User reviews

Just thinking about this movie brings back so many memories... ahh those were the days. Anyway, it's a harmless kiss movie kids and adults can watch together. The story's pretty bare unsurprisingly. It's meant for kids to follow after all. Elmo(Kevin Clash) goes on a quest to find his blanket after it ends up in Oscar's(Carol Spinney) trash can.

After diving in, he discovers a world known as "Grouchland". Not only is he lost but he also has to deal with a greedy man child named Huxley. Will Elmo find it as well as discover something about himself or will he be stuck there forever? You know the outcome in fact we all do.

There's not much to say other than it's a good movie kids will like. The songs are ok, the dialogue's passable and the characters are basic. Elmo's the perfect character used in this. He's the physical embodiment of innocence which makes him the best candidate for being the main character. The supporting cast are fine too.

If you have little kids that like Sesame Street than they'll like it just fine. Jump on in and see for yourself.

I have seen Sesame Street home videos that are much more enjoyable than this theatrical release. My 2 year old daughter loved it though, and I guess that's the target audience. The lesson this movie tries to teach is "sharing". I feel that the home video "learning to share" does a much better job.

I am 21 years old, and I consider myself as a kid at heart. I grew up watching Sesame Street every morning, and I have always loved Elmo. I took my 9 year old sisters to see it and we all loved it. Absolutely nothing offensive, Elmo is adorable! Looking for his lost blanket, he heads to Grouchland to find it. With some help from his friends, they battle Huxley (comically played by Mandy Patikin) to get the blanket back. Take the kids to see it- you and them will love it!

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland is one of the few films to come around this year that is for the whole family. It can be for the kids because the characters are so likable (especially Elmo played by Kevin Klash) and it can be for the parents because they remember the lovable characters they used to watch as a child. Along with a good story, great characters, and better than good songs, this film teaches kids many things (like sharing and friendship) and of course the Sesame Street characters are always a delight to see on the screen.

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

The cleverest thing about 'The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)' is the degree of self-reference. The film begins with Sesame Street stalwarts Bert and Ernie, our hosts for the evening, breaking the fourth wall to greet the audience and introduce the feature presentation. We, the audience, are asked to count backwards from ten so that the film may begin; in keeping with the spirit of the viewing, I acquiesced. Our hosts regularly interrupt the main story whenever our hero's predicament is looking particularly dire, probably to remind the younger viewers that a happy ending is just around the corner. Then Bert gets excited about the closing credits.

The meat of the film centres on that adorable reddish monster Elmo (Kevin Clash), who wakes up one morning and begins to sing about his beloved blanket. (Bizarrely, Elmo's bedroom features just one recognisable feature – a giant poster of Tiger Woods). When he accidentally travels to the mystical Grouchland (via a '2001'-like wormhole accessed through Oscar the Grouch's bachelor pad), he loses his blanket to the sinister self-proclaimed villain Huxley (Mandy Patinkin), a human with bushy eyebrows and a desire to steal anything that isn't his. A frustrated Elmo strikes out to retrieve his prized blanket, getting occasional help from various creatures and even the audience members.

I know what it's like to lose a treasured possession. In fact, my dad threw away my favourite stuffed toy, for which I have never really forgiven him. Elmo's epic journey through Grouchland helps him to learn that material possessions are not everything, but the heartwarming finale is nevertheless rewarding in a predictable, slightly fluffy way. Movie references are abundant: 'Titanic (1997),' 'Gone with the Wind (1939)' and 'Doctor Zhivago (1965)' are offered by pessimist Bert as movies without a happy ending. They crafty larrikins at Jim Henson Pictures even managed to work in a reference to 'Basic Instinct (1992),' with the Grouchland cinema screening the picture with the title "Basically, It Stinks."

Ah, Elmo.

My daughter loves the little monster, which is some sort of toddler prerequisite these days. Anyway, I decided to rent this movie to give her a little treat, and she loved the dickens out of it.

I, on the other hand...

Well, I can't say I didn't like it, necessarily. The production values are pretty decent, and muppets look a lot better when shot on film instead of the video they use for "Sesame Street". But hearing Elmo's voice for the length of a feature film just gets to be a bit much. It's much better when contained to the 20-minute "Elmo's World" segment on the show.

Thankfully, the film does provide a few breaks from Elmo's squeaking, including a joyously evil song from Mandy Patinkin and a fairly boring one from Vanessa Williams.

But don't expect anything of Pixar quality as far as the screenplay goes. This one is geared only for kids, and the laughs for adults are few and far between. And since it's only for kids, and my daughter loved it, I have to say it succeeded in its mission.

This gets a pretty good rating from me...I bought this movie thinking we'd see it once and it would get stored in our videos forever. But we watch it constantly. Even if my son watches it back to back, he's still captivated by it. It's a good movie...not bad for Sesame Street. The songs are good, except the one by Vanessa Williams - it's a bit bland, but of course, it would get stuck in our heads all day long. Mandy Patinkin is GREAT in this movie, just awesome. Perfect guy for the part. Good singing voice too.

It's a cute movie. It does have lots of funny parts that only a kid will find funny and a parent will roll their eyes when the kid is not looking, but on the whole, it's amusing. The interruptions from Ernie and Bert are actually kind of cute, but any more of them would have been annoying.

We like it. Good, clean, wholesome entertainment.

I really dreaded this when it came to my daughter via my mother, but it is well done, turns out, and quite amusing in that something-for-everyone Sesame Street way. There are all the usual messages here - sharing, sticking up for yourself/fighting for a cause, being a friend, etc. And if you like Oscar, you will undoubtedly love Grouchland - Oscar seems conservatively grouchy and gritty in comparison with these citizens (perhaps this is why Oscar has chosen to be a Grouchland ex-pat and live on Sesame Street). The songs are quite good - I especially like the song the plant sings to Elmo. I have probably seen it with my daughter at least 6 times, but I still laugh at sight gags and funny lines and continue to find it hilariously funny how sexy Vanessa Williams' character is especially for a pre-school kid's movie! Even if you are not particularly impressed with Vanessa Williams in general, brace yourself!

Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland is disappointing. In trying to differentiate the movie from a typical Sesame Street episode, the creators produced a dull generic children's movie that lacks both the educational and entertainment qualities of the TV series. The movie also lacks any spontaneity and the genuine-feel often found with the small children on the television show.

Previous reviewers have been right in stating that this film pales in comparison to 1985's "Follow That Bird", but then again it is hard to beat perfection! Anyway this movie definitely has more of an appeal for kids than it does for adults (although there is some decidedly adult references that'll fly over kids heads slipped in for good measure). Anyone who feels nostalgic for the street and who wants to see how the adult actors and muppet characters are doin these days should also be interested. *lol* There are also some good celebrity cameos thrown in, although not nearly as many as there were in "Follow That Bird".The bottom line is that this is a decent movie, and i'd definitely reccomend renting it or watching it on tv.

What were they thinking? This movie is geared to the typical Seasame Street set of 2 to 8 year olds. Although the story line deals with lessons in sharing, we see Elmo lose his blanket to an evil fellow in Grouchland. If your kids have a favorite blanket this will hit too close to home. The producers added commentary by Bert and Ernie after the movie proved too frightening. The Bert and Ernie bits do lighten things up a bit but it is too scary. The movie has the usual great sets, puppets etc. but it is not for the 2 to 8 year old set. Go figure.

Elmo sure is a cute cuddly...thing. But is he good enough to base an entire movie around? Sorry but no. The movie misses its target and the message of the movie is too muddled.

Most kids will probably find this movie not to be entertaining and stimulating enough. Therefor, The movie misses its targeted audience. Bert & Ernie seem like a last minute addition by the filmmakers to conceal- and distract from the scary parts of the movie. Grouchland shall not seem like a very nice place to go to, for young children. Huxley is a too scary and serious villain for a movie like this.

Of course it's no Muppet movie and the movie is filled with only characters from Sesame Street but also on its own, as a children's movie it isn't a very good one. Elmo's adventure is very dull and the songs in the movie are quite poor. Obviously the movie tries to send out a message to the children and tries to learn them sometime but it isn't handled exactly very well in the script and movie with as a result that the message doesn't really come trough.

Visually the movie looks like a children's movie but all of the dialog is only really fun for adults. There are some good jokes in the movie.

It's far from a horrible movie but the story and the end result, almost completely misses its target.

5/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

'The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland' is an excellent movie. I purchase the DVD for my 16-month old son. Initially I was hesitant about the purchase because I wasn't sure if he would enjoy the movie, plus it was long considering he'd never watched anything that for that length of time. The first time I played the movie for him, he sat quietly and watched it in its entirety. To this day my son watches it over and over again. He truly loves the movie. He loves the music. As an adult, I enjoyed the movie as well. It's definitely entertaining from start to finish. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone. I have even purchased copies for other kids as gifts.

For any parents of young children who love Elmo and Sesame Street, definitely rent this movie. You and your children will love it.

Elmo loses his favorite blanket down Oscar's trashcan and must rescue it. He ends up in Grounchland and must rescue his blanket.

Elmo is basically the star of the whole movie but the other muppets and characters are around. Adults will love this movie also because there are some things only adults can understand. But children will also love it because Elmo is in it. The movie shows children how to share.

I watched this movie as a kid and I didn't like it at all. I couldn't watch the whole movie because of how bad it was. This movie is just a dark version of Sesame Street. There are some scenes in here that scared me when I watched it as a kid and I still was scared to this day and it never made me want to watch it again. I don't even know why they made this movie. It's boring and I would not Recommend it to anyone. Don't waste your time or money with this movie! It's scary, boring and just a dark version of Sesame Street! The tv show is better than this! I don't even know why they made movies!

my baby loves it. i am in grad school and i needed something to catch her attention while i work on papers and projects....i am almost finished and then it will go back in the movie pile so i can play more and read to her...but she just LOVES that little red guy. AND HUXLEY -- Mr Dangerous Minds (on CBS), who would have guessed he had so much talent! awesome....i love the musical numbers. i love the puppets. and its nice to see the old sesame street gang again. it is also nice to see the friendships and trusts. i like the interactive component as well. my baby makes the raspberry spitting sounds. it is soooo cute. Vanessa Williams cameo is nice too. queen of junk....very cute...i love the trip to grouchland -- very 70s retro.

I bought this movie for my friend's 2 year old son for Christmas, but I couldn't resist the urge to watch it myself. The story, characters, and songs were pretty cute, I must admit. The underlying message, that sharing is good, may seem juvenile in scope simply because it is a Sesame Street production and includes blue and red fuzzy monsters and talking turnips, but applies to everyone. Being a 21 year year old, I particularly liked the scene where Vanessa Williams emerged in a pretty provacative outfit made of trash (yeah!). Nevertheless, EIG contains a valuable theme that I wish more people would follow. Teletubbies and Pokemon have stomped their way into our culture, but are a mere fad, and the more reserved and prestigious Sesame Street has not lost a step. Oscar, Elmo, Big Bird, and Maria (woo-hoo!) will remain long after the Teles and Pokes have run their course. That's what makes SS so unique.

First off, i'm a parent. My daughter is 18months old and LOVES Elmo, her grandfather got this movie for her and she already knows how to play it on the DVD player(she pulls it out of the case, opens up the player and puts it in... sometimes upside down though ;) )and sits down with the remote. so she loves it. great she's not voting. I, on the other hand walk around all day after watching this singing the songs from it in my head... they are just so catchy. i never thought i would say this, but i'm starting to love family movies like this one. remember when voting for this, that it is meant for the under 5 crowd. not the 16-35yr old amateur film critics that think they know everything.