The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland is a 1999 American musical adventure comedy film directed by Gary Halvorson in his feature film debut. It is the second film to be based on the popular children's television series Sesame Street, after Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985), the film stars Mandy Patinkin and Vanessa Williams alongside Muppet performers Kevin Clash, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, and Steve Whitmire.

This article is about the film. For the video game of the same name, see The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (video game).

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGary Halvorson[1]
Produced byAlex Rockwell
Marjorie Kalins[1]
Screenplay byMitchell Kriegman
Joey Mazzarino[1]
Story byMitchell Kriegman[1]
Based on
Starring
Music byJohn Debney
CinematographyAlan Caso[1]
Edited byAlan Baumgarten
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing[2]
Release date
  • October 1, 1999 (1999-10-01)
[1]
Running time
73 minutes[2]
Country
  • United States
[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$26 million[2]
Box office$12 million[2]

Produced by Jim Henson Pictures and the Children's Television Workshop, the film was released by Columbia Pictures on October 1, 1999.[1] The film received generally positive reviews from critics, but was a box office bomb, grossing $12 million against a budget of more than $26 million.

The film is one of the few Sesame Street productions directly produced by The Jim Henson Company. Alongside Muppets from Space (which was released the same year), this is the final Muppet feature film to have the involvement of Oz, who retired from being a full-time puppeteer the following year.[3] This was also the final theatrical Muppet film to feature Caroll Spinney before his death in 2019.[4][5]

Plot

Ernie and Bert introduce the film, and Elmo welcomes viewers, finds his blanket and plays with it in his bedroom. He spills juice on his blanket and takes it to the laundromat where he encounters his friend Zoe. Elmo refuses to share his blanket resulting in a tug of war that rips it. Elmo declares that Zoe is no longer his friend. Telly Monster, rollerskating out of control, accidentally swipes the blanket leading to a chase around Sesame Street. The blanket falls into the hands of Oscar the Grouch, who drops it in his trash can. Elmo dives into the bottom of Oscar's trash can, where he finds his blanket snagged on a door.

Attempting to retrieve it, he and his blanket are teleported through a colorful swirling portal, Suddenly Bert interupts the movie and asks Ernie what was happening to Elmo, Ernie tells Bert that the portal was just the way to get to Grouchland as the movie resumes.

Elmo and his blanket are teleported to Grouchland, a city filled with Grouches, garbage, and Huxley, a greedy man who steals anything he can grab, including Elmo's blanket, as Huxley takes off with Elmo's blanket Bert interupts the movie again scared at the scene but Ernie tells him and the audience that Elmo would get his blanket back then the movie resumes.

A kind Grouch girl named Grizzy tells Elmo that his blanket is in Huxley's house at the top of the faraway Mount Pickanose. A plant named Stuckweed encourages Elmo that he will make it if he just takes his first step, so Elmo sets out on a quest to retrieve his blanket.

With Oscar's help, the Sesame Street residents go to Grouchland to find Elmo. They ask a Grouch police officer for help but are arrested and imprisoned. Huxley has his sidekick, Bug the bug and his minions, the Pesties, trap Elmo in a tunnel. Elmo gets out with the help of fireflies. Huxley then he tells Bug and the Pesties misdirect Elmo into a garbage dump of the Queen of Trash then Bert interrupts the movie (AGAIN) worried about Huxley misdirecting Elmo and asks Ernie why he would be mean to Elmo Ernie tells him that Huxley has not learnt to share and that maybe he will then the movie continues.

Bug and the Pesties misdirect Elmo to the dump where he is brought before the Queen of Trash for trespassing. The Queen tests him, requesting that he blow 100 raspberries for her in 30 secondss, Elmo succeeds with the help of the audience and the Queen allows him to pass through.

Huxley sends his huge chicken to stop Elmo, who tosses Elmo far away. Elmo gives up on retrieving his blanket for the night, then Bert once again interupts thinking that this was the end of the movie but Ernie tells him it's not and that god things would happen but then Bert brings up sad ending moves like Titanic, Gone with the Wind and Dr Zhivago but Ernie drags him off the screen as the movie starts up again.

Later, Grizzy sneaks into the jail where she informs Elmo's friends that he went to Huxley's house. Oscar convinces all of the Grouches to cooperate, as it is the only way they can stop Huxley from stealing any more of their trash. The police officer releases the Sesame Street residents and the Grouches aid them into the night to go to Huxley's house to fight for their trash and rescue Elmo.

A caterpillar wakes Elmo the next morning. He convinces Elmo that he has what it takes to be brave. Elmo arrives at Huxley's house as Huxley sends the Pesties to stop him. The Sesame Street and Grouchland citizens arrive and the Pesties flee in panic. Huxley sucks up Elmo's blanket with the vacuum cleaner nozzle on his helicopter. Elmo launches a basket over Huxley's shoulders, incapacitating him. Bug is revealed to be at the controls of the helicopter, and refuses Huxley's demand for the blanket, instead returning it to Elmo. Elmo returns to Sesame Street with his friends, where he apologizes to Zoe and allows her to hold his blanket. She accepts his apology, agreeing that they can resume their friendship. Elmo says goodbye to the audience and thanks them for helping and goes to dance with his friends as Ernie and Bert close the film.

Cast

Muppet performers
Main article: List of Sesame Street Muppets

Additional characters performed by: Drew Allison, Bruce Lanoil, Bill Barretta, Bob Lynch, John Boone, Ed May, R. Lee Bryan, Tim Parati, Leslie Carrera, Annie Peterle, Lisa Consolo, Andy Stone, Jodi Eichelberger, Lisa Sturz, Rowell Gormon, Kirk Thatcher, Mary Harrison, Matt Vogel, Rob Killen, Matt Yates

Humans of Sesame Street
Main article: List of human Sesame Street characters

Other humans

Production

Casting

All the puppeteers who performed the primary Sesame Street characters (such as Kevin Clash, Jerry Nelson, Caroll Spinney and Fran Brill) were called to Wilmington, North Carolina for the table read on May 19, 1998. The regular puppets were used for the normal Sesame Street characters, and puppets for assorted Grouches (including Grizzy) were designed and built by Mark Zezsotek. Paul Andrejco, Muppet designer for Bear in the Big Blue House, also designed Humungous Chicken. Sonia Manzano reprised her role as Maria and Roscoe Orman reprised his role as Gordon. Vanessa Williams was cast as the Queen of Trash and the hairstylist colored her hair green for the role. Mandy Patinkin was a last-minute replacement for the original actor hired to play Huxley. For the role, the makeup artist designed false eyebrows for Patinkin to wear to make him seem like he had bushier eyebrows than normal.

Filming

The film was shot over a 30-day period (starting May 26, 1998) at the EUE/Screen Gems studio in Wilmington.[6] The set was raised so that puppeteers would be able to stand up instead of squatting below street level like usual. Filming wrapped and visual effects were added during the following month, and the Ernie and Bert scenes were later shot in New York in 1999

Songs
  1. "Together Forever" – Elmo, Big Bird, Frazzle, Rosita, Prairie Dawn, Count von Count, Baby Bear, Gordon, Gina, Susan, Luis, Carlo, Jamal,

Angela, Bob, Savion, Celina, Miles, Gabi (Written by Michael Silversher and Patty Silversher; produced by Jeff Elmassian and Siedah Garrett)

  1. "Welcome to Grouchland" – The Grouchland Ensemble (Written by Martin Erskine and Seth Friedman; produced by Martin Erskine)
  2. "Take the First Step" – Stuckweed (Written by Michael Reagan and Greg Matheson; produced by Jeff Elmassian and Siedah Garrett)
  3. "Make It Mine" – Mandy Patinkin (Written by Martin Erskine and Seth Friedman; produced by Martin Erskine)
  4. "I See a Kingdom" – Vanessa Williams (Written by Siedah Garrett, Jeff Elmassian, and Andy Rehfeldt; produced by Jeff Elmassian and Siedah Garrett)
  5. "The Bird Dance - The Emeralds
  6. "Precious Wings" – Tatyana Ali (Written by Siedah Garrett, Jeff Elmassian, and Andy Rehfeldt; produced by Keith Thomas)

Soundtrack
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
Soundtrack album by
Sesame Street
Released1999
GenreSoundtrack
LabelJim Henson
Sesame Street chronology
Elmo Saves Christmas
(1998)		 The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
(1999)		 CinderElmo
(2000)

This album, released in 1999, is the soundtrack to The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.

This album won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children in 2000.

"Make It Mine" is excluded from the soundtrack.

Track list
  1. Together Forever
  2. Welcome to Grouchland
  3. Take the First Step
  4. I See a Kingdom
  5. Precious Wings
  6. Elmo Tells His Grouchland Story (Spoken Word)
  7. The Grouch Song - Elmo, Grizzy, Oscar the Grouch, Ernie, Bert (Written by Jeff Moss)
  8. There's a Big Heap of Trash at the End of the Rainbow - The Stenchmen (Written by Tony Geiss)
  9. I Love Trash - Steven Tyler

Reception

Critical response

The film has a rating of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 6.72/10. The film's consensus states, "This fun and moral tale entertains both first-time Sesame Street watchers and seasoned veterans."[7] On Metacritic, which uses an average of critics' reviews, the film holds a 59/100, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[8]

Box office

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland was the only family film playing in most theaters at the time of its release. Sony had planned a scaled-back release, making it difficult to make its money back. The film opened at #8 with a weekend gross of $3,255,033 from 1,210 theaters, averaging $2,690 per venue. In total, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland earned back less than half its $26 million budget, grossing $11,683,047 during its two-and-a-half-month theatrical run.[2] It is currently the lowest-grossing Muppet film to date.

Home media

On December 21, 1999,[9][10] the film was released on VHS and DVD by Columbia TriStar Home Video.[nb 1] In 2007, the film was released as part of a double feature with Thomas and the Magic Railroad.[12]

Book series

The film inspired a trilogy of children's books, published in 1999: Happy Grouchy Day, The Grouchiest Lovey, and Unwelcome to Grouchland. The book series was written by Suzanne Weyn and illustrated by Tom Brannon.

See also

Notes
  1. Renamed Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment in April 2001, then Sony Pictures Home Entertainment between November 2004[11] and March 2005.

References
  1. "Detail view of Movies Page". afi.com. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  2. The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland at Box Office Mojo
  3. Setoodeh, Ramin (March 11, 2014). "How Kermit and the Muppets Got Their Mojo Back". Variety. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  4. McFadden, Robert D. (December 8, 2019). "Caroll Spinney, Big Bird's Alter Ego on 'Sesame Street,' Is Dead at 85". The New York Times. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  5. "Remembering Legendary Puppeteer Caroll Spinney". Sesame Workshop. December 8, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  6. "Story". The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. Archived from the original on November 29, 1999 – via web.archive.org.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland at Rotten Tomatoes
  8. The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland at Metacritic
  9. "What's Hot". Los Angeles Times. December 2, 1999.
  10. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (December 11, 1999). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books.
  11. "Sony Pictures Renames Columbia TriStar". Billboard. November 19, 2004. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  12. "Adventures Of Elmo In Grouchland / Thomas And The Magic Railroad (Double Feature)". DVD Empire. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015.
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