Jerry Nelson Movies

Sesame Street: A Magical Halloween Adventure involves the furry red muppet Elmo and his friends learning about various aspects of Halloween after he ends up on an unusual hayride after a mishap on the part of Mumford the Magician. Sabrina the Teenage Witch co-star Caroline Rhea appears as the magical Gilda. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Telly, Elmo, Oscar, and the rest of the Sesame Street crew learn about rhythm and how to make music from everyday objects from the cast of the Broadway show Stomp. When Telly misplaces his beloved tuba, he thinks he'll never play music again. But performers Alan Muraoka, Luke Cresswell, and the rest of the cast teach Telly the many possible ways to make music. Amazing percussion performances in this video will entertain children of all ages. ~ Heather M. Fierst, All Movie Guide

At long last, the secret of just what the Great Gonzo happens to be is revealed! As Gonzo and his friend Rizzo hit the road in search of their roots, Gonzo makes a shocking discovery: his parents are actually space aliens from another galaxy. After announcing this startling news on Miss Piggy's talk show (hey, if Ricki Lake and Rosie O'Donnell can do it, why not Miss Piggy?), Gonzo finds himself the subject of a dark and mysterious government conspiracy, led by the nefarious K. Edgar Singer (Jeffrey Tambor). In time, Gonzo is forced to choose: should he hop on board the UFO and sail off to live with his family, or stay on Earth with the friends he knows and loves? Muppets From Space once again pairs the late Jim Henson's creations with a stellar cast of human beings, including F. Murray Abraham, David Arquette, Ray Liotta, and Andie MacDowell. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Join Elmo, Ernie, Big Bird, Kermit and the rest of the muppets for the silliest game show on Sesame Street, The Sing-Along Guessing Game. Contestants Mary, her little lamb, and a man trying to find the bus to Cincinnati can't seem to win any points even though the answers to the questions are in the songs they sing. Songs include "I Love My Elbows," "Eight Balls of Fur," and "Alligator King." Fun entertainment for ages two to five. ~ Heather M. Fierst, All Movie Guide

Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of a young orphan who becomes involved with pirate Long John Silver is given the Muppet treatment in this vibrant children's musical. As in The Muppet Christmas Carol, the film stays loyal to the original storyline but casts the well-known puppets in many of the supporting roles. Young Jim Hawkins remains human, as does Long John Silver, played by an amusingly exaggerated Tim Curry. However, Captain Smollet is played by the evergreen Kermit the Frog; Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and Rizzo the Rat serve as roving narrators; and numerous other Muppets assume smaller roles. The familiar adventure plot is enlivened by the Muppets' good-natured, winking sense of humor, and a number of anarchic musical numbers are reminiscent of the original Muppet Show. Long-time followers of the Muppets may find the film less fresh than Jim Henson's original creations, but the combination of old-fashioned storytelling, intriguing design, and clever humor will undoubtedly amuse younger audiences. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

The serialized story structure and barbed social commentary from comic book creator and co-writer Frank Miller earned critical respect in this satirical science fiction sequel directed by Irvin Kershner. Peter Weller returns as RoboCop, a futuristic cyborg fashioned from cutting-edge technology and the biological remains of slain Detroit police officer, Alex Murphy. Still patrolling the city streets, RoboCop is scheduled by his creator, Omni Consumer Products, to be replaced by a new "superior" model, RoboCop 2, that according to designer Juliette Faxx (Belinda Bauer), will contain the human remains not of a cop but a criminal. In the meantime, an instantly addictive drug called Nuke is sweeping through Detroit thanks to a kingpin named Cain (Tom Noonan). Taking Cain to task, RoboCop is captured and dismantled. When he's put back together, the cyborg is reprogrammed with a series of socially conscious commands (in a sly mocking of the then relatively new concept of "political correctness") that render him impotent as a law enforcer. Taking charge by rewiring himself with an electrical overload, RoboCop arrests Cain, who is injured in the process. Faxx secretly takes Cain's brain and inserts it into RoboCop 2, turning the robot immediately into a law-breaking murder machine and leading to a violent showdown between two generations of robotic crime-fighters. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

In this holiday special for the whole family, Fozzie Bear's mother has invited him and all of his friends out to her house in the country to celebrate Christmas. Kermit the Frog, Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Honeydew, Grover, and all the other Muppets gather to sing songs and share the warmth of the holiday, but soon the big question becomes "when will Miss Piggy make her entrance?" Muppet Family Christmas also features a brief onscreen cameo from Muppets creator Jim Henson. Approximately five minutes were cut for the VHS and DVD releases, mostly due to rights issues over the music. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Miniscule Fraggle leader Travelling Matt issues his final 13 reports on the wonders of Outer Space (aka the "real" world) during the fifth and last season of the live-action puppet series Fraggle Rock. As always, things are moving apace in Fraggle Rock, the tiny community hidden under the huge stone lying in the backyard of the house owned by human inventor, Doc. In the season opener, a Magic Mirror reveals quite a few surprises to Red Fraggle on the occasion of her 28th birthday. In later episodes, Matt's nephew, Gobo, attempts to solve the "Riddle of Rhyming Rock"; Doc's dog, Sprocket, pays another chaotic visit to the Fraggles; Boober Fraggle comes to the rescue when the "Silly Creatures" pollute Fraggle Rock's water supply; the annual arrival of the pink Knobblie vines precipitates a most unusual adventure; and gruesome Junior Gorg prepares to become king, whether anyone likes it or not. In the series' last episode, Doc finally tumbles to the existence of Fraggle Rock -- placing the fate of everyone in that world in the balance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first film to be adapted from the popular children's television series Sesame Street, Follow That Bird follows the story of Big Bird after a social worker (Sally Kellerman) takes him away from Sesame Street to live with a family of birds in Illinois. Unhappy in his new surroundings, Big Bird attempts to hitchhike back home to Sesame Street. Over the course of his journey he meets a number of odd and charming characters, in the form of cameos by Chevy Chase, Sandra Bernhard, Waylon Jennings, Dave Thomas and John Candy. The music for this engaging family film was written by Van Dyke Parks and Lennie Niehaus. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Jim Henson's Muppets find themselves in Manhattan yearning to get a musical on Broadway in this charming film that also chides show business and its foibles. Kermit the Frog has just put together a successful variety show at Danhurst college (probably somewhere between Amherst and Dartmouth), and although he would like to mount it on Broadway so he would have a hit and be able to marry Miss Piggy, he cannot find backers. The Muppets are then forced to take jobs to support themselves, and it is while working as a waiter that Kermit meets the friendly Jennie (Juliana Donald). Jennie is the daughter of the owner of the restaurant and a source of great jealousy for Miss Piggy, who does not like competition. With stunning musical numbers involving a hundred or so Muppets and on-scene locations in New York City, the film is impressive in its merging of technical achievements and acting. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Although kindly old inventor Doc is unaware that a tiny civilization lives beneath the rock behind his house, Doc's dog, Sprocket, is all too cognizant of this phenomenon. Thus is established the premise of the live-action puppet show Fraggle Rock, which launched its first season's worth of 24 half-hour episodes in January of 1983. The stories deal with the colorful, carefree Fraggles, the hardworking and industrious Doozers, and the gross, dictatorial Gorgs. The first episode, adroitly titled "Beginnings," finds head Fraggle Travelling Matt venturing out of Fraggle Rock and into "Outer Space" (aka the real world), sending postcards of the various wonders he's witnessed to his nephew, Gobo. In later episodes, Wembley Fraggle's willingness to be agreeable to everyone he meets plays right into the hands of the Gorgs; the Doozers are frustrated by the Fraggles' insistence upon eating their construction jobs; Gobo and Red Fraggle go on a treasure hunt; Boober Fraggle gets his feelings hurt once too often; the Fraggles' precious radish supply runs out; and Mokey's efforts to one-up the Gorgs culminate in her funeral -- even though she's very much alive! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Great Muppet Caper is the second Muppet film and it is considerably more complex than its predecessor, The Muppet Movie, which was essentially just a road movie. As the film begins, Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear are reporters who have failed to bag a story of a London jewel heist, which happened under their watch. The real criminals managed to escape and frame Miss Piggy as the thief. Kermit, Fozzie and the Great Gonzo set out on a mission to solve the mystery and track down the criminals who stole the Baseball Diamond. There are fewer star cameos and songs in The Great Muppet Caper than in The Muppet Movie, although appearances from John Cleese and Charles Grodin are particularly memorable. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide