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Parents' Guide to

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 3+

Sesame Street fans will love this sweet movie.

Movie G 1999 73 minutes
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 5+

Based on 33 parent reviews

Echmom
Echmom Parent of 1 and 3-year-old
June 19, 2020
age 5+

All they do is scream

My almost four year old couldn’t handle it. Grouchland is mean and the bad guy is a thief. My son wondered why he wanted to take people’s things. What we love about Sesame Street is the educational value. This is absent in this movie.
KatieC 6
KatieC 6 Parent
November 9, 2015
age 6+

Don't bother, not a good first movie - at all

This movie was all wrong. The plot is way too thick for a 3 year old. They can't follow the chatter or the story. There is a really weird, bad guy. Someone ends up in jail. It didn't make sense to my child and was hard to explain. Maybe for someone 5 or 6, but I definitely do not recommend as a first movie. Not for the average 3 year old.
See all 33 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In this Sesame Street adventure, Elmo's favorite friend, his beloved blanket, is tossed into Oscar's trash can. Elmo (Kevin Clash) goes in after it, only to find himself transported to Grouchland, where grouches cut off the flowers and keep the stems and you get put in jail if you ask for help. The Sesame Street characters all go to Grouchland to try to find Elmo, but by then Elmo is on his way to get his blanket back from mean Mr. Huxley (Mandy Patinkin), who takes everything he sees and has a big machine to stamp "MINE" on everything he takes.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (33 ):
Kids say (28 ):

Sesame Street fans will love THE ADVENTURES OF ELMO IN GROUCHLAND, which has all of the wonderful Sesame Street trademarks. There are subtle puns for parents, delightful silliness for kids, and gentle lessons about cooperation, loyalty, sharing, and believing in yourself for everyone, all told with their characteristic warmth, good humor, and kindness. Even Oscar the Grouch (Carroll Spinney) admits that Elmo is his friend. And during the few moments of mild tension, Ernie and Bert appear to reassure kids that everything is all right.

Patinkin and Vanessa Williams (as the Trash Queen) provide some star power, but the real stars are the Muppets and the audience -- who are invited to participate in the movie at crucial moments.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about their own "special" toys and other transition objects. Why is it sometimes hard to share?

  • What do the characters learn during the movie? What makes a Grouch a Grouch? (It can be a lot of fun to spend a couple of hours pretending the whole family is in Grouchland!)

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