When You Wish Upon a Pickle is a Sesame Street special that first aired on HBO in 2018 (later premiering on PBS in 2020).
A mysterious (and sentient) Wish Pickle, which grants one wish per customer, is delivered to Sesame Street. Hilarity Ensues as Elmo and Chris switch bodies, Abby Cadabby's favorite storybook detective comes to life, Cookie Monster's wish for more cookies gets him multiplied, and Ernie's wish for Bert (who wants to be a weather man) to be on TV causes Bert to become Trapped in TV Land. Features appearances by Blake Lively and Amanda Seyfried.
The special provides examples of:
- Animated Credits Opening
- Anthropomorphic Food: The Wish Pickle is able to speak.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Cookie Monster's wish for more cookies gets him multiplied, Elmo's wish to be grown-up and Chris' wish to be younger causes them to switch bodies, and Ernie's wish for Bert to be on TV causes Bert to be trapped inside the TV set, being shuffled from show to show.
- Brick Joke: Near the beginning, Mr. Johnson complains about not having a spoon to eat his soup with... and he doesn't receive one until the very end.
- Continuity Nod: During the opening titles, the store where the Wish Pickle originates is full of items referencing past Sesame Street segments.
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: Elmo's wish to be grown-up and Chris' wish to be younger causes them to do this (represented visually by having the two switch outfits as well).
- "I Want" Song: At the beginning of the special, the song "Imagine Me" has Elmo, Chris, Cookie Monster, and Abby Cadabby imagining the ways they'd like to live their lives, while Mr Johnson is wishing for some decent restaurant service for once in his life. By contrast, Ernie, instead of imagining his own life, pictures Bert fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a weatherman.
- Make a Wish: The Wish Pickle grants the wishes of Elmo, Chris, Ernie, Cookie Monster, and Abby Cadabby.
- Trapped in TV Land: Ernie's wish for Bert to be on TV ends up physically trapping Bert inside the television and causing him to be shuffled from show to show.
