Screen It! is not attempting to rate the movie as good or bad but to give parents the tools to decide whether it's appropriate for their kids.
This movie has been screened for objectional content in 15 areas. Click for a detailed look.
OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
The following is a brief summary of the content found in this G-rated film that's aimed squarely at kids. A few scenes could possibly be a bit unsettling or suspenseful to the youngest of them (and are accompanied by a moderate amount of action or comic oriented "tense" music), but such scenes are far less "frightening" or suspenseful than comparable ones found in Disney's animated features and don't last very long. Older kids probably won't find any of it even remotely suspenseful, however. Beyond that, some brief scatological humor (bodily sounds played for laughs that kids may mimic), some similarly brief slapstick style violence (never with malicious intent, however) and a villain with a bad (cartoon style) attitude, the rest of the film's categories have little if anything that most parents would find objectionable.
- QUICK TAKE:
- Children's: Elmo tries to retrieve his favorite blanket from a greedy man who stole it after the little red Muppet inadvertently falls into Oscar the Grouch's hometown, Grouchland.
- WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
- If they're fans of Sesame Street or the Muppets, they probably will, but older kids will probably want to avoid this film like the plague.
- WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: G
- For not containing material that would warrant a higher rating.
- CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
- ELMO is a friendly little three-year-old monster who's a bit protective about his blanket, but proves his worth by facing many challenges to retrieve it from Huxley.
- MANDY PATINKIN plays the greedy Huxley who has a penchant for stealing things and then claiming them for his own.
- VANESSA WILLIAMS plays the Queen of Trash who gives Elmo a challenge he must meet to get her help.
- ZOE is another young Muppet and friend of Elmo's.
- GRIZZY is a young inhabitant of Grouchland who breaks tradition and helps Elmo in his quest to retrieve his blanket.
- BUG is Huxley's right-hand assistant who eventually goes against his greedy boss.
- ELMO is a friendly little three-year-old monster who's a bit protective about his blanket, but proves his worth by facing many challenges to retrieve it from Huxley.
DETAILED CONTENT LISTING:
Click on a category for specific details or scroll through the page for a broader overview.
MODERATE
Music (Scary/Tense) | Disrespectful/Bad Attitude
MILD/MINOR/NONE
Frightening/Tense Scenes Topics To Talk About Imitative Behavior | Violence | Blood/Gore | Sex/Nudity | Tense Family Scenes | Smoking | Profanity | Alcohol/Drugs | Jump Scenes | Music (Inappropriate) Guns/Weapons
- ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: NONE
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- None.
- BLOOD/GORE: MINOR
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- Some brief scatological humor is present in the form of a few farting or belching sounds from various characters in several scenes.
- DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: MODERATE
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- Elmo is somewhat stingy with his blanket and doesn't want Zoe to hold it. After she inadvertently causes him to lose the blanket, he tells her that they're no longer friends (he later apologizes for that).
- All of the citizens of Grouchland are grouches (but in a lighthearted fashion -- just like Oscar the grouch on "Sesame Street").
- Huxley has both for being greedy and stealing things that aren't his, including Elmo's blanket. His minions, including Bug, also have both for helping Huxley, although Bug eventually changes sides and goes against his old boss.
- FRIGHTENING SCENES: MILD
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- It's possible, but not very likely that some of the film's adventurous scenes, such as Elmo chasing after his blanket or being sucked down a multicolored tunnel (not intentionally played for suspense) could be slightly suspenseful or unsettling to the youngest of kids if they don't understand what's going on. Older kids, however, probably won't find any of it even remotely suspenseful.
- When Huxley's flying machine first arrives and the residents of Grouchland run away, the youngest of kids might be a bit unnerved by this.
- Elmo takes a fun ride on an old mining car through a tunnel that could possibly be a little unsettling for the youngest of kids.
- A trash creature briefly startles Elmo (and thus might do the same to kids).
- We hear the thumping of giant footsteps on the ground (and see it shake) after Huxley releases a creature to take care of Elmo (that causes other characters to run away in fright). It turns out to be a huge chicken that then tries to peck at Elmo on the ground (but in a standard, chicken-like way). After Elmo convinces the chicken that he's not a worm (the reason for the pecking), the fowl sends Elmo flying through the air where he lands in a tree and briefly hangs from a branch high above the ground.
- Finally in Huxley's castle, Elmo finds a giant, mechanical claw lifting him up in a basket with the presumed intention of running him under a huge stamp that we see going up and down. He never comes close, however, to being moved near that.
- GUNS/WEAPONS: NONE
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- None.
- IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: MILD
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- Some Grouchland residents throw pieces of paper at Elmo.
- Since the few instances of belching and farting sounds are played for laughs, some kids may be inclined to make the same noises.
- The same holds true for a scene where Elmo asks the audience to help him blow one hundred raspberries in less than thirty seconds to meet a requirement by the Queen of Trash.
- JUMP SCENES: NONE
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- None.
- MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): MODERATE
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- A moderate amount of adventure or comic-based "tense" music plays during several scenes.
- MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): NONE
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- None.
- PROFANITY: NONE
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- None.
- SEX/NUDITY: MINOR
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- The Queen of Trash wears a somewhat low cut outfit that shows a bit of cleavage.
- SMOKING: NONE
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- None.
- TENSE FAMILY SCENES: NONE
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- None.
- TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: MILD
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- That Elmo learns that it's important to share and to persevere at what he wants (a caterpillar tells him that he's got what it takes inside to achieve his goals).
- Why Huxley is so greedy.
- VIOLENCE: MINOR
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- Elmo and Zoe get into a tugging match over his blanket, resulting in a small tear in it.
- There's some slapstick style material including a character accidentally running into a waiter causing the glasses on his tray to fall to the ground and break, a character running into a lamppost, several characters crash into each other and end up in a pile on the sidewalk, Telly accidentally knocks down the Cookie Monster, Huxley spins his telescope around and knocks aside one of his minions, and a small bulldozer's scoop accidentally hits one of Huxley's minions on the head.
- Some Grouchland residents throw pieces of paper at Elmo.
- Huxley's flying machine sucks up Grizzy against one of its sucking tubes and then drops her to the ground.