Python Hyena The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999): Dir: Gary Halvorson / Cast: Mandy Patinkin, Vanessa Williams, Roscoe Orman, Sonia Manzano, Bob McGrath: Question as to what is inside Oscar's trash can is answered as Elmo anxiously tumbles in after his blanket. He ends up in Grouchland where his cheery personality penetrates. The place is overpopulated with grouches with one common enemy in Mandy Patinkin. He takes ownership of everything he touches including Elmo's blanket. Director Gary Halvorson develops a colorful new world but the story is limited segments or episodes to test Elmo as he draws closer to his prize. Why Patinkin needs Elmo's blanket is something only a psychiatrist can answer but he is perfectly cast and never talks down at viewers. Vanessa Williams plays the Queen of trash given a lame task against Elmo but she manages to glimmer and be of good sport. Veteran performers from Sesame Street including Roscoe Orman as Gordon, Bob McGrath as Bob, and Sonia Manzano as Maria make appearances from the popular show and overact horribly. Elmo may be too annoying for adults but children will grasp the message of sharing and friendship. Grouches learn that there is much in life to smile about while adults may want no dealings in Grouchland. They may take time for that once school report cards are issued. Score: 7 / 10

ackstasis 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."

BobThePizzaBoy In 1996, the Tickle-Me-Elmo doll was released and it was an immediate success. This resulted into Elmomania that swept the nation. A TV special, a 20-minute segment on "Sesame Street", many appearances on "The Rosie O'Donnel Show" and a movie.This film does have some good aspects however. There are some very funny bits with Ernie and Bert every 15 or minutes to help settle down intense or sad scenes for the children. These are the lead-in to some very funny jokes:ERNIE: No movie has a sad ending, Bert. BERT: Titanic. ERNIE: Hmmm?BERT: Titanic had a sad ending. ERNIE: Oh, come on, Bert! Roll film!BERT: Gone With The Wind had a sad ending.Huxey is also a very interesting character. Mandy Patakin can be a funny actor in this film. Especially when he talks about a velvet painting of Elvis Presly and "West Side Story".Also, the sets are amazing. Grouchland looks like something that would come right out of a cartoon and almost reminds me of "Ren & Stimpy" or one of those new Looney Tunes shorts Chuck Jones did in the 90's.And then, there are the bad parts. I can spend about 30 minutes of Elmo, maybe 40 minutes. But 70 minutes! It's crazy talk! And the plot is just coo-coo. Elmo goes into Oscar's can (he is illegally going on private property) because his blanket fell in it and then some guy takes it. Who cares if some guy lost his blanket? Who cares about some guy who won't share? And the absence of Ernie and Bert an the street is kind of unsettling.Overall rating: 6/10, was good but could have been better.

Brendan Richards I've seen Elmo in Grouchland only once, and I realised in the first scene that the next 73 minutes of my life would be wasted watching this trash (mind you, no offence to Oscar).Obviously done at a time when Elmo suddenly became the over-cute star of Sesame Street (or should that be "Elmo Street" now?), it lacks the originality of what Sesame Street was really like before the 90s (compared with "Follow That Bird" done fourteen years earlier).I wonder why the Children's Television Workshop (sorry, the SESAME Workshop <sarcasm>) had even bothered to do a movie for such a stupid character.I'm so frustrated, I have no choice but to give it a big fat ZERO out of ten.