#How The Grinch Stole Christmas!

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HOW THE GRINCH STOLE THE CHRISTMAS! (1966), dir. Chuck Jones

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"He hand't stopped Christmas from coming, it came! Somehow or other, it came just the same. And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling: 'How could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags!'" — How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), dir. Chuck Jones.

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How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)

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There's 93 Days Til Christmas!

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Profiles in Villainy

The Grinch

A green-furred grump, The Grinch had been a cantankerous curmudgeon who lived a solitary life with his loyal dog, Max, in a secluded cave atop Mount Crumpet.  Due to his heart being three times smaller than average, The Grinch was a misanthrope of the highest order.  He hated others, found them troubling, tedious and tiresome.  All he wanted was to be left alone and he found all of the hustle and bustle of nearby Whoville to be an endless source of annoyance.   Christmastime was the worst as Whoville celebrated the holiday with all manner of pomp and circumstance.  It so aggravated the Grinch that one year he decided to do something about it.

With help from Max, the grouch hatched a scheme to pose as Santa Claus, steal Christmas and silence the Whos' holiday cheer once and for all. He succeeded in his plan, sneaking into town disguised as Santa, and pilfering every present, every decoration and every morsel of food.  He squirreled it all away in his cave and then waited with baited breath for the Whos to wake up Christmas morning only to discover their holiday ruined.  

When dawn broke, however, The Grinch was surprised to hear the town singing a joyous Christmas hymn just as they always had.  They had no toys, no feast, no reason to sing, yet that sung nonetheless. The Grinch was baffled; how could this be?

After much contemplation he came to realize that Christmas means much more than just presents and food. It is a celebration of togetherness and peace.  The epiphany caused the Grinch’s shrunken heart to grow three sizes larger. Overwhelmed with a newfound sense of yuletide cheer, The Grinch returned the Whos' presents and food and was asked to take part in their Christmas feast. 

Actor Boris Karloff provided the voice for the villain in the 1966 animated television special, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

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Also met Max!

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CINEMA'S BEST SWEATERS — Part 1 (Part 2)

Basic Instinct (1992) · Let's Make Love (1960) · Scream (1996) · The Big Lebowski (1998) · Lucky Number Slevin (2006) · A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) · The Holiday (2006) · The Devil Wears Prada (2006) · While You Were Sleeping (1995) · Home Alone (1990) · Good Will Hunting (1997) · 21 (2008) · Sweet November (2001) · Knives Out (2019) · How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) · Ocean's 8 (2018) · The Matrix (1999) · Mystic Pizza (1988) · Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) · Clueless (1995) · House of Gucci (2021) · The Lighthouse (2019) · When Harry Met Sally... (1989) · Awake (2007)

[adamwatchesmovies]

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! has been adapted for the big screen twice now and the results have never even come close to matching the beautiful simplicity of the 1966 TV special we all know and love. It’s the perfect musical story to get the spirit of the holiday started.

Narrated by Boris Karloff, it’s the story of The Grinch, a hairy green who-knows-what that lives North of Who-Ville and hates Christmas. Determined to ruin the holiday for everyone, The Grinch disguises himself as Santa Claus and descends to the home of the Whos on the night of Christmas Eve to steal every decoration, stocking & present.

I don’t even need to tell you about the songs featured throughout this TV special. You already know them. In fact, you’ve accomplished the impossible if you haven’t heard You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch at least once, every single December. That song's lyrics are particularly, wonderfully peculiar and original. The imagery in the rhymes fills your head with smells, textures and colours. If you haven’t memorized them already, you’ll want to so you can describe your least favorite person as a “seasick crocodile”, a "black banana with a greasy black peel" or a “nasty-wasty skunk”.

Matching the immaculate wordplay are terrific sight gags and visuals. The Grinch’s twisted smile - the most twisted, evil smile you’ve ever seen - speaks volumes about his noxious intentions toward the holiday. The way he slinks and slithers through the Who's houses, gleefully ripping decorations off the walls, stuffing presents into his sack and going out of his way to make sure no one will have any joy come morning is so over-the-top you’ve got to laugh. The illustrations in the book by Theodor Seuss Geisel have been brought to life perfectly. It's so well done, in fact, that the idea of someone having a go at it again… feels like pure foolishness. How could you improve upon this?

Well, if you really want to scrutinize things, you could find aspects of the special to improve. For instance, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" recycles quite a bit of its footage. It would have also been nice if the budget had allowed for shading instead of flat colours on every character. Oddly, I find this adds to the film's charm. It shows that, people didn't know this production was going to become a yearly tradition for so many people. They didn't go in looking for ways to make it into a franchise, they didn't record the songs hoping they would be hits. It was made solely to be the best version of itself. The results speak for themselves. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is so effective it’s only through obsessive watching and re-watching that you notice the blemishes.

The immortal songs, iconic images, and clever rhymes of the narration (brought to life by Boris Karloff’s unforgettable voice) all come together at the end to deliver a wholesome, heartfelt message that will resonate with all audiences. If you did somehow manage not to hear some excerpts of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! before December 25th, I'm not sure it would feel like Christmas. (On Blu-ray, December 21, 2019)

[dailyflicks]

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (2000)  dir. Ron Howard

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Nothing beats the original one 🎄😭💕👌🏻

“He puzzled and puzzed till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” — How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), dir. Chuck Jones.

[gameraboy2]

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)

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How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) dir. Ron Howard

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How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) dir. Ron Howard Midsommar (2019) dir. Ari Aster