The writer and cartoonist known as Dr. Seuss has brightened the childhoods of thousands of people around the world with his children’s books and picturesque characters. He was a storyteller with a unique and incomparable imagery that ran through each of his works. His portfolio consists of more than 60 books, which have sold millions of copies and have been translated into more than 20 languages. are among his most famous books Horton hears a who!, The cat in the hat, Green eggs and hamand of course one of the most popular: How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
This 1957 book, written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss, introduces perhaps his most beloved character: The Grinch. He is a grumpy, furry creature who lives atop Mount Crumpit, far away from all the inhabitants of Whoville. The Grinch brags that he has too small a heart, which is why he spends his days complaining about everything around him except his only friend, a small dog named Max. Then one day, sick and tired of the Whos’ annual joy for Christmas, he decides to steal Christmas altogether, but in the end a little girl teaches him a huge lesson. The story of this cantankerous character has been adapted and explored in a variety of productions over the years. Here’s a look at all three movies (so far) featuring the Grinch.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was the first adaptation of the novel by Dr. Seuss from 1957, made for television. This production, directed and co-produced by Chuck Jones, tells the classic story of the Grinch as he goes on a mission to ruin Christmas, and aired on CBS in December 1966. Boris Karloff voiced this animated version of the Grinch and also submitted as narrator, alongside June Foray, Dallas McKennon and Thurl Ravenscroft. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! became a Christmas classic that remains relevant to this day, garnering critical acclaim from critics and a warm reception from audiences. Due to the huge success of this production, two more specials featuring more of the Grinch’s adventures have been released. ABC started airing in 1977 Halloween is Grinch night, which served as a prequel to the original film. Five years later, the network also aired The Grinch grins at the cat in the hatin which, in addition to the Grinch, another popular Dr. Seuss character.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Due to the enormous impact of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, a live-action version of Grinch’s story was released in 2000. This production was directed by Ron Howard from a script by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. Since it was live action, producers had to find a suitable actor to embody a character like the Grinch. Stars such as Jack Nicholson, Robin Williams, Tom Hanks, Eddie Murphy and Dustin Hoffman were considered, but the final choice to headline the production was Jim Carrey. Joining him in the cast were Taylor Momsen, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Bill Irwin, Molly Shannon, and Anthony Hopkins as the narrator of the story. While this is one of Carrey’s most memorable roles, it was a project that caused him a lot of stress: the weight of the suit and the amount of prosthetics he had to wear made the actor feel like he was being buried alive. which made him feel extremely sad. Because of this, and faced with the risk of having to stop the project entirely, producers hired a torture specialist who taught Carrey several techniques to cope with the transformation and wear the suit during filming (via Business Insider). Fortunately, Carrey was able to continue shooting and the film turned out to be a hit, with his performance being highly praised. The film also went on to become the second-highest-grossing holiday film of all time Home aloneto the third Grinch movie came along to turn it all around.
The Grinch (2018)
The 2018 movie The Grinch is so far the latest adaptation of the story of Dr. Seuss. This is a computer-animated movie produced by Illumination and directed by Scott Mosier and Yarrow Cheney. With a worldwide gross of $512 million, The Grinch became the highest-grossing Christmas movie of all time (via Screen Rant), and also the highest-grossing film adaptation of Dr. Seuss. Enlightenment was no stranger to the writer and cartoonist’s stories, as they had released a few years earlier The Lorax, based on the book of the same name. The Grinch follows the same story as the previous adaptations, but this time with the voices of Benedict Cumberbatch as the main character, alongside Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson, Cameron Seely, Angela Lansbury and Pharrell Williams, who serves as the narrator. Despite the huge box office success of this film, it was not very popular with critics: although the cast and animation were praised, many people felt that this production was unwarranted because it did not add anything new to the Grinch’s story.