The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Gary Halvorson
Produced by	Alex Rockwell Marjorie Kalins
Screenplay by	Mitchell Kriegman Joey Mazzarino
Story by	Mitchell Kriegman
Starring	Kevin Clash Mandy Patinkin Vanessa Williams
Music by	John Debney
Cinematography	Alan Caso
Edited by	Alan Baumgarten
Production company	Jim Henson Pictures Children's Television Workshop
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	October 1, 1999 (1999-10-01)
Running time	77 minutes
Country	United States Germany
Language	English
Budget	$26 million
Box office	$11.7 million

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland is a 1999 American-German musical fantasy-comedy film directed by Gary Halvorson. It is the second theatrical feature-length film based on the popular U.S. children's series Sesame Street, the first being Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird in 1985. Produced by Jim Henson Pictures in association with the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) and released by Columbia Pictures on October 1, 1999, the film co-stars Mandy Patinkin and Vanessa Williams. The film was shot in Wilmington, North Carolina, at EUE/Screen Gems in 1998. This is one of the few Sesame Street productions directly produced by The Jim Henson Company, and also, alongside Muppets From Space, the final Muppet-themed feature film for Frank Oz, who retired from being a full-time puppeteer the following year.

Elmo is playing with his blanket in his house. After he bumps his blanket on a juice cup, he dries off his blanket at the laundromat. On the way home, Elmo sees Zoe feeling depressed 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 rips Elmo's blanket. Elmo is upset and declares that Zoe is no longer his friend. Suddenly, Telly Monster inadvertently takes away the blanket while rollerskating out of control. They go around Finders Keepers and knock over a tray glasses Ruthie is carrying. Telly hits Cookie Monster at the revolving door of Furry Arms hotel. 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 snagged on a door. While attempting to retrieve it, they are both teleported to Grouchland USA, a world filled with Grouches where a manipulative and 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. A kind grouch girl named Grizzy tells Elmo that his blanket is in Huxley's castle at the top of the faraway Mount Pickanose, and Elmo begins a journey to get his blanket back.