It's a bright morning on Sesame Street, and that fuzzy little red monster we know as Elmo is having fun playing with his beloved blanket. And then Zoe comes along and wants to play with his blanket, but Elmo doesn't want to share, so they fight and both end up with nothing, as the blanket escapes them and falls into Oscar's trash can. Elmo follows it, only to get sucked into a magical doorway to Grouchland, Oscar's native world. Here's a place where people are all for dirtiness and stinkiness, throw trash everywhere, act like jerks and wash themselves with cheese. But even these careless grouches have someone to hate, the evil Huxley, who steals all that makes Grouchland disgusting to make it his, the blanket included. Elmo will have to go through various adventures and learn the values of kindness and sharing to defeat the villain...

Okay, don't get me wrong, I love Sesame Street as much as the next guy. But stretched to feature length, it's kind of a letdown. I did enjoy pretty much "How Elmo Saved Christmas", a made-for-TV feature that airs often on PBS during the holidays, maybe because my expectations are lower when it's "just TV". But when I cough up some of my hard-earned money to see a movie on the big screen, I expect more than just cute and colorful. I'm not asking for the Children Television Workshop to go "Fight Club" (though that'd be interesting), but this movie gets pretty dull and moronic by moments. Maybe it's because Elmo is the most childish of all the Muppets. Like, Kermit and Gonzo have an edge, but Elmo is just Mr. Nice Guy.

His debut on the big screen has its moments, as director Gary Halvorson tries his hand at audience interaction (Elmo asks us to help him and stuff), witty nudges (a movie theater in Grouchland is playing "Basically It Stinks" starring Sharon Groan) and most amusingly, self-reflection, as the film freeze-frames from time to time to let Bert and Ernie come in to comment on the plot and goof around, kinda like those robots in "Mystery Science Theater 3000". I also liked some of the songs (the first number is particularly catchy), and I guess kids will like the slapstick, the colorful sets and all. I did enjoy most of the Muppets' antics, but I can't say the same about the human actors. Mandy Patinkin is more obnoxious than fun as the mean-spirited Huxley, and Vanessa L. Williams oughta be embarrassed of her lousy turn as the Queen of Trash. Basically, this is a movie that grade schoolers will dig and that their accompanying parents won't be bored too much by, but it ain't no "Babe" or "The Iron Giant". Don't bother if you have hair in funny places.