in front of us, we decided it’s time to ask the question we’d always wanted to ask Elmo as a kid.
“Can I touch you?” we say to Elmo, in a not-creepy way, we swear.
“Of course, you can! Elmo doesn’t mind!” the furry red monster suddenly giggles in his trademark falsetto.
And just like that, we’re a kid all over again.
A behind the scenes look at our interview with Elmo.
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