How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) Review

With Christmas break underway and Christmas only a few days away, I feel like this is the perfect time to review my favorite Christmas movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

The Dr. Seuss purists would probably hate me because I think the live-action adaptation is far better than the cartoon. I just love that the live-action version was able to expand the world and introduce new characters into an already established story. I’m not saying the movie is perfect by any means, it certainly has its flaws. But, I think the positives outweigh the negatives. I think this movie has 3 major takeaways; the consequences of bullying, the importance of family, and the power of love and acceptance.

I always thought it was interesting that they turned Grinch into this feared entity, an urban legend of sorts. Never in the book or cartoon did it say that he was feared by the Whos, he was just kind of there. I sort of like that they added this element. It certainly goes hand in hand with the plot elements they chose to include, particularly the love story. The only time it doesn’t work is when Grinch goes incognito into Whoville wearing a ridiculous mask, brown cloak, and his hands uncovered. I don’t understand how no one noticed him. Are they that oblivious? He sticks out like a sore thumb, so this whole sequence just doesn’t make sense. I do like that they aged Cindy Lou a bit and turned her into more of a main character. It’s miraculous to me that at only being 6 years old, she has an incredibly advanced vocabulary and usually makes more sense that most of the adults. This being said, her added inclusion hurt the source material a bit. She had seen Grinch face to face many times before they get into the source material. Shouldn’t she know judging by seeing green, furry hands and his face that she wasn’t actually talking to Santa? I try not to dwell on this too much, but it is questionable.

Another thing I like is that this movie did not make Grinch the main antagonist, but rather made him more of a protagonist. Mayor Augustus May Who takes the spot of the main antagonist. He’s one of those villains that I love to hate because he’s just such an awful person. Some may think Grinch is cruel, but Augustus is downright diabolical. He not only humiliated Grinch as a child, forcing his self-exile, but also humiliated him again years later, causing him to run away again. I don’t care if he claims that he loves Martha, he shattered her as well. Speaking of Martha, I love her so much. I’ve talked about her before and will continue to talk about her. I think she’s a wonderful character and a great addition to this movie. I also really love the origins of her name. Martha comes from exactly what you'd think, Martha Stewart, since her character was originally supposed to be a housewife of sorts. Whovier is a play on Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy's middle name. I think it works really well with her character, considering that she is greatly in the public eye, as was Jackie O. She is just another example of how much creativity was put into this movie.  

Now, I’d like to talk about some of the added plot points. I really love that they gave Grinch a backstory. I think it was a smart move to explain why it is that he hates Christmas so much. This is also one of the saddest scenes of the movie. The other scene I really enjoy is the Whobilation. I love that this is also a play on words, derived from jubilation, meaning a feeling of great happiness and triumph. I love seeing Grinch happy and feeling accepted after so many years of not feeling either. But, I also find this scene to be excruciatingly sad as well. Seeing Grinch have to relive his horrid memories after receiving that razor in front of everyone is so hard to watch. Though, not near as hard as seeing the proposal. The way the camera cuts from Martha’s face to Grinch’s makes it look like Martha is pleading for help from Grinch. I hate seeing Cindy so upset after Grinch’s rampage as well. All she wanted to do was help. Funny enough, the scene faithful to the source material is actually my least favorite scene in the movie. It’s not that it’s a bad scene, it’s just that I know Grinch is a good guy. The attention to detail is actually quite remarkable and very close to the cartoon. The ending of the movie is quite the payoff. I love seeing Grinch and Martha finally get together and to see him celebrated and welcomed by the town.

I’d like to mention a few of the things I don’t enjoy about the movie. I really don’t like that they did everything in their power to make Grinch as repulsive as possible. I know that the song states that he has termites in his smile, but did we really need the visual? Also, did we really need a shot of him knocking a Who out with his breath? I don’t understand why he eats onions like they’re apples and then rubs his armpits with them. I really don’t understand why they made him eat glass. Not a huge fan of the gag of his socks crawling away by themselves after he carelessly tosses them. I don’t like when he uses the giant, cymbal monkey as a sedative for the noise, I think it’s stupid and very pointless to the story. Considering how magnificent his cave is, I don’t understand why they gave him such a tattered bed. There’s just a lot of creative choices with his character that I don’t agree with.

Something I strongly agree with are the costumes and the sets. I don’t have anything negative to say about them, they’re perfect. Grinch’s makeup is so fantastic. He looks like a living cartoon character and I love that. I enjoy the Whoville sets, but what I really enjoy is Grinch’s cave. It is such a vast set that is so detailed and complex. I wish we would’ve got a closer look at the interior, considering that there is quite a bit of screen time of just Grinch in his cave. That being said, it is still my favorite set of the entire movie.

As much as I love the ending, I wish that they would’ve showed a little more into the events of Christmas Day. Such as, what happened after the Feast? I would’ve loved to see some one-on-one conversation between Grinch and Martha. I just really want to know what became of their relationship. Despite this, I love this movie, I watch it several times every year, and I’d recommend it to everyone.