On the day past Christmas, on one lonely morning, a man looked in the mirror, an image forming. It wasn’t a reindeer, a snowman nor elf, the man only saw a grinch in himself. He didn’t like Christmas’s noise and its cost, so he wrote to see what spirit he lost. It was an easy thing to write, so familiar and loose. Who could this man be? None other than Seuss.
Theodore Seuss Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss) released his famous book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” in full on Nov. 24, 1957. It’s now a classic Christmas story about how Christmas has all the hustle and bustle and consumerism, but even without that, the spirit lives on by the very fact that it’s Christmas, the cheeriest holiday of the year.
With the notoriety came the prospect of adaptation and retellings. But, they’re all wildly different in terms of themes, entertainment value and how faithfully they adapt the story. So, with three film adaptations to rank, it’s time to see what’s the best.
3. Illumination (2018)
There wasn’t even a fourth spot on the list, and yet this managed to make it. Where to even begin? As shown through Cindy Lou Who wanting her mom to have a break and through the Grinch having the backstory of being an orphan, the theme is about family this time around, which is an inoffensive theme, but isn’t really the point of the Grinch.
The Grinch doesn’t do anything that bad, either. He just does mildly bad things like ruining a snowman or minor shoplifting. It would be a fine character if it weren’t for the fact that the Grinch is meant to be a bad person. He has a whole song about it.
In fact, the Grinch actually does a kind, benevolent action in the middle of the movie. He takes a reindeer earlier in the movie, but when its parents come back, the Grinch just lets it leave. This is supposed to be the same guy who has his dog carry his whole sleigh. Through this action, it lessens the impact of the ending, because the ending is supposed to be the Grinch finally being kind for the first time.
The animation is at least pretty good. It’s not Seuss style, but it’s not bad by any means.
The problem here is that Illumination played it too safe. If it wasn’t the Grinch, it could be a passable Christmas movie. But, because they needed that recognizability money, they put the Grinch over a generic Christmas story that’s better suited for a Hallmark movie.
2. Ron Howard (2001)
Speaking of live action, we have this movie. It’s certainly something.
First, Jim Carrey. This version of the Grinch is an absolute menace to society and a dirtbag, and Jim Carrey takes that up to 11. He’s mean-spirited and is absolutely heartless. The Whos are genuinely afraid of the Grinch.
And it is entertaining. The jokes can range from a prank call that the kids can laugh at to the absurd chaos of Christmas that the parents can relate to. Not only that, but Jim Carrey’s deliveries of the Grinch’s jokes only elevates them by how wacky and absurd he makes them.
That being said, it still has issues.
The more cynical take on the Whos takes away from the story. They are ultimately meant to be the happy people who celebrate Christmas to serve as the foil to the Grinch and to be the inspiring force of good that changes him. But, they’re the ones who drive the Grinch away in the first place in this movie.
However, this more cynical view can work in its favor. Christmas is depicted as a very consumerist holiday for the Whos. It originally proves the Grinch’s hatred for Christmas even more than the original story. It heightens the impact of the Whos celebrating Christmas at the end without the presents.
However, they give the Grinch a backstory where he was laughed at for admitting feelings to his crush when he was younger, and being laughed out of Whoville. It recontextualizes the Grinch’s character as someone who hates Whoville in general rather than Christmas. Instead, the Christmas doubt is shoved onto Cindy Lou Who.
In the end, it’s an entertaining ride, and pretty funny. But, in terms of adapting the original story, it leaves a lot to be desired.
1. Chuck Jones (1966)
The all-time classic. It adapts everything from the book and then some. It brings life and color into the story. It is immaculate.
This has the first and best version of the song “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”, with Thurl Ravenscroft’s smooth and deep performance.
The Grinch is sinister and conniving in this, from his expressions to his voice. That iconic, devilish grin is all that needed to be shown. But his movements, too, just feel snake-like.
It keeps all of the Seuss charm because it’s a direct adaptation. The rhyming, the style, everything. The casting, too, is a great choice all around. Boris Karloff as the narrator and Grinch are both great, a nice contrast between an angry green man and a poetic and soft narrator. And June Forray voicing Cindy Lou Who was also a great decision. She sounds like an innocent little child, which is spot-on to what was in the original story.
This was proposed by Chuck Jones, who actually was a friend of Seuss, and the two were very involved in the making of this. That’s the reason why this is the best of them all. No bloat, no change in themes, no making a minor character the secondary protagonist. It’s the definitive adaptation for the sole reason that Seuss actually had a hand in making it.
In conclusion, no matter what version, they all at least show that being cynical about Christmas is flawed, that Christmas will always have some spirit and joy to it. So, which one will you watch?
