A Sony Pictures Entertainment release of a Columbia Pictures presentation of
a Jim Henson Pictures presentation of a Children's Television Network
Production; Executive Produced by Brian Henson, Stephani Allain and Martin G. Baker; Produced by Alex Rockwell and Marjorie Kalins; Co-Produced by Kevin Clash and Timothy M. Bourne; Story by Mitchell Kreigman; Written by Mitchell Kreigman and Joseph Mazzarino; Directed by Gary Halvorson
Opens October 1, 1999
Compared to Barney, Elmo is a prince among monsters. Granted, his toy store tickle me incarnation may be annoying, but live and in-person, this little red ball of yarn is, well, adorable. As the hero of The Adventures Of Elmo In Grouchland, he is in fine form in his first big screen outing and, as conceived by the team of Jim Henson Pictures and the Children's Television Network, Elmo's Sesame Street world comes to life in all its Technicolor glory.
Now, before you turn up your nose, keep in mind that this flick is not just for kids. Sure, the main audience here is ultra-limited -- age two to six max -- but moms and dads, as well as Muppet fans in general, will find some inspired humor and several toe-tapping tunes sung by the likes of Mandy Patinkin and Vanessa Williams, both of whom positively glow in their Grouchland incarnations. The bottom line is that this is solid filmmaking, directed toward little tykes, but ready to charm the kid in all of us.
It all starts out when Elmo looses his blanket. Now, Elmo loves this little piece of cloth. He loves it so much that he won't even let his friend Zoe touch it. So, you can imagine his panic when rollerblading Telly accidentally sends the blanket flying into the grungy hands of Oscar the Grouch. Oscar promptly drops the blanket in his trash can and, when Elmo goes in search of it, he finds himself catapulted through a portal to Oscar's former home of Grouchland.
There, Elmo's ever-resilient character shows as he determines to get back his blanket, which has fallen into the hands of evil Huxley (Mandy Patinkin). Huxley, it seems, has sharing issues. He lays claims to all possessions in Grouchland and quickly whisks Elmo's blanket away to his mountaintop lair - all the while taking delight in vocalizing about the power of ownership in Make It Mine. Meanwhile, Elmo makes his way across Grouchland to Huxley's domain, winning over the Queen of Trash (Vanessa Williams) with his ability to perform 100 raspberries in a row (with a little help from the kids in the audience.) You remember raspberries: Stick your tongue between your lips and blow.
Now, don't worry, little Elmo does get his blanket back and learns a valuable lesson about sharing in the process. All in all, this film is a light-hearted romp through childhood conceived by a group of insightful adults who haven't forgotten how to think young. What is remarkable about this movie, however, is its powerful ability to touch us, regardless of age. At the essential core of the story is Elmo, a delightfully innocent little fellow with a strong will and a take-no-prisoner spirit, who shows kids that it's important to fight for what matters.
Indeed, Hollywood should take note here. How is it that a lump of red yarn with Ping-Pong ball eyes can have more depth than the majority of live-action film characters? Well, much of the credit goes to writers Mitchell Kreigman and Joseph Mazzarino, who clearly understand kids on many levels. Staying true to the Sesame Street credo, the script integrates plenty of humor with life lessons. Adventure and drama balance out with cut-aways hosted by Bert and Ernie when the going gets tough and the young audience starts getting nervous. The kids are further asked to participate whenever Elmo needs some moral support. It's sort of like the Peter Pan philosophy: Clap if you believe in fairies.
Now, for those of you who are still saying who the heck