The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
Reviewed by: John-Paul Morgante
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Good |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | 3-7 years |
| Genre: | Kids Family Adventure Comedy |
| Length: | 1 hr. 13 min. |
| Year of Release: | 1999 |
| USA Release: | October 1, 1999 |
| USA Release: |
| Featuring | Kevin Clash, Mandy Patinkin, Vanessa Williams |
| Director |
Gary Halvorson |
| Producer | Alex Rockwell, Marjorie Kalins |
| Distributor |
 Columbia Pictures, a division of Sony Pictures |
“Elmo in Grouchland” is a fun-loving film targeted directly for the Sesame Street generation with all of their regular characters—muppet and human—casted in the film. It is silly at times and always spirited with colorful song and dance routines that seem to light up the children’s eyes. Your younger children will walk away saying, “That was fun!”
The basic story is about Elmo’s search for his favorite blue blanket which is sent into Grouchland following a game of tug-of-war. The tickable muppet must venture into the mysterious land where he encounters the selfish Huxley, played by Mandy Patankin, and the Queen of Trash, played by Vanessa Williams.
The film begins with Bert and Ernie, who act as narrators of sorts, encouraging the audience to participate in the film. They return at selected moments—usually when Elmo is in trouble—to reassure the audience not to worry and that all will turn out alright in the end. It is a nice touch for those children who may get upset by some of the “adventures” Elmo encounters.
The film attempts to entertain and to teach focusing on the evils of selfishness, the benefits of teamwork, and the need for courage in the face of trials. Although the “lessons” are valuable, the focus is not Christian and seems to rely upon man’s ability to overcome as opposed to God’s grace and empowering strength. But that may be too much to ask of a movie and these lessons can easily be taught to your children after the film using its scenes as a point of reference.
Some may think the scenes with the Queen of Trash, dressed in a tight body suit, to be a little suggestive but I found that my children simply thought her to be a “pretty lady.” In the end, there is not much to object to in this film. It is a good way to spend an afternoon at the movies with your children followed by an ice cream cone and sincere conversation. Enjoy!
The movie was very good for kids—more so than most so-called kids’ movies. The “villain’s” claim to villainy is that he takes other people’s things (including Elmo’s blanket) and labels them MINE! Whenever things got a little tense or scary, Ernie and Bert march out on the screen and say “Stop the Movie!” …then Ernie would reassure Bert (and all the kids too) that everything would work out just fine. Other than the fact that the trash queen (played by Vanessa Williams, of fallen Miss America fame) was for some reason a very seductive character (too much like an erotic dancer for the under 5 set), nothing overly objectionable. (The trash queen likes to spit raspberries, which may not be the best manners…)
They try to make it interactive—i.e., the kids in the audience think they’re helping Elmo get his blanket back. The script includes a few funny lines for the parents too—but for me, watching Sam enjoy it was enough!
The value taught in this movie is “unselfishness”, a fruit that two and three year olds don’t quite understand yet, but can use all the help they can get. I would strongly recommend this movie to any person who would like to take small a small child/children to the movies (or to any age, for that matter).