How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film)

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This article is about the 2000 live-action film known as "The Grinch" in the UK. For the 2018 computer animated film, see The Grinch (film).
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
How the Grinch Stole Christmas film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ron Howard
Produced by
Written by Jeffrey Price
Peter S. Seaman
Based on How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
by Dr. Seuss
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Narrated by Anthony Hopkins
Music by James Horner
Cinematography Don Peterman
Edited by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Production
company
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
 <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • November 8, 2000 (2000-11-08) (Los Angeles)
  • November 17, 2000 (2000-11-17) (United States)
Running time
 105 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $123 million[2]
Box office $345.1 million[2]

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a 2000 American fantasy comedy film directed by Ron Howard and written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. Based on Dr. Seuss's 1957 book of the same name, it was the first Dr. Seuss book to be adapted into a full-length feature film. The film is narrated by Anthony Hopkins and stars Jim Carrey as the eponymous character, with Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Molly Shannon, Bill Irwin, and Taylor Momsen in supporting roles.

Produced by Imagine Entertainment, How the Grinch Stole Christmas was released by Universal Pictures in the United States on November 17, 2000 to mixed reviews from critics. It grossed $345 million worldwide and was the sixth-highest grossing film of 2000. It was originally the second highest-grossing holiday film of all-time behind Home Alone (1990), until both films were surpassed in 2018 by the third film adaptation of the story.[2][3] It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup as well as getting nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design.

Plot

All the Whos of Whoville enjoy celebrating Christmas. The Grinch, a misanthropic green creature who lives in a cave on nearby Mount Crumpit, hates the holiday, and none of the Whos like him because of his mean-spiritedness, especially during the holiday season. Six-year-old Cindy Lou Who believes that everyone is missing the point about Christmas by focusing too much on the gifts and festivities and too little on the personal relationships. She encounters the Grinch at the post office and later discovers he has a tragic past.

The Grinch arrived in Whoville as a baby and was adopted by two elderly sisters. He was a timid child and wasn't as cruel as he would later become. In school when he was eight years old the Grinch had a crush on Martha May Whovier, who was a beautiful girl in his class who seemed to like him back. Bully Augustus MayWho however was jealous that Martha liked the Grinch more than him and began to pick on him. That Christmas he made a gift for Martha but accidentally cut his face while trying to shave after MayWho revealed he had a beard. When MayWho and his classmates saw his cut face they (except Martha) made fun of him, causing him to lose his temper and flee to Mount Crumpit.

Cindy nominates the Grinch to be the town's "Holiday Cheermeister", much to the displeasure of Augustus MayWho, who is now the mayor of Whoville. Cindy climbs to Mount Crumpit to invite the Grinch to the celebration and he eventually accepts, realizing that Martha may be there and he may have a chance to upset MayWho. As Cheermeister, the Grinch participates in several events and begins to have fun, but Mayor MayWho spoils everything by giving him an electric razor as a present reminding him of his childhood humiliation which started his hatred of the holiday season. The Mayor then publicly proposes marriage to Martha and giving her a gaudy engagement ring and a new car. Enraged, the Grinch berates the Whos for their materialism by telling them that Christmas is only about gifts that they will ultimately end up throwing in the garbage, which is dumped on Mount Crumpit near his home. He burns down the tree with a makeshift flamethrower (the Whos, however have a spare) and goes on a rampage before returning home.

Finally fed up with the Whos' Christmas, the Grinch concocts a plan to crush the Whos' Christmas spirit by stealing all of their presents, decorations and food while they are asleep. He disguises himself as Santa Claus and dresses his pet dog Max as a reindeer, then descends into Whoville. The first house he enters is Cindy's, and when she catches him stealing their tree, he lies to her in order to allow him to escape. The Grinch continues stealing all of the gifts, decorations and food and stuffing them all in a large sack, before climbing back to the top of Mount Crumpit to destroy it all by pushing the sack off the side. When the Whos wake up on Christmas morning, they are horrified to discover the theft and Mayor MayWho blames Cindy for letting the Grinch ruin the holidays for the town. However, her cheerful father, town postmaster Lou Lou Who, comes to his daughter's defense by explaining to the mayor and all of the other Whos that he has finally figured out what Cindy has been trying to tell the whole town — Christmas is mainly about being together with family and friends, not just gifts and fancy decorations. The Whos agree with Lou and start singing Whoville's Christmas carol.

Before the Grinch can push the sack of stolen gifts off the top of Mount Crumpit, he hears the Whos singing and realizes that he has failed to prevent Christmas, but then has an epiphany and finally realizes the true meaning of Christmas, causing his heart to grow three sizes. The sleigh full of gifts then begins to slide over the edge of the cliff along with Cindy, who had come to spend Christmas with him. The Grinch gets the strength to lift the loaded sleigh and carry Cindy to safety, and they ride down the mountain to return everything.

The Grinch apologizes for his pranks and the burglary before surrendering himself to the police, who accept his apology and deny the mayor's request to arrest and pepper spray him. Martha even turns down his proposal and returns his engagement ring to him, declaring that her heart belongs to the Grinch. Afterwards, the redeemed Grinch joins in the Whos' celebration feast and carves the roast beast himself in his cave.

Cast

  • Anthony Hopkins as the narrator.
  • Jim Carrey as the Grinch, a bad-tempered, devious and misanthropic green-furred creature who despises Christmas and the Whos of Whoville. It is revealed in his origin story that he started to hate Christmas after his school classmates mocked him for trying to shave his face. Before Carrey was cast to play the Grinch, Jack Nicholson,[4] Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks, Tim Curry and Eddie Murphy[5] were briefly considered.
    • Josh Ryan Evans as the 8-year-old Grinch; his humiliation at school by Augustus MayWho is what drives him into a hatred of Christmas. This was Evans' last film role before his death in 2002.[6]
  • Kelley as Max, the Grinch's pet dog and only companion on Mt. Crumpit.
  • Christine Baranski as Martha May Whovier, the Grinch's lifelong crush, and the romantic interest of Mayor Augustus MayWho.
    • Landry Allbright as 8-year-old Martha May Whovier who shows compassion towards the young Grinch.
  • Jeffrey Tambor as Mayor Augustus MayWho, Whoville's arrogant and judgmental mayor. He is revealed to be a school bully who picked on the young Grinch over his shaved face, which is what motivated the Grinch to hate Christmas in the first place.
    • Ben Bookbinder as 8-year-old Augustus MayWho; he tormented the young Grinch, which motivated the Grinch to hate Christmas.
  • Taylor Momsen as Cindy Lou Who, a kind young Who girl who believes that the Christmas spirit in Whoville is lost and is one of the only people to see past the Grinch's nasty behavior. In the film, she is 6 years old whereas in the book in 1957 and the TV special in 1966 she is "no more than 2".
  • Bill Irwin as Lou Lou Who, the cheerful and slightly dimwitted postmaster of Whoville, as well as Cindy's father.
  • Molly Shannon as Betty Lou Who, Cindy's mother and Martha's rival in a house-lighting contest.
  • Clint Howard as Whobris, the mayor's sycophantic aide and servant.
    • Reid Kirchenbauer as 8-year-old Whobris.
  • Mindy Sterling as Clarnella Who, one of the Grinch's adoptive mothers in his childhood.
  • Rachel Winfree as Rose Who, one of the Grinch's adoptive mothers in his childhood.
  • Jeremy Howard as Drew Lou Who, one of the troublesome sons of Lou and Betty and brother of Cindy.
  • T. J. Thyne as Stu Lou Who, one of the troublesome sons of Lou and Betty and brother of Cindy.
  • Jim Meskimen as Officer Wholihan, the chief of police.
  • Mary Stein as Miss Rue Who, the Grinch's school teacher who later becomes Cindy's teacher.
  • Deep Roy as Post Office Clerk
  • Rance Howard as Elderly Timekeeper
  • Verne Troyer as Band Member
  • Bryce Dallas Howard as Surprised Who
  • Ron Howard as Whoville Townperson (uncredited)

Production

Ron Howard is the film's director and producer.

Before his death in 1991, Dr. Seuss had refused offers to sell the film rights to his books. However, his widow Audrey Geisel, agreed to several merchandising deals, including clothing lines, accessories and CDs.[7] In July 1998, Geisel's agents announced via letter she would auction the film rights of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. In order to pitch their ideas to Geisel, the suitors ultimately had to be willing to pay $5 million for the material and hand over 4 percent of the box-office gross, 50 percent of the merchandising revenue and music-related material, and 70 percent of the income from book tie-ins. The letter also stated that "any actor submitted for the Grinch must be of comparable stature to Jack Nicholson, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman." Additionally, it was stipulated that the estate would not consider a director or writer who had not earned at least $1 million on a previous picture.[4]

20th Century Fox pitched its version with director Tom Shadyac and producers Dave Phillips and John Davis in attendance, in which Nicholson was in mind to play the Grinch.[8] Additionally, the Farrelly brothers and John Hughes pitched their own separate versions.[9] Universal Pictures held its pitch presentation with Brian Grazer and Gary Ross in attendance, but Geisel refused each offer. Grazer then enlisted his producing partner Ron Howard to help with the negotiations. At the time, Howard was developing a film adaptation of The Sea-Wolf, and, despite being an avid fan of the animated special, did not express interest in Grinch but Grazer talked Howard into traveling to Geisel's residence for the pitch meeting.[10] While studying the book, Howard became interested in the character Cindy Lou Who and pitched a film in which she would have a larger role as well as a materialistic representation of the Whos and an expanded backstory of the Grinch.[4][11]

On September 16, 1998, it was announced that Howard would direct and co-produce a live-action adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Jim Carrey attached to star.[12] It was also reported that Universal Pictures, who had acquired the distribution rights, paid $9 million for the film rights for an adaptation of Grinch and Oh, the Places You'll Go! to Geisel.[13] Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman (of both Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Doc Hollywood fame) wrote the final screenplay following eight drafts, but Geisel also had veto power over the script. She objected to several jokes and sexual innuendos in the screenplay, including one about a family who did not have a Christmas tree or presents jokingly called the "Who-steins" and the placement of a stuffed trophy of the Cat in the Hat on the Grinch's wall.[14] Alec Berg, David Mandel and Jeff Schaffer (who were also writers on the television series Seinfeld) did an uncredited rewrite of the script.[15]

The film was shot between September 1999 and January 2000. Geisel visited the set in October 1999. Much of the Whoville set was constructed on the backlot of Universal Studios behind the Bates Motel set from Psycho. Rick Baker was hired to design and create the film's prosthetic makeup for Carrey and the rest of the cast. It took a number of tests, and ultimately Carrey admiring a photo of Baker in his first test makeup, for the decision to use Baker's original makeup design. The Grinch suit was covered in yak hair, dyed green and sewed onto a spandex suit. The application of the makeup took up to 8 and a half hours, after which a frustrated Carrey kicked a hole in the wall of his trailer. Carrey's makeup artist Kazu Hiro recounted, "On set, [Carrey] was really mean to everybody and at the beginning of the production they couldn't finish. After two weeks we only could finish three days' worth of shooting schedule, because suddenly he would just disappear and when he came back, everything was ripped apart. We couldn't shoot anything." Kazu Hiro left production until Baker and Howard had a discussion with Carrey on how important Kazu Hiro was to the production. Carrey agreed to keep his anger in check and Kazu Hiro returned to his role.[16] Meanwhile, Josh Ryan Evans, who played the 8-year old Grinch, wore the same style of makeup and bodysuit that Carrey wore. In total, Carrey spent 92 days in the Grinch makeup and became adept at remaining calm while sitting in the make-up chair. Most of the appliances the actors wore were noses that connected to an upper lip along with a few dentures, ears and wigs.[citation needed]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the album was released on November 7th, 2000.[17] It features a collection of music performed by several artists, including Busta Rhymes, Faith Hill, Eels, Smash Mouth, and NSYNC.

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Released November 7, 2000 (2000-11-07)
Recorded 2000
Genre
Length 73:19
Label

All song lengths via Apple Music.[18]All music composed by James Horner, except where noted.

No. Title Performed by Length
1. "Kids Today" (Dialogue) Taylor Momsen and Jim Carrey 0:21
2. "Grinch 2000"   Busta Rhymes featuring Jim Carrey 3:34
3. "Green Christmas"   Barenaked Ladies 2:35
4. "Christmas of Love"   Little Isidore and the Inquisitors 2:19
5. "Lonely Christmas Eve"   Ben Folds 3:19
6. "Grinch Schedule" (Dialogue)   0:40
7. "Better Do It Right"   Smash Mouth 3:10
8. "Whoville Medley (Perfect Christmas Night/Grinch)"   Trans-Siberian Orchestra 4:59
9. "Reindeer" (Dialogue)   0:35
10. "Christmas Is Going to the Dogs"   Eels 2:57
11. "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"   Carrey 2:31
12. "Christmas Means More" (Dialogue)   0:49
13. "You Don't Have to Be Alone (On Christmas)"   *NSYNC 4:33
14. "Where Are You, Christmas?"   Faith Hill 4:07
15. "The Shape of Things to Come"     6:31
16. "Memories of a Green Childhood"     3:28
17. "Christmas, Why Can't I Find You?"   Taylor Momsen 2:09
18. "Stealing Christmas"     6:55
19. "The Big Heist"     4:01
20. "Does Cindy Lou Really Ruin Christmas?"     4:10
21. "A Change of Heart"     3:44
22. "The Sleigh of Presents"     6:01
23. "He Carves the Roast Beast"     3:10

Release

How the Grinch Stole Christmas was released by Universal Pictures in the United States on November 17, 2000.

Home media

The film was released on VHS and DVD on November 20, 2001.[19] In December 2001, Variety reported that it was the second biggest selling home video release of 2001, selling 16.9 million copies and earning $296 million in sales revenue.[20] A Blu-ray/DVD combo pack was released on October 13, 2009, then later given a separate Blu-ray release on October 13, 2015.[21] It was also remastered in 4K and released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on October 17, 2017.[22]

Television

It premiered on television on ABC on November 25, 2004 and aired for a few years. How the Grinch Stole Christmas currently annually airs on Freeform's (formerly ABC Family) 25 Days of Christmas. The American television airings include deleted footage which was not included on the original, theatrical, and VHS/DVD releases such as Cindy's dad maxing out his credit card buying Christmas gifts, Cindy asking her dad who the Grinch was before heading off to school, Lou visiting Cindy staying after school after mentioning the Grinch, a few extended scenes of the post office, the Grinch in his cave and Cindy inviting the Grinch to the Christmas party, Martha May and Betty Lou competing in the Christmas Lights Contest, the Grinch trying out different outfits to wear at the Christmas party, the Grinch drinking eggnog, the Whos passing out gifts to each other, and Cindy's family getting ready for Christmas morning at night. It also sometimes airs on NBC during Christmas night after the animated television special. It aired on FX to promote the television broadcast premiere of the 2018 animated film in 2020.

Reception

Box office

How the Grinch Stole Christmas grossed $260 million domestically and $85.1 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $345.1 million, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of 2000.

In the United States, The Grinch opened at number-one on its opening day, making $15.6 million, with a weekend gross of $55.0 million, for an average of $17,615 from 3,127 theaters. The film held the record for the highest opening weekend for a Christmas-themed film for 18 years until the 2018 film version of The Grinch passed it with $67.6 million. In its second weekend, the film grossed $52.1 million, dropping only 5.1%, settling a new record for highest-grossing second weekend for any film at the time. The film stayed at the top of the box office for four weekends until it was overtaken by What Women Want in mid-December. The film closed on April 30, 2001, after five months with a final gross of $260,044,825.[2] Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold over 48.1 million tickets in North America.[23]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 49% based on 142 reviews and an average rating of 5.54/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Jim Carrey shines as the Grinch. Unfortunately, it's not enough to save this movie. You'd be better off watching the TV cartoon."[24] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100 based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[25] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.[26]

Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars, referring to it as "a dank, eerie, weird movie about a sour creature" and said, "There should be ... a jollier production design and a brighter look overall ... It's just not much fun." Ebert observed that Carrey "works as hard as an actor has ever worked in a movie, to small avail". Nevertheless, he decided that "adults may appreciate Carrey's remarkable performance in an intellectual sort of way and give him points for what was obviously a supreme effort".[27]

Paul Clinton of CNN declared that Carrey "was born to play this role" and noted that "Carrey carries nearly every scene. In fact, if he's not in the scene, there is no scene."[28] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly began his review of the film analyzing the Grinch's "mischievously divided, now-I'm-calm/ now-I'm-a-raving-sarcastic-PSYCH-o! personality" and summed up Carrey's Grinch as "a slobby, self-loathing elitist ruled by the secret fear that he's always being left out of things." Gleiberman expressed surprise at "how affecting Carrey makes the Grinch's ultimate big-hearted turnaround, as Carrey the actor sneaks up on Carrey the wild-man dervish. In whichever mode, he carreys [sic] the movie."[29]

Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle said, "Nobody could play the Grinch better than Jim Carrey, whose rubbery antics and maniacal sense of mischief are so well suited to How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Dr. Seuss himself might have turned to Carrey as a model for the classic curmudgeon had the actor been around in 1957." However, he wondered why Carrey "made himself sound like Sean Connery" and warned that the character's intensity may frighten small children.[30] James Berardinelli of ReelViews wrote that Carrey's "off-the-wall performance is reminiscent of what he accomplished in The Mask, except that here he never allows the special effects to upstage him. Carrey's Grinch is a combination of Seuss' creation and Carrey's personality, with a voice that sounds far more like a weird amalgamation of Sean Connery and Jim Backus (Bond meets Magoo!) than it does Karloff." He concluded that Carrey "brings animation to the live action, and, surrounded by glittering, fantastical sets and computer-spun special effects, Carrey enables Ron Howard's version of the classic story to come across as more of a welcome endeavor than a pointless re-tread."[31]

Some reviews were more polarized. Stephanie Zacharek of Salon in a generally negative review of the film, wrote that "Carrey pulls off an admirable impersonation of an animated figure ... It's fine as mimicry goes – but mimicry isn't the best playground for comic genius. Shouldn't we be asking more of a man who's very likely the most gifted comic actor of his generation?" She concluded that in spite of "a few terrific ad-libs ... his jokes come off as nothing more than a desperate effort to inject some offbeat humor into an otherwise numbingly unhip, nonsensical and just plain dull story".[32]

Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote, "Carrey tries out all sorts of intonations, vocal pitches and delivery styles, his tough guy posturing reminding at times of Cagney and his sibilant S's recalling Bogart. His antic gesturing and face-making hit the mark at times, but at other moments seem arbitrary and scattershot. Furthermore, his free-flowing tirades, full of catch-all allusions and references, are pitched for adult appreciation and look destined to sail right over the heads of pre-teens."[33]

Accolades

Award Category Recipient Result
Academy Awards Best Art Direction Michael Corenblith and Merideth Boswell Nominated
Best Costume Design Rita Ryack Nominated
Best Makeup Rick Baker and Gail Rowell-Ryan Won
Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Musical or Comedy Jim Carrey Nominated
Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Movie Won
Favorite Movie Actor Jim Carrey Won
MTV Movie Awards Best Villain Won
Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Remake or Sequel Nominated
Worst Screenplay Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman Nominated
Stinkers Bad Movie Awards Worst Supporting Actress Taylor Momsen Nominated
Worst Song or Song Performance "Christmas, Why Can't I Find You?" by Taylor Momsen Nominated
Worst On-Screen Hairstyle Taylor Momsen Nominated
Saturn Awards Best Fantasy Film Nominated
Best Director Ron Howard Nominated
Best Actor Jim Carrey Nominated
Best Performance by a Younger Actor Taylor Momsen Nominated
Best Costume Rita Ryack, David Page Nominated
Best Music James Horner Won
Best Make-Up Rick Baker and Gail Rowell-Ryan Won
Best Special Effects Nominated

See also

References

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  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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