The Grinch

In the text of the Seuss original, we get the pointed line, “‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!'”  This movie nudges us toward a similar revelation, “Maybe people who don’t celebrate Christmas are not vaguely creepy freaks.”

Christmas-hating movie characters usually despise the holiday for one of three reasons. 1) They’re misanthropic and miserly. 2) One year, their dad dressed up like Santa Claus, and the police found him dead, stuck halfway down the chimney. 3) They are sad and left out.

Obviously there’s a lot of overlap among these categories once we dig deeper into a character’s psychological make-up. In fact, if I’m being honest, I only outlined the three categories because I wanted to make a Gremlins joke. But I’d say the Grinch of the picture book and 1960s TV special falls firmly into the first category, while the Grinch we get here is definitely more of a sad, excluded, pitiable #3 Christmas-hater. He’s much sweeter than your average Grinch, and the moral of the story seems slightly different, too.

In the original picture book, the Grinch is disgusted by the materialism and excess of the Whos’ Christmas celebrations. But at the end, when he realizes they still celebrate Christmas even when they do not receive presents, he reevaluates his concept of what Christmas means and joins in the celebration.

In this story, the Grinch pretends to be disgusted by the excess of the town’s holiday preparations, but we soon learn he actually hates Christmas decorations and festivities because for him they trigger unhappy childhood memories. He is an orphan. He has no family, no friends, no one to celebrate with. For him, all the decorations only make him more acutely aware of his loneliness. The moral of this story isn’t just that Christmas is more than the presents. It’s that we all need to be kind and helpful to one another. The Grinch’s big revelation here is that he is not the only one without a perfect life. Many people choose to be happy despite their difficulties, and he can choose to be happy, too. The focus here is not on the materialism of secular Christmas eclipsing the true meaning of the holiday. Instead we learn that Christmas spirit is measured not by how thoroughly you decorate the outside of your house, but, rather, by how willingly you invite a stranger in to share in the celebration.

This Grinch is pretty transparent. He pretends to be a wicked misanthrope, but he shows this by spitting out a pickle, breaking a jar of jam, and knocking over a snowman. I’ve seen celebrated philanthropists behave more shamefully to their fellow man. This Grinch is really a softy, tempted at every turn to participate in the very Christmas he so loudly claims to despise. This Grinch is even pretty nice to his dog. He’s unhappy and sometimes sullen, but he’s never truly cruel. He may not be the perfect master, but he seems depressed, not sadistic.

Max the dog gets more of a character arc here than in the TV special, too. I can’t comment on differences from the live action film starring Jim Carrey because somehow I’ve managed never to see that. When our fifteen-year-old learned of this blasphemy, he was aghast! He’s intended to remedy this Grinch-shaped gap several times, but something always seems to come up at the last minute to prevent me from watching the movie. Basically by now, everybody in our entire household has seen it but me. All I really know about the Jim Carrey Grinch is 1) My mother detests it, and 2) Cindy Lou Who grows up to be the lead singer for The Pretty Reckless, a group my husband loves.

Benedict Cumberbatch makes a very sweet Grinch. My mother commented afterwards on how much she liked what he did with the voice, and we all noticed how much the character looks like him (in the face). I, personally, found myself wishing he’d used his own accent for the Grinch’s voice, just because I think a British Grinch would be interesting. But what he does is perfectly respectable.  (In fact, for the non-sinister way this Grinch actually behaves, the voice Cumberbatch conjures up is perfect.)

The rest of the vocal cast is also good and highly recognizable to the ear. At first, I had trouble placing the voice of kindly neighbor Mr. Bricklebaum (who is like the Grinch’s Ned Flanders for most of the film). I kept thinking, “I know that voice,” but then imagining people of all different ages and character types. After the stray thought, “Is he a French actor?” I finally realized, “Zut alors! It’s Kenan Thompson!” I’d had trouble placing him because I’d been thinking of various SNL characters he’s played.  His voice is so distinctive, though, that once you figure it out, you know you’re right.

On the other hand, Angela Lansbury I recognized right away because, I mean, who else would sound like Angela Lansbury and show up in a family Christmas movie in an extremely small but highly showcased role? I told my mother, “And we’ll be hearing her again this Christmas because she’s also in Mary Poppins Returns.”  Lansbury is welcome to show up at random in many movie I’m watching.

Rashida Jones plays Donna Who, Cindy-Lou’s devoted, hard-working mom.  My husband particularly liked this character because she chooses to be happy and behaves accordingly.  As a single-mother (of a little girl and twin baby boys) who regularly works the night shift, her life cannot be easy, but she does her best and keeps chugging along, anyway.  Life rarely makes things easy, but we can always choose to continue doing our best and enjoying what we have.  Donna’s example not only inspires her daughter, but it also really helps the Grinch. As someone always on the outside, looking in, he has spent much of his existence imagining that other people’s lives are perfect.  When he realizes that in most cases happiness is a choice and not a blessed state of being, he has the epiphany that he, too, can have the happy life enjoyed by the Whos.

Cindy-Lou (who in this film is definitely more than two and is compellingly voiced by Cameron Seely) and her grade school co-conspirators are also sweet and delightful.  (I loved this one random joke about setting a timer.)  My daughter was delighted to recognize one of the neighborhood kids as the voice of Rolly from Puppy Dog Pals (charming child actor Sam Lavagnino).

Pharrell Williams narrates the story, funny since the Grinch’s alarm clock endlessly annoys him with the song “Happy” in most theatrical trailers and spots.  (In the movie, the alarm blares “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”)

All the Christmas music was actually the highlight of the movie for me.  The Grinch gives us Christmas music from all eras, including actual carols, old standards, pop hits.  I loved the score, too, then discovered that it was written by Danny Elfman, someone I’d been thinking of the whole movie because The Nightmare Before Christmas is kind of a riff on the Grinch (and a holiday masterpiece without peer).

Best Action Sequence:

I absolutely love the Grinch’s inability to escape the persistent Who carolers.  The brief scene of his flight and their enthusiastic pursuit definitely made me smile.  It’s funny and so artistically done.  Plus, as I said, the music is amazing.  How often in a mainstream children’s movie these days do you get to hear a performance of, “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen”?

I noticed that little children in the audience responded vocally to the screaming goats and the Grinch’s awkwardly impassioned efforts to catch a reindeer.

Best Scene Visually:

This movie looks gorgeous.  Think of everything you love about Christmas rendered in bright, cheery, perfectly pleasing color.  The beautiful colors of the film reminded me of a picture book about Santa’s workshop I used to love when I was little because it looked so inviting.  Whoville positively glows.  I was also won over by all the Grinch’s Grinch-shaped stuff, the weird, angular curve of his salt and pepper shakers and his lamp.

Probably the most beautiful scene is the parading of the giant Christmas ornaments up to the tree.  Everything is so grand and ridiculous, but still, it’s quite beautiful to behold.  Despite the insane excess of Whoville’s grand, over-the-top decorations, this Grinch is not so much a condemnation of materialism as it is a reminder of how impossible it is not to notice Christmas, no matter how desperately someone caused pain by the holiday may endeavor to avoid it.

Best Scene:

The Grinch’s parting with Fred is so heart-breaking.  He’s just proclaimed that he has everything he needs, but in mere seconds, he’s reminded of how much he lacks.

The Negatives:
If this movie were on at my house, I wouldn’t watch it. I don’t mean that I’d turn it off. I’d just let it play in the background while I bustled around the kitchen, burning pudding, unwittingly filling the air with flour, cleaning small, sticky hands, scraping exploded meringue off the ceiling, begging everyone to smile for a picture. The kids would drift back and forth between our labor intensive holiday baking projects and the relaxing, festive lights and sounds of the Christmas movie playing on the TV. 

The Grinch is a movie you can enjoy without watching it at all.  Now that I’ve seen it once, I’m more likely to use it to create a Christmassy atmosphere than to sit attentively and watch it again.

Personally, I found the movie a bit…lacking.  The atmosphere upstages the story, but that’s fine because we already know the story.  This version does have a nice moral.  In other versions, rumor has it the Grinch is abnormal in some way, but here, what he learns is that he’s actually just like everyone else.  In this version, his heart does swell in the end, but just because he’s happy and feels accepted, not because he was some weird freak not made like other people to begin with.  

The lesson the movie teaches is good.  The characters are likable.  The dog and reindeer are cute.  (The music is great!)  But the movie doesn’t have to work too hard to draw our gaze because we already love Christmas and know the story of the Grinch.  I think the movie would benefit from more tension, more humor, sharper dialogue, just a greater sense of urgency creating a need and desire to pay attention and stay engaged.  If you enjoy celebrating Christmas in the contemporary American way, then, obviously, you will not dislike this movie because it constantly floods your eyes and ears with welcome, appealing, comforting sights and sounds of the season.  But if this story were set at any other time, people would probably not respond warmly.  At times, I found myself wondering if the material would be stronger as a series of shorts.  (“Or maybe it would be better dubbed into a foreign language,” I mused.  “If it just turned up in French while I was drifting around YouTube, I’d definitely love it.”)  But to me, the film was really lacking.  It has a good story, but it needs sharper dialogue and more engaging scenarios that encourage us to anticipate the next scene and feel the need to continue watching.  

As I watched, I couldn’t help thinking, “If you’re going to improve on The Grinch, you’re never going to do better than The Nightmare Before Christmas.  And didn’t Illumination already make a variation on this same story of a misunderstood outsider who discovers he’s not really evil after all when children teach him about love?  Isn’t that Despicable Me?  Would I like this better if Steve Carrell voiced the Grinch in a Gru accent and won my heart with his engaging improv?”)

It’s worth noting, though, that my mother absolutely loved the movie and plans to buy it when it becomes available for purchase.

Overall:

If you love Christmas, you won’t hate The Grinch.  Christmas is basically the star of this sweet, inoffensive children’s movie that teaches kindness, acceptance, and that no matter what adversity you face, you can always choose happiness and work toward enjoying life.  I’m definitely going to buy the soundtrack.