The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland

1999 | 77 minutes | Rated G

Sesame Street resident Elmo proudly introduces us to his best friend—a blanket with the capacity for action and expression—but freaks out when a friend wants to share it. Elmo's obsessive reaction is never examined, compromising the ability of this rambling minor spectacle (1999) to put across its obvious lesson about sharing. Megalomaniacal villain Mandy Patinkin steals the blanket (and a musical number) after Oscar the Grouch casually tosses it into his garbage can. Desperate to retrieve the blanket, Elmo follows it inside the can, discovering a psychedelic portal to Grouchland, where provocative art direction makes product placement risky—a crumpled Dunkin' Donuts paper protrudes from a trash-encrusted ice cream cone. Gary Halvorson directed; with Vanessa Williams. By Lisa Alspector

Official Site: www.spe.sony.com/movies/elmo
Director: Gary Halvorson
Producer: Stephanie Allain, Martin G. Baker, Brian Henson, Alex Rockwell and Marjorie Kalins
Cast: Kevin Clash, Fran Brill, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Dave Goelz, Joseph Mazzarino, Jerry Nelson, Martin P. Robinson, David Rudman, Caroll Spinney, Steve Whitmire, Frank Oz, Mandy Patinkin, Vanessa Williams, Sonia Manzano, Roscoe Orman, Carmen Osbahr, Alison Bartlett-O'Reilly, Ruth Buzzi, Emilio Delgado, Loretta Long and Bob McGarth