The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (originally titled, and sometimes referred to, as Elmo in Grouchland) is the second theatrical feature-length film (the first being Follow That Bird) starring the cast of the popular U.S. children's series Sesame Street.
Plot
Elmo is playing with his blanket in his house. After he bumps his blanket on a juice cup and after drying off his blanket at the laundromat, Elmo sees Zoe feeling sad because her father cannot take her to the zoo, so he decides to make Zoe happy again by imitating certain zoo animals (a lion, a monkey, and a pig). When Zoe sees his blanket, Elmo refuses to share, resulting in a tug-of-war that has Elmo's blanket ripped (a little). Elmo is furious. Suddenly, Telly Monster inadvertently takes away the blanket while rollerskating out of control. They go around Finders Keepers and knock over a tray of drinks Ruthie is carrying. The blanket accidentally lands in the hands of Oscar the Grouch, who drops it in his trash can after sneezing on it. Elmo drops into the bottom of Oscar's trash can, where he finds the blanket nailed to a door. But they are both teleported to Grouchland USA, a world filled with Grouches where a greedy man named Huxley (Mandy Patinkin) steals anything he can grab including Elmo's blanket. Elmo is determined to find his blanket and begins a journey through Grouchland. He asks a kind girl named Grizzy to help in his quest, but she later abandons him when Elmo discovers that Huxley's house is on the top of the faraway Mount Pickanose.
Meanwhile, the Sesame Street residents are informed of Elmo's absence and go to Grouchland to find him, with help from Oscar. When Big Bird and Zoe finds a Grouch Police Officer and Big Bird asks him for help, the entire group ends up arrested as the Grouch Police Officer informs them that it is against Grouchland's laws to ask a police officer for help and that they have the right to scream their heads off.
Meanwhile, Huxley's sidekick Bug and the Pesties trap Elmo in a tunnel using a trap door. However, he gets out with the help of fireflies. Then, he meets the Queen of Trash (Vanessa L. Williams). He leaves her dump by giving the queen 100 raspberries in 30 seconds. Elmo succeeds and continues walking to Huxley's house. He is then chased by a humongous chicken named "Tiny", but gets away. When night comes, he stops at a rock to rest, discouraged.
When Grizzy learns of the Sesame Street friends being arrested, she tells them of Elmo's location in Huxley's house. Oscar the Grouch is convinced to help set things right as well as admitting that Elmo is his friend. He convinces the Grouch Police Officer and all the Grouches of Grouchland that even though Grouches hate cooperation, just for once they have to take a stand against Huxley from stealing any more of their stuff. Taking light to this problem, the Grouch Police Officer releases the Sesame Street residents and aids them to go to Huxley's house to fight for their trash.
A caterpillar wakes up Elmo the next morning on the rock. He gives Elmo advice to look inside his body and he'll see that he'll be brave. He then makes it to Huxley's before he could make Elmo's blanket his blanket. However, Huxley prevents Elmo from escaping by grabbing him with a claw and deciding to label them "MINE". Just as Elmo is about to face the fate of never seeing his friends again, the Sesame Street and the Grouchland citizens appear. Bug takes Elmo's blanket from Huxley and turns against him as Elmo catapults a basket over his shoulders. Bug then gives Elmo his blanket back. Huxley is arrested for his crimes and when he tries to change his mind about his selfishness. Elmo is hailed a hero by the Sesame Street and Grouchland citizens. Elmo, happy to get his blanket back, goes with his friends back to his own world and apologizes to Zoe for his selfishness before letting her hold the blanket. Elmo says goodbye to the audience when Ernie and Bert told the kids to give themselves a round of applause until they went back home before the credits begin.
Cast
- Mandy Patinkin as Huxley
- Vanessa L. Williams as the Queen of Trash
Humans of Sesame Street
- Alison Bartlett-O'Reilly as Gina
- Ruth Buzzi as Ruthie
- Emilio Delgado as Luis
- Loretta Long as Susan
- Sonia Manzano as Maria
- Bob McGrath as Bob
- Roscoe Orman as Gordon
Muppet performers
- Kevin Clash as Elmo, Pestie, Grouch Jailer, Grouch Taxicab Driver
- Fran Brill as Zoe, Pestie, Prairie Dawn
- Stephanie D'Abruzzo as Grizzy, Pestie
- Dave Goelz as Humongous Chicken
- Joey Mazzarino as Bug
- Jerry Nelson as Count von Count, Pestie, Grouch Mayor, Grouch Police Officer, Voice of Mr. Johnson
- Carmen Osbahr as Rosita
- Frank Oz as Bert, Grover, Cookie Monster
- Martin P. Robinson as Pestie, Telly Monster
- David Rudman as Baby Bear, Caterpillar, Pestie, Collander Stenchman, Grouch Ice Cream Customer, Performer of Mr. Johnson, Various Grouches
- Caroll Spinney as Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch
- Matt Vogel as Big Bird (puppetry in some scenes)
- Steve Whitmire as Ernie, Stuckweed, Football Stenchman, Bad Humor Man, Parrot, Sharon Groan
Background Muppets (non-speaking)
- Alarm Clock Bird, Laundromat Manager, Dog, Donkey, Woodchuck, Wolves, Gnu, Sock Quartet, Anything Muppets, Dinger, Homer Honker