How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

In my life, there are very, very few "children's" storyworlds that I believe matter. Few, very few of these have made successful films. I know of only two. Both are American.

One is the "Muppet Movie," the first one, which I think is still a sort of gold standard for films of any type. The other is this.

Suess is the only writer that I believe equals Lewis Carroll on his own terms. He finds that sweet spot triangulating the parts of real life we acutely know, parts of fantasy life that we don't but from non-adjacent locations, and text-centric rhythms. His drawings are the things we notice, in a clever strategy of distraction; we infuse them with the mysteries from those others.

This little movie preserves all those qualities, and I think it is because of a rare collaboration of three giants. One is Suess (Geisel) of course. His books are inherently cinematic, with the drawings containing more information than the words. Sure, the "message" is usually from a Norman Rockwell fantasy, but the means of telling the story is unique.

A second is Chuck Jones. He invented modern animation, the kind of work that grows from the situation rather than simply served. He changed our imagination as much as Kubrick or Hitchcock. Turns out he had been friends with Suess for 25 years before making this. Now, I can report that the entire intent of this thing is that somewhat repellent stuff that has grown up around Christmas, that sickly sweet stuff that is wholly modern and has nothing to do with the Christian celebration or its several predecessors. But the manner in which this is animated is pure genius.

Sure, he had the Suess illustrations and Seuss himself. But look at how he has assembled the thing. The edits are just a hair shorter than you would expect, even today, giving energy. The transitions do something clever, for instance look at the business about the little girl's service of a strawberry (Russian doll-style), how it transitions to the Grinch's eye and how that is mirrored with the transfer from her heart to his.

And third, there is Boris. Its my opinion that merely by being there when scary movies were invented, his presence, even in voice — especially in voice — turns this project into a masterpiece of illustrated narrative.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

This is the classic. The Best. When it comes to christmas cartoons, this is one of only 2 cartoons that really captures the Christmas Spirit outside of the religious and social aspects of the holiday. And what is not to love with Boris Karloff narrating, Chuck Jones animating, and a story by the loveable Dr Seuss himself!

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.

This is one of the few Christmas shows that deserves its reputation. It never dips into mawkishness and yet makes its point. Chuck Jones gives us a Grinch who has the madcap qualities of Bugs Bunny (and even looks a bit like the waskely wabbit).

The narration and voice of the Grinch are by Boris Karloff, a wonderful choice. The music is clever, and the animation is excellent.

This classic certainly will withstand not only the test of time but also the competition of the live-action version which is unfortunately an example of a big budget and tons of FX burying a sweet, touching, and simple story. Go ahead and see the live-action version -- it has its moments. But definitely see this cartoon version.

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.