The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)

A tug-of-war between Elmo and his friend sends his blanket to faraway Grouchland, a place full of grouchy creatures and the villainous Huxley. Elmo embarks on a rescue mission, learning important lessons about sharing and responsibility.

Director:

Gary Halvorson

Writers:

Mitchell Kriegman (story), Mitchell Kriegman (screenplay)

Stars:

Kevin Clash, Mandy Patinkin, Vanessa Williams

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Clash	...	Elmo / Pestie / Grouch Jailer / Grouch Cab Driver (voice)
Mandy Patinkin	...	Huxley
Vanessa Williams	...	Queen of Trash
Sonia Manzano	...	Maria
Roscoe Orman	...	Gordon
Fran Brill	...	Zoe / Pestie / Prairie Dawn (voice)
Stephanie D'Abruzzo	...	Grizzy / Pestie (voice)
Dave Goelz	...	Humongous Chicken (voice)
Joey Mazzarino	...	Bug (voice) (as Joseph Mazzarino)
Jerry Nelson	...	Count / Pestie / Grouch Mayor / Grouch Cop (voice)
Carmen Osbahr	...	Rosita (voice)
Martin P. Robinson	...	Telly / Pestie / Laundromat Guy (voice)
David Rudman	...	Baby Bear / Fat Blue / Caterpillar / Pestie / Collander Stenchman / Ice Cream Customer (voice)
Caroll Spinney	...	Big Bird / Oscar the Grouch (voice)
Steve Whitmire	...	Ernie / Stuckweed / Football Stenchman / Ice Cream Vendor / Parrot (voice)

Storyline

Elmo loves his fuzzy, blue blanket, and would never let anything happen to it. However, a tug-of-war with his friend Zoe sends his blanket to a faraway land, and Elmo in hot pursuit. Facing life without his cherished blanket, Elmo musters all of his determination and courage and heads off on an action-packed rescue mission that plunges him into Grouchland, a place full of grouchy creatures, stinky garbage and the villainous Huxley. Along the way, Elmo learns an important lesson about sharing, realizing that he was selfish with his friend and responsible for what happened.

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Plot Keywords:

no opening credits | movie flop | blanket | rescue | sesame street | 

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Taglines:

The Good, The Bad and The Stinky.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

The second and final Sesame Street film produced by Children's Television Workshop.

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Goofs

When Huxley grabs Grizzy with the the vacuum nozzle on his helicopter after attempting to steal her doll, Elmo shouts at Huxley to stop and Huxley promptly drops Grizzy off to Elmo's left. However, during the "Wooby! Blanket!" debate, Grizzy is completely out of Elmo's direction and she is now directly behind him. However, shortly after Huxley takes off with Elmo's Blanket, Elmo encounters Grizzy while going to his left.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ernie: [walks by humming, then turns and notices the audience] Hi there, everybody! Welcome to the movie. Hey, we're so glad you came. Now...
Bert: [Bert appears, wearing a bath towel and showering cap] Ernie, Ernie.
Ernie: Hm?
Bert: Listen, I'm going to take a shower. Have you seen my antibacterial soap?
Ernie: No, Bert, I haven't.
Bert: Oh, now where did I...?
Ernie: Now, this movie you're about to see is all about Elmo.
Bert: Who are you talking to?
Ernie: The audience, Bert. They're right there.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the movie, Bert and Ernie are on the screen. The credits start and Bert says "Ooh, credits! I want to see who did the catering."

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Connections

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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Soundtracks

Welcome To Grouchland
Written by Martin Erskine and Seth Friedman
Produced by Martin Erskine

User Reviews

Sesame Street's still great

I admit that I'm not that familiar with the "Sesame Street" episodes that focus primarily on Elmo. The funny thing is that Elmo was originally just a background character and didn't become the focus until the 1990's. It's still great to have a movie based on "Sesame Street", especially when there are only two in existence. I did find this to be too short. I mean, I look at the Muppet movies and find that they're a lot longer and a lot funnier. A downside here was probably how I really wanted more focus on the other characters. "Sesame Street" has given us so many iconic characters and only Elmo and Oscar the Grouch really have a big role here.

I admit that I'm not familiar with Zoey. Well, it was nice to be introduced to her more, I suppose. This just didn't seem like it was enough for a full movie and more like just a long episode of the show. That being said, it's by no means bad. It's especially fun to see Bert and Ernie appear throughout the movie and literally comment on it. I guess I'm just not much of an Elmo fan and am a lot more into Big Bird. Characters like Cookie Monster and the Count should have had way more of a role. Of course, it does nothing to ruin a beloved series and "Sesame Street" really should live on forever. I guess I liked this for the nostalgia, it just didn't have the characters I'm more familiar with. **1/2

Details

Official Sites:

Sony DVD

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland

Filming Locations:

Screen Gems Studios - 1223 North 23rd Street, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,255,033, 3 October 1999

Gross USA:

$11,683,047

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,683,047

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jim Henson Pictures, Children's Television Workshop (CTW), Global Entertainment Productions GmbH & Company Medien KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS (Digital DTS Sound) (uncredited)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1