The Who’s down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, the Grinch however did not. He was green, scary, and sounded like Jim Carrey. The Sueussian rhyme sounded good some of the time, but it can’t beat the original with Boris Karloff. Erm, what rhymes with Boris Karloff?
The basis kernel of the story is thus: The Grinch (Jim Carrey), who lives atop Mount Crumpit with his dog Max, hates Christmas, but the Who’s down in Whoville love it. Their vocal celebrations drive the nasty, green grouch nuts and this year he’s had enough. He decides to disguise himself as Santa Claus and on Christmas Eve stealthily stalk into town and burgle all of the Who’s ornamentation, gifts, and Christmas treats and effectively stop Christmas from coming.
Dr. Seuss’ great poem made a tight, breezy animated film but a movie needs padding. So we add the precocious Cindy Lou Who (Taylor Momsen), daughter of Lou (Bill Irwin) and Betty Lou (Molly Shannon), who wants to discover the true meaning of Christmas so she wants to invite the person who hates it most, the Grinch, to the Who’s elaborate Christmas celebration.
We also add some back-story with a young Grinch (the late Josh Ryan Evans) coming to Whoville, going to school, having a crush, but being picked on and going into a self imposed exile on Mt. Crumpit. The Grinch’s youthful love interest has grown into socialite Who Martha May Whovier (Christine Baranski) and his rival Augustus Maywho (Jeffrey Tambor) has grown into the mayor of Whoville.
All lovingly narrated by Anthony Hopkins, perhaps as a gentle nod to Karloff since Hopkins is best known as the horror icon Hannibal Lecter (I would’ve gotten Christopher Lee, but nobody asked me).
Dr. Seuss’ tale is one that is more enjoyed at Christmas but is still a delight year round. It just feels better to recite it around the yuletide season. In turn, many people just don’t think it’s Christmas unless you view Chuck Jones’ 1966 classic animated version of the tale.
It’s lovingly narrated by horror icon Boris Karloff. The animated version fits in a 30 minute timeslot and you can read the story in around ten minutes. Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, died in 1991 but his widow Audrey approved when a film adaptation was proposed of How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 2000. It would be the first live action film length adaptation of the beloved yuletide tale.
Perhaps even of a Seuss title since he wrote the screenplay for the 5000 Fingers of Dr. T but it didn’t spring from one of his own books. His disappointment with that film would keep his adaptations in the realm of short animated pieces (similar disappointment with the Cat in the Hat live action film would keep his widow from approving more live action films with only the animated Horton Hears a Who happening of late).
If I were making the short story into the film I might’ve not gone the route that the film does. Though my ideas probably wouldn’t have been favorable either (I would’ve stretched it by having more capers during the Christmas Eve theft, but again nobody asked me).
The filmmakers instead try and make the Grinch an exiled member of Whovian society as well as having Cindy Lou have a more prominent role in his redemption. Some Who side characters also have moments that lengthen the film. Jim Carrey also adds some antics to the role that pad things out.
The stretching feels like stretching though and out of place on occasion, especially if you have fond memories of the story or animated version. The 1966 version is preferable, but there are some bits in the redo that are family friendly fun depending on your toleration of Carrey’s over-the-top delivery.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (1.85:1). Special features include a commentary from director Ron Howard. The remainder of the special features is presented in standard definition.
Next is the 7 minute “Makeup Application and Design,” the 5 minute “Set Decoration,” the 11 minute “Visual Effects” featurettes, the 6 minute “Who School” shows how the actors were trained to be a Who, the 7 minute “Spotlight on Location,” 9 minutes of deleted scenes, 3 minutes of outtakes, the 4 minute “Where are you Christmas?” music video by Faith Hill, and the 1 minute theatrical trailer. The disc is also BD-Live enhanced. There’s also a DVD copy of the film.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas has some moments, but the more satisfying ones are in the 1966 version. Perhaps even those moments that satisfy are culled from that animated version. However, you can still gather the family around the warm yuletide glow of the television if you want to have some holiday entertainment at feature length.
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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