Il Grinch

In the land of Whoville everyone loves Christmas and count down the whole year until that wonderful time. However just outside Whoville lives the Grinch, a green hairy twisted creature that hates, and always has hated, Christmas and was rejected by the Who's as a child. A young girl from Whoville sets out to befriend the Grinch and help him find his love of Christmas but, when it goes wrong early on, the Grinch becomes even more rotten and plans to ruin it for everyone.

I have never read the book or seen the original animated version of this story, but I do enjoy a bit of Dr Seuss and was worried about how such imagination would be filled out on the screen. The film actually manages it very well and the whole film has the look of the books, even if it lacks soul at times. The plot is stretched out to the running time and could have easily been shorter and punchier, but at heart it is a good little moral that is good from Christmas time.

However, aside from the look of the film, the main reason that the film works is Jim Carrey. I cannot think of another actor who could have pulled off this role as well as he did. He is manic and really funny although I imagine that if you dislike him and his antics that you'd hate the film totally. I'm on the fence about him but I did enjoy him here. Momsen is OK but really just a `cute kid' and, while the support cast has quite a few famous faces, they don't make much of an impact under the makeup and the film is left to Carrey to save it - which he happily does.

Overall this film is a little too long and padded out, but while Carrey is onscreen it seems to go pretty fast due to his hyper acting and comedy antics. However, it's Christmas and it has a nice message while not totally giving in to syrupy sentiment (thanks again to manic Carrey) and it's just perfect for kids and adults at Christmas time.

Of course it isn't as good as the animated classic, an immensely charming, beautifully animated gem, that is a family Christmas favourite. I will admit I was a bit sceptical of the remake, but other than some slow scenes in the middle half and a patchy script, this film is surprisingly good. Honestly if you thought this is terrible, and I completely respect anyone who thinks that, I warn you Cat in the Hat was much worse, and gets my vote as the worst Dr Seuss adaptation ever. How The Grinch stole Christmas is very colourful, with great set design, and an unrecognisable Jim Carrey was terrific as the Grinch, he was actually really funny, not like Mike Myers who was miscast as the cat in Cat in The Hat. Everyone else was fine too, particularly the girl, and while he is no Boris Karloff Antony Hopkins does a good job as the narrator. The script is patchy in places, but there are a number of very funny bits, and it was nice having some character context about the Grinch. All in all, a colourful, well performed film, not as good as the 1966 animated classic,and flawed it is, but actually one of the better Dr Seuss adaptations. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Big budget remake of the classic cartoon about a creature (Jim Carrey) intent on stealing Christmas.

I had rather low expectations for this one... not sure why, as it turned out to be quite good. I just wanted to add a few thoughts here.

First of all, Taylor Momsen nailed the Cindy Lou Who part. She has gone on to bigger, better things ("Gossip Girl") and good for her. Second, Ron Howard nailed the look of a Seussian world. The faces, the architecture, it all seems so right and I think the good doctor would have approved. I heard that Tim Burton was approached to direct, and I think he would have done a fine job, but how do you beat this?

And last, Jim Carrey. Wow. He has had some good and bad career decisions, and this has to be among his best. The physical comedy, the improvised jokes, it was like the role he was born to play. The other choices were Jack Nicholson and Eddie Murphy. Nicholson could possibly have done it ten years earlier, but did he have that range of motion in 2000? And Eddie Murphy? Maybe, maybe not. This was a Carrey role inside and out.

Well, I finally broke down and went to see it. I was hesitant after reading all the pans here. Egad! It was a great movie! You can't compare it to the "original" any more than you can compare "Scrooge" to the eternal Dickens classic. It has a life of its own. Jim Carrey was amazing. How he can deliver so many feelings and emotions behind 10 pounds of latex is fantastic. Some of his scenes (obviously impromptu) were so funny I nearly wet myself. The sets were great and not nearly as over-blown as I had expected. As for the "prequel" portion, well, it was only so-so. The best part of the whole show is when they sing the "Ah hoo torres" song at the end which has ALWAYS been my most favorite Christmas song ever.

I recommend the movie highly to kids and adults. As for the negative comments on imdb.com I gotta say..."get over it, ya big bunch of grinches!!!!!"

The Grinch hates Christmas, then steals it!

When this first came out I liked the original version much more, but as time goes on I'm finding myself preferring this version more and more. Perhaps it's because Jim Carey's portrayal is more relatable, or perhaps I'm more impressed with the visuals and production value than I once was, or maybe I just understand the adult jokes more. Whatever the reason, this is a fantastic adaptation.

What stands out above all is Jim Carey's performance, followed by the sets and costumes. It is an unforgettable experience that might never be replicated again.

While kids may prefer the original, certainly this will be all the adults most preferred version of the Grinch.