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Susan Granger's review of "ELMO IN GROUCHLAND" (Columbia Pictures)
Anyone who's ever had toddlers knows there are certain taboos - like separating a kid from his security blanket. In this latest of the "Sesame Street" movie spin-offs, stemming from the genius of the late Jim Henson, lovable Elmo, the shy, little, red-tufted yarn puppet with an orange nose and eggshell eyes, loses his beloved blue blanket, named Blanket. The story starts as Elmo gets very, very upset when his best friend Zoe wants to hold Blanket. In fact, a tug-of-war breaks out and neither of them sees Telly coming at them on his new roller blades. An accident occurs and Blanket winds up in Oscar's mysterious trash can - which, in turn, leads him Grouchland, a stinky, yucky place where everyone's irritable and smiling is forbidden. And there's a cranky villain in Grouchland.. That's greedy Huxley, played by Mandy Patinkin. He's a selfish bully who stamps everything "Mine" and sucks up Blanket with his Hoxocopter and won't give it back. Moppets will not only love watching but they're invited to yell, sing and clap along, and that's about as interactive as cinema can be these days. And the best part - insofar as parents are concerned - is that whenever the going gets tough - like Blanket might rip - Bert and Ernie interrupt the story to reassure viewers that they shouldn't worry and things will turn out all right. With the Muppeteers, there's light-hearted humor and good-natured fun which makes for lots of laughs - and Vanessa Williams makes a great Queen of Trash. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Elmo in Grouchland" is a warm, fuzzy 8, teaching pre-schoolers a gentle lesson about sharing.
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