Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (also known as The Grinch) is a 2018 American 3D computer-animated Christmas film produced by Illumination Entertainment.
Based on the 1957 Dr. Seuss book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, it is the third screen adaptation of the story, following the television special from 1966 and the live-action film from 2000.
The Grinch is directed by Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier, written by Michael LeSieur and Tommy Swerdlow, narrated by Pharrell Williams and starring the voices of Benedict Cumberbatch, Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson, Cameron Seely and Angela Lansbury.
It was released by Universal Pictures in the United States on November 9, 2018, in RealD 3D and select IMAX theaters.
It received mixed reviews from critics who praised the animation, voice acting, soundtrack and emotion, but said the film added little to nothing new to the source material.
Plot[]
In the town of Whoville, human-like creatures called Whos are filled with excitement about celebrating Christmas.
The only one who isn't all excited is a cantankerous green creature called The Grinch (Benedict Cumberbatch), who has a heart "two sizes too small" and lives in a cave on the top of Mount Crumpit just north of Whoville.
The Grinch's only friend is his loyal pet dog Max and they both only visit Whoville when the Grinch needs to buy food.
Meanwhile, 5-year-old Cindy Lou Who (Cameron Seely) notices that her mother Donna (Rashida Jones) is overworked trying to take care of herself and her twin infant brothers, Buster and Bean.
She at first decides to send a letter to Santa Claus to help her mother, but after encountering the Grinch who sarcastically says that she'll have to talk to Santa face-to-face about it, she eventually decides to try and trap Santa with the help of her friends and ask him for his help since she thinks it's too important.
After the Grinch is annoyed that the Whos brought a gigantic Christmas tree to town, he attempts to destroy the tree by catapulting a giant snowball at it, but it backfires and he ends up catapulted himself and soon, all the festivities take him back to his sad childhood where he is all alone in an orphanage while all of the other Whos were taken by families.
After returning to his cave, the Grinch soon decides that he will steal Christmas from Whoville to assuage his distress. He acquires a fat reindeer whom he calls Fred to help him pull a sleigh that he stole from the most happiest Who in Whoville, Bricklebaum (Kenan Thompson).
After a test run, the Grinch sees that Fred has a wife and child, so with a heavy heart, he lets Fred go back to them.
On Christmas Eve, after making a Santa Claus disguise and dozens of gadgets to help him with his theft, the Grinch and Max, who pulls the sleigh in Fred's place, go down to Whoville and begin stealing the decorations and presents.
He soon encounters Cindy after falling into her trap and her request to help lighten her mother's workload soon touches the Grinch's bitter heart.
After stealing every Christmas present and decoration, the Grinch and Max decide to head back to Mount Crumpit to dispose of them. The Whos wake up and are shocked to see that the presents and decorations are gone.
Cindy at first believes she's to blame because she caught Santa, but Donna tells her that Christmas is more than just about presents and that Cindy's the best thing that ever happened to her since she helps her mother out with her workload and the Whos join in singing.
The Grinch and Max soon hear the singing and the Grinch is puzzled to see that they are celebrating Christmas despite his theft, but he soon listens to their singing and his small heart triples in size.
The sleigh almost falls off Mount Crumpit and the Grinch tries to save it and soon, Fred and his family come to his aid.
After securing the sleigh, the Grinch and Max go to Whoville to return the stolen items and he admits his theft to the Whos and apologizes before going back to his cave.
Feeling sorry for the Grinch, Cindy comes to invite him to dinner at her house and he awkwardly attends and when seated down for dinner, he admits that it wasn't really Christmas he disliked, but being lonely and carves a roast beast as he celebrates Christmas with the Whos and starts a new life with them, especially with Cindy.
Cast[]
- Benedict Cumberbatch as The Grinch, a misanthropic grumpy, green creature who dislikes Christmas until the end of the film.
- Cameron Seely as Cindy Lou Who
- Rashida Jones as Donna Lou Who, Cindy's overworked mother
- Kenan Thompson as Bricklebaum, The Grinch's Neighbor
- Angela Lansbury as the Mayor of Whoville
- Pharrell Williams as the Narrator
- Frank Welker as the voice of Max, the Grinch's pet dog Fred, the friendly reindeer and Mabel Bricklebaum's pup
- Ramone Hamilton as Axl, one of Cindy Lou's friends.
- Sam Lavagnino as Ozzy, one of Cindy Lou's friends.
- Scarlett Estevez as Izzy, one of Cindy Lou's friends.
- Tristan O'Hare as Groopert, one of Cindy Lou's friends. In fact, according to Cindy, he's her best friend.
- Jack Huston as Wandsworth
- Paul Dooley as Phillip
- Hugh Grant as Henry
- Jodi Benson as Bonnie
- Kami Desilets as Lina
Additional voices[]
- Aaron Fors
- Abby Craden
- Alex Puccinelli
- Barbara Harris
- Bill Farmer
- Brian T. Delaney
- Carlos Alazraqui
- Carter Hastings
- Cathy Cavadini
- Nicholas Guest
- Candi Milo
- Chris Cox
- Clancy Brown
- André Sogliuzzo
- Danny Mann
- Dashiell Priestley
- Dave Fennoy
- Dave Willis
- David Kaye
- David Lodge
- Dee Bradley Baker
- Doug Brich
- Emma Elizabeth Shannon
- Eric Bauza
- Evan Kishiyama
- Fred Tatasciore - Imagined Snowman, Whoville Policeman, additional
- Georgia Toffolo
- Grant George
- Grey DeLisle
- Ian James Corlett
- Janice Kawaye
- Jeff Bennett
- Jeremy Maxwell
- Jess Harnell
- Jim Ward
- Joel Swetow
- John Cygan
- John DeMita
- John Kassir
- Laraine Newman
- Laura Bailey
- Wally Wingert
- Lori Alan
- Max Mittelman - Whoville Judge, Scottish Mistletoe Host, additional
- Meilee Condron
- Michael Bruzzone
- Mike Pollock
- Mindy Sterling
- Rachael Lillis
- Regina Taufen
- Rob Paulsen - Cruise Captain, Lawyer of The Grinch, Banjo Picker, Republican, additional
- Rodger Bumpass
- Scott Moiser
- Tara Strong
- Tom Kenny
- Townsend Coleman
- Trevor Devall
- Tucker Chandler
- Willow Geer
Production[]
In February 2013, it was announced that Illumination Entertainment was developing a 3D animated feature film based on the Dr. Seuss book, with Peter Candeland and Yarrow Cheney set to direct it,
Benedict Cumberbatch was cast as the titular character. Pharrell Williams was cast as the narrator, while Angela Lansbury voiced the Mayor of Whoville. Rashida Jones, Cameron Seeley and Kenan Thompson were also cast for the film.
Music[]
On November 20, 2017, Danny Elfman was revealed to be composing the film's score. Tyler, the Creator wrote a new song for the film titled "I Am the Grinch", which was featured in the final trailer.
Tyler and Elfman collaborated on a new version of the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" for the film.
Release[]
The film was originally scheduled to be released on November 10, 2017, but on June 7, 2016, it was pushed back to November 9, 2018.
Marketing[]
The first official trailer was released on March 8, 2018. The second trailer was released on June 14, 2018.
The third and final trailer was released on September 18, 2018, along with a new poster. On October, various billboards appeared for the film, each featuring an image of the Grinch, accompanied by a mean quote and message.
Universal and Illumination partnered with several companies to promote the film, including Wonderful Pistachios, Ebates, IHOP and 23andme for about $80 million worth of advertising.
Home media[]
The film was released on Digital HD on January 22, 2019 and on DVD and Blu-ray on February 5.
Box office projections[]
In the United States and Canada, The Grinch was released alongside The Girl in the Spider's Web and Overlord, and was projected to gross around $50 million in its opening weekend.
Critical responses[]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 63% based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10.
The website's critical consensus reads, "The Grinch gives the classic Seuss source material a brightly animated update that's solidly suitable for younger viewers without adding substantially to the story's legacy."
On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Alonso Duralde of TheWrap gave the film a positive review, calling it "full of warm and wit" and writing, "Purists may balk about revisiting this tale, but The Grinch earns its laughter and its sentiment, both of which are plentiful. It's a full-throated Fah-Who-Foraze."
Owen Gleiberman of Variety compared the film favorably to the 2000 live-action one, writing, "For anyone who grew up with How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Grinch won’t replace it, yet it's nimble and affectionate in a way that can hook today's children, and more than a few adults, by conjuring a feeling that comes close enough. By the end, your own heart will swell, though maybe just one or two sizes."
Differences from the book and previous films[]
- Mt. Crumpet is much closer to Whoville than previous adaptations.
- The Grinch is slightly less menacing than how he appeared in previous versions.
- The Grinch's backstory to why he hates Christmas is because of loneliness. He was an orphan left at an orphanage and was never given a proper Christmas.
- Cindy Lou has her own subplot where she plans to meet Santa Claus.
- The film starts on December 20th instead of Christmas Eve; this gives the Grinch more time to execute his plan to steal Christmas.
- Before recruiting Max as the reindeer, the Grinch gets an actual reindeer from up north.
- Unlike previous adaptations, Max's reindeer antler is attached to a helmet, rather than directly on his head.
- The Grinch's Santa disguise now has a detachable beard when it didn't in previous versions.
- Cindy Lou's house is the first house the Grinch robs most times; but in this adaptation, it is the last house.
- When Cindy Lou catches the Grinch, she wakes up to get a cup of water; here, she wakes up when he sets off her booby trap for Santa.
- After the Grinch returns the presents, he apologizes and goes back to Mt. Crumpet instead of immediately joining the Whos for Christmas Dinner; Cindy Lou then invites him later.
- Instead of his Santa suit, the Grinch wears a red and white striped necktie to Christmas dinner in the end.