Reviewing - The Grinch
There are many ways to describe the Grinch. Some would call him a bad banana with a greasy black peel. Others call him a crooked dirty jockey. He's even been called a three decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich - with arsenic sauce. But whatever you call him, you can't ignore him. He's become a staple of the Christmas tradition ever since Dr. Seuss dreamed him up way back in 1957. And with fame like that, reboots are bound to follow. The question is - which Grinch is YOUR Grinch?
1966 - How The Grinch Stole Christmas! (****)
In which a guy plucks all the leaves off someone's plant during a home invasion but returns the leaves so it's okay
The original adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s Christmas classic still makes me smile.
There’s a lot that these guys did right when making this holiday treat. First, they got Boris Karloff (the original Frankenstein) to play both the Grinch and the Narrator - and he did both of them fantastically. My favorite line of the Narrator’s is in the opening seconds. It’s not the line itself, but how he says it: “Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot BUT THE GRINCH”. He just leans into those last three words with a hysterical air of importance and I love it. Secondly, they got Thurl Ravenscroft to sing the now-immortal “You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch”. You may not know his name, but you’ve heard his voice. He was Frosted Flakes’ Tony the Tiger for decades, and he provided voice work for Disney’s rides “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “The Haunted Mansion”, and others. Thirdly, Dr. Seuss himself contributed to the production, writing lyrics for the songs. It’s that point alone that makes this film the truest adaptation of the doctor’s original book.
If 2018’s Grinch is about social anxiety during the holidays, and if 2000’s Grinch is about Christmas’s over-commercialization, the original animated short film seems to be about the Grinch’s aversion to noise. The Grinch doesn’t care how much people are spending or whether their toys are going in a landfill, nor does he seem concerned with the idea of being around people. For him, it’s all the sounds and disruption that Christmas brings. Every toy that the Grinch describes is a noise-making machine. Everything that the Whos do makes noise - with the exception, I suppose, of carving the roast beast. I’m not sure what to do with this information, but there it is.
I loved the animation throughout this short. The Grinch’s expressions are hilariously vile. Max is adorable, and Cindy Lou-Who is even cuter. As has now become a staple of a Grinch film, I love the creative ways in which he steals the gifts. It’s clever, exciting, and fun every time. And on top of all of that, the “Welcome Christmas” song is pure magic. This whole film is old-fashioned fun that hasn’t aged a day.
2000 - How The Grinch Stole Christmas (****)
In which a woman decides she'd rather marry a green yak than a tubby jerk
Of all the Grinches in the Christmas season, Jim Carrey’s is unquestionably the Grinch-iest.
This is my favourite Grinch adaptation and one of my favourite Christmas movies of all time. This is one of those movies that is so packed with terrific moments, it’s hard to pick out a few highlights. The design of Whoville is fantastic, whimsically capturing the spirit of Seuss’ imaginative worlds. Everything is wibbly-wobbly and wonderful, from the set design to the costumes to the prosthetic noses that each actor wears. It’s such an otherworldly place, but it’s so fun and colourful that you immediately feel right at home.
In the original Grinch television special, the Grinch couldn’t stand the noise. In the 2018 film, the Grinch was suffering from social anxiety. In this film, it’s the over-commercialization and avarice of Christmas that the Grinch can’t stand. The Whos are so overwhelmed with celebrating the season that they’ve forgotten what the season is actually about. The Grinch lives in a garbage dump where all the refuse of the holidays ends up, which makes sense given that he feels that he too is Whoville’s ‘garbage’. His big monologue during The Who-bilation has to do with how materialistic the season has become. He’s not just stealing presents to make everyone sad - he’s stealing presents to send a message. That’s pretty cool.
Jim Carrey nails it as the wacky curmudgeonous Christmas-hater in a way that no one else could. He’s over-the-top, hysterically physical in his portrayal, and he makes both adults and kids laugh with his range of jokes. Bits like the part where Max bites his butt and he yells “You have NO IDEA where it’s been!” are sure to make kids weep with laughter (as I did every single time as a child), and quick quips like “It’s because I’m GREEN, isn’t it?!” sail over the heads of the younger ones to land effortlessly for the adults. There are a few parts where he pushes the boundary a bit too far - the Grinch falling face first into Martha’s chest was a bit much for a kid’s film (and what about that key party joke???) - but on the whole he is absolutely hilarious with every syllable that escapes his lips. I laugh every time.
Cindy Lou Who is adorable, and her “Where Are You Christmas” song has found a place every year on my town’s holiday radio station. Her growing relationship with the Grinch is at the heart of the film, and it’s admirable seeing how she never gives up on him.
What I especially love about this film is probably a bit silly, but it’s honestly one of my favourite parts in the movie. When the Grinch has his revelation and realizes he’s completely misunderstood the point of Christmas, something happens that I find very significant. He starts bawling, hugs his dog Max, and then yells “BEAT IT! One step at a time!” It’s done to make us laugh - I get that. But I think it says something important about how change can happen in a human being. There are times when we experience radical change that completely turns us upside down. We’re never the same after a specific event. There are other times, however, where we learn a valuable lesson...and it needs time to stick. We’ve had this paradigm shift, but it hasn’t yet spilled into every facet of our character. The Grinch wasn’t yet totally cool with the level of love he was getting, and I think that’s very realistic. It was just for a joke, but I thought there was some poignance to it.
It’ll take something pretty incredible for me to crown someone else as my favourite Grinch. If you don’t like this film, thats fine - but is your sub-zero Chillabrator running?
It is?
WELL THEN YOU BETTER GO CATCH IT
(2018) The Grinch (***1/2)
In which an overweight reindeer contributes considerably to the running time
It’s hard to tackle a classic like Dr. Seuss’ “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” without being met with fierce skepticism or resistance. People will have a nostalgic attachment to the original (or THEIR original – Jim Carrey’s version will always be my favourite), and any creative changes might receive a lot of backlash. That said, I think Illumination’s adaptation has a lot going for it. Firstly, this is a beautifully designed film. The colours are bright and vibrant, and the animation is stunning. The snow crunches and crumbles just like real snow does, and the hair on each Who’s face is brilliantly detailed. It’s a whimsical and wonderful world that’s been created, and it’s one that I hope Dr. Seuss would have been proud of.
As pretty as the movie was, I couldn’t help getting a bit bored at certain points throughout the film. This is based on a very short children’s book, and the padding and stuffing needed to make this film full-length is all too evident. Fred the reindeer doesn’t bring enough to the table to merit his inclusion in the plot, and although Cindy Lou-Who’s quest to ‘capture Santa’ is fun at times, the long road to this journey’s culmination seems overly detailed. For a movie only 86 minutes long, it sure feels a lot longer.
The film’s final minutes are what firmly earn this movie’s position as a worthy Grinch adaptation. That scene where the Grinch attends a Who dinner for the first time is beautiful. It really drove home the central difference for me between the 2018 Grinch and the 2000 Grinch. Whereas I feel the 2000 Grinch is about the dangers of commercialism (and I’ll get more into that when I review the film later on this season), the 2018 Grinch is about social anxiety, which has been a very real and growing issue in today’s society. The Grinch doesn’t know how to function in a loving community – he’s isolated himself to the point where his self-isolation is a bigger barrier to his happiness than his initial childhood grief ever was. This dinner is a big deal because it’s where he finally lets himself back into a world of people who care about him. In an age where internet connectivity has resulted in so much isolation, this was a reminder of the beauty of just being with people.
In short, this movie is worth it, even if it feels a bit long at times. It’s fun, thought-provoking, and visually fantastic.
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