The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland

Context & Trivia

This 1999 film is the second theatrical feature film based on the popular U.S. children's series Sesame Street, following "Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird" in 1985. It was produced by Columbia Pictures, Jim Henson Pictures, and Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop). The film was a box-office disappointment, grossing $11.7 million against a budget of $26 million, but performed better in home video releases. "The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland" was one of the few Sesame Street productions directly produced by The Jim Henson Company. This was the final Muppet feature film to involve Fran Brill and Frank Oz, who retired from being full-time puppeteers in the following years, and the last Muppet film to feature Caroll Spinney before his retirement in 2018 and his death in 2019. The Sesame Street set was recreated on the EUE/Screen Gems sound stage in Wilmington, North Carolina, rather than using the original, and was built fully raised so that the puppeteers could stand while performing. Mandy Patinkin was a last-minute replacement for the original actor who was to play Huxley. The regular puppets were used for the normal Sesame Street characters, and puppets for assorted Grouches (including Grizzy) were designed and built by Mark Zeszotek. Paul Andrejco, Muppet designer for "Bear in the Big Blue House", also designed Humongous Chicken.