How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

It doesn't get any better than this.

This is, quite possibly, the one perfect Holiday movie. There has never ever been a more wonderful combination of talent than Chuck Jones and Dr. Suess. Only a quick tug on my brow hairs can bring me quicker to tears than the scene where the Grinch learns the truth about Christmas.

Pure perfection.

Our family has had a tradition for many years each Christmas -- we watch this short animated film some time on Christmas Day. We still enjoy it after all these years. Poor, loyal Max, always trying to please his two-sizes-too-small-hearted master. The silly toys and instruments that the kids play with. And of course little Cindy Lou Who, who was no more than two, who manages to get through to, the Grinch.

The anti-commercialism messages are simply wonderful. All the more-so now in the 2000s with corporate globalisation taking over the bodies and minds of the majority of the human population of Earth.

A simple, funny and beautiful message of compassion and caring. A message of family and community being more important than wealth and possessions.

I know that I will catch a lot of heat for saying this, but this is the ONLY version of Dr. Seuss' tale that you should bother to watch. That's because it closely follows the book (with, of course, songs added for this Christmas special) and the moral of the original tale is preserved (that the Whos don't really NEED presents and they are truly filled with the Christmas spirit). Years ago, an abomination arrived in movie theaters and parents dutifully took their kids to see it--and it was a total bastardization of the story. This time, the moral is completely changed and the Whos are selfish jerks who are 100% commercially-oriented and annoying!! And, to make things worse, since it's only a short story, it's horribly padded by allowing Jim Carrey to shamelessly overact. My advice is stick to the original!

Why is this original telling so great? Well, much of it is because the quality of the animation is very good and Chuck Jones had a wonderfully devilish quality about the Grinch that makes the character come to life. And, with the terrific voice talent of Boris Karloff (who is PERFECT for the role), you can't help but love this rogue! For the special, Seuss wrote some great songs--particularly the Grinch song that was so perfectly sung by Thurl Ravenscroft. You can't help but adore this film from start to finish--it's about as well-made as any Christmas production and is a definite must-see in my home.

UPDATE: When I wrote this in 2008, the other version was the hellishly bad Jim Carrey live action film. So, when I said that this cartoon is the only version to watch, I didn't know they'd one day make a CGI version that was actually quite good. Is it as good as this cartoon? No way...but it is respectably good and is also well worth your time.

An oldie but a goodie applies to this short and sweet animation with the voice of legendary Boris Karloff and creator Chuck Jones what could go wrong

If you haven't watch it before what are you waiting for.

There is only one TRUE version of the GRINCH and this is it. Practically perfect, this little cartoon has all the heart andbite and sweetness of the classic book. Between Karloff's wonderful reading and Chuck Jones' spirited animation and direction, this is a Christmas masterpiece. I cant begin to hide my contempt for the mega-budgeted, bloated, all flash disaster that Ron Howard made recently. Hey, fine, go crazy, what worries me is that small kids will ONLY see the Jim Carrey's latex puppet mess andnot the original. PLEASE seek this out for your kids. It is beautiful.