Movie Review: The Grinch

The Grinch *** / *****

Directed by: Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier.

Written by: Michael LeSieur and Tommy Swerdlow based on the book by Dr. Seuss.

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch (Grinch), Cameron Seely (Cindy-Lou Who), Rashida Jones (Donna Who), Pharrell Williams (Narrator), Kenan Thompson (Mr. Bricklebaum), Tristan O’Hare (Groopert), Angela Lansbury (The Mayor of Whoville).

 

Let’s get this out of the way right from the start – no, this new version of The Grinch is nowhere near as good as the original 23-minute television version, animated by Chuck Jones, and narrated by Boris Karloff. That version has a simplicity and directness to it that is unbeatable – at least to someone like me, who grew it watching it every Christmas (often several times). There is nothing that this version could have done that could have possibly beat that version, so if you want to write this film off as just a crass, money making venture, you are more than welcome to – and you wouldn’t precisely be wrong. And yet. And yet, this film is funny and charming in its own way, and features enough that is Seuss-ian to satisfy fans of Dr. Seuss, and enough that is new and delightful that children now will have a blast with it (as usual, I’ll note my two kids, 7 and 4, really did enjoy the film). It’s not a timeless classic like the original cartoon – but it’s better than it probably should be (and WAY better than the live action monstrosity featuring Jim Carrey and directed by Ron Howard of all people).

 

The story here is well known – The Grinch (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, doing very good vocal work) lives a lonely existence in a cave high above the way too happy and cheerful Whoville. He hates Whoville all the time, but especially at Christmas. His only companion is his faithful dog Max, who he basically uses as a slave, to help get him his breakfast, or his clothes or to do anything with. His cave is huge, cold, dark and lonely. This is contrasted with Whoville, which is full of color and life – and cheerful people. It’s enough to make The Grinch sick. He thought he had bought enough food to last until January – but he miscalculated due to stress eating, and now, just five days before Christmas, he has to venture into town. Of course, the whole experience is dreadful – which is why he hatches his plan to steal Christmas – and sets about to do just that.

 

Of course, when taking a short story and making it into a movie, some padding is going to be needed. Some of it works better than others here. It expands the role of Cindy-Lou Who (who is significantly older than two) into a grade schooler, who wants to do something nice for her overworked single mother – and plans to kidnap Santa on Christmas eve to do it. She’s a delight. Also a delight is an overweight reindeer named Fred, and the cheerful Mr. Bricklebaum (Kenan Thompson), who keeps insisting her and the Grinch are best friends. Even all those additions only take you so far, so there’s another 30 minutes or so that don’t work as well, although they’re still bright and cheerful enough that none of it is too bad. There’s even some nice music along the way.

 

And I will also say that I appreciated the ending of this version of The Grinch – which is more understated than I would have thought, and therefore, more emotional than I would have guessed. It is easy to be cynical about a movie like this – make no mistake, it isn’t really necessary, and was made to make money – but that can be true, and the result can still be fun and delightful. If you are a Grinch, you should probably stay away (which is why my wife made me take the kids solo) – but if you’re looking to watch a fun Christmas movie with your kids, you can do a lot worse than this.