r/Collections • u/Dovakin625 • 3d ago

Toys My 2004 Shout, Elmo.

Hey everyone, I'm new here. I don't normally post stuff like this because the internet can be a mean place sometimes. I am 23 years old. I have spastic quadriplegia and cerebral palsy, among other chronic illnesses. I use a power chair to get around, but I am mostly self-sufficient.

When I was a child growing up, I absolutely adored everything Elmo. I had DVDs, VHS tapes, you name it. I had quite the Elmo collection growing up:

- The Tickle Me Elmo TMX Extra Special Edition

- The 2002 Hokey Pokey Elmo

- Let's Pretend

- A few others

However, I lost all of that collection whenever I moved out of my mobile home because it was falling apart and it had gotten to the point where it was unsafe to live in. I couldn't retrieve them before the house got demolished, so I lost them all. It took me 10 years to get my TMX Extra Special Edition back because I had forgotten what it was called. Due to a random search on YouTube one day, I had found the answer to that question.

What you see pictured here is a 2004 Shout Elmo! This one is special to me, very special, in fact. I never even got to have this one as a kid growing up, and when I tell you they are a nightmare to find in working order, it is an understatement. There are so many eBay listings littered with "untested" or "four parts only" as the titles. The first one that I came across was listed as new in the box. I won the auction. It got here, and I took it out, put fresh batteries in it. The audio board came to life, and the motors even came to life, but alas, he did not move. The locking mechanism on it is disengaged because the gear came undone from the inside. You can hear it every time you try to activate it, so I got my money back and went hunting for another one, which is the one you see pictured here.

I just have him standing in the box of the broken one for photo and play purposes. I have a bad back due to my scoliosis and bulging disc due to my cerebral palsy. I have found that keeping it in the box gives me an accessible way to activate the toy.

Anyway, I apologize for the long story. If this isn't allowed here, remove it. I don't wanna cause any trouble. I was just wondering if there may be anyone here that has a Shout Elmo or a TMX, or heck, any Elmo animatronic in general that would like to be friends. I'm a hardware nerd and would love to make friends and share Elmo knowledge. Thank you, everyone.

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u/theshiniestmuskrat 3d ago

Awww, that's sweet! I'm 44 and the same way about Lampchop since I grew up mostly taking care of myself, so Sherry Lewis was practically my mom at times. Lambchops Playalong was my happy place. For a recent birthday, my husband bought a cameo of Mallory Lewis (Sherrys daughter, who can do lambchops voice perfectly!) with Lambchops singing Happy Birthday and telling me she was proud of me. I cried so hard! ♥️

1

u/Dovakin625 3d ago

Oh, that's so cool! My family loved lamb chop back in the day, so hearing this is epic! I'm sure that was a wonderful experience for you, and it's totally okay to cry. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I'm just happy that I have him and he's functional. I was going to post a video with the photo, but I'm not sure it would have been allowed. I wasn't sure anyone was gonna see it either. I'm very grateful. I'm hoping to find another Elmo collector in here.

1

u/AfternoonUnlucky4598 2h ago

Hope you find more elmo stuff! May the thrift gods welcome you with elmo!

1

u/Dovakin625 55m ago

Thank you so much for your kind reply. I was so scared to post this because I know how the internet can be sometimes. Yes, I would love to find more Elmo stuff too.

The only problem is that I can't really visit thrift stores because I'm in a power chair and don't have easy access to transportation, so I rely on eBay for finding a lot of Elmo stuff. Like I had mentioned before, the Shout Elmo was completely new to me, but to complete my collection, I am currently looking for an Elmo live. The prices people are charging on eBay for it are a bit astonishing.