The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland Review
by "Steve Rhodes" (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)October 4th, 1999
THE ADVENTURES OF ELMO IN GROUCHLAND
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
In Gary Halvorson's THE ADVENTURES OF ELMO IN GROUCHLAND, Elmo (voice of Kevin Clash) has lost his prized possession, his blue blanket. It has fallen into the trash can home of Oscar the Grouch (voice of Caroll Spinney) and from thence to a place called Grouchland, U.S.A.
After the simple setup, Halvorson uses every excuse he can to get his characters to break out into another song and dance number. With hyperactive pacing, the Sesame Street regulars, along with some guests, sing their hearts out. Indeed, the musical numbers are the film's best part, even if none come close to being memorable.
Mitchell Kriegman's script is the movie's weakest link, giving the film slightly less punch than a typical television episode from the series. In our packed audience, filled with kids from toddlers on up, the laugh quotient was remarkably modest. Typical of the picture's humor is the location of the villain's home -- it's "high atop Mount Pick-a-Nose."
Kriegman throws the adults in the audience a few random funny lines. ("You have the right to scream your head off," Grouch Jailer (Spinney) says to his prisoners in a muppet version of the Miranda rights. "If you give up these rights, someone will be provided who screams their head off for you.")
With its 3 to 5-year-old target audience, the movie stops the action, literally, whenever anything threatening occurs. As the frame is frozen behind them, Bert (voice of Frank Oz) and Ernie (voice of Steve Whitmire) step out to reassure the audience that nothing bad will happen. Bert and Ernie steal the show with these antics.
Also interactive, the movie requires audience participation, lest bad things happen to its protagonist. Elmo, for example, needs us to come up with 100 raspberries in less than 30 seconds to convince the Queen of Trash (Vanessa L. Williams) that he isn't a cohort of the nefarious Huxley (Mandy Patinkin). The movie keeps a dynamic count on the screen, so you may want to practice in advance.
Even if the film isn't all it could be, some scenes are special. The most magical is one filled with fireflies. Like a hundred Tinkerbells, they come together to form an arrow to guide Elmo out of danger.
THE ADVENTURES OF ELMO IN GROUCHLAND runs 1:13. It is rated G and would be fine for all ages.
My son Jeffrey, age 10, gave it **, liking mainly the music. His friend Alan, age 10, gave it ***, finding the movie hilarious but the plot weak. His friend Nickolas, age 10, gave it ** 1/2, liking the songs and the excitement about what would happen next. Nickolas's sisters, Danielle and Kaity Rose, ages 7 and 5 respectively, both gave the movie **** with their favorite part being the queen's song.
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
More on 'The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland'...
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
