How The Grinch Stole Christmas DVD
Warner Studios
Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Television Special
Length: 53 minutes
Director: Ben Washam, Chuck Jones
Year: (1966)
Britt Gillette's How The Grinch Stole Christmas DVD Review
One of only a handful of essential, "must-see" animated Christmas classics, How The Grinch Stole Christmas is a Dr. Seuss holiday masterpiece. Created in 1966 on the heels of the phenomenal success surrounding such TV specials as A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), the Grinch has morphed into a sacred annual Christmas rite perfect for any child from one to ninety-two.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas tells the story of a lumbering green monster who has a heart seven-sizes-to-small. Living with his dog in a mountaintop cave high above the town of Whoville, the Grinch (voiced by Boris Karloff) hates all the Whos, but what he hates worst of all is their happiness and celebration at Christmas. So the Grinch (smiling an evil Grinch grin) hatches a plan to steal Christmas. Fashioning reindeer horns for his dog and Santa suit for himself, the Grinch drives a sleigh down into Whoville while the Whos are asleep on Christmas Eve. He steals their lights, their ribbons, and their bows. He steals their boxes, packages, and bags. He steals wreathes and Christmas trees and even their Roast Beast (why that evil Grinch even stole the Who hash). And only thing he left behind was a crumb far too small for even a mouse. Caught in the act of stealing a Christmas tree by tiny little Cindy Loo Who, the Grinch tells an evil lie about taking the tree to his shop to fix the lights and sends the girl back to bed.
Leaving Whoville with his bounty, the Grinch starts off the highest mountain peak where he plans to throw all the Who stuff off a cliff. But first, he waits to hear the cries of pain from the Whos as they wake up to find all of their things long gone. Instead, every Who down in Whoville gathers together to sing a song. They aren't sad. In fact, they seem to be glad. The Grinch ponders this unaccounted for event and discovers the true meaning of Christmas. In an effort to save the sleigh full of Who stuff from falling off of the cliff, his heart grows seven sizes on that day, and he gains the strength of seven Grinches times ten. He rides the sleigh full of presents back into Whoville, where he celebrates Christmas with the Whos and even carves the Roast Beast…
Created under the direction of Chuck Jones (creator of famed Warner Brothers characters Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, and Pepe Le Pew), How The Grinch Stole Christmas is a masterful production with stellar voice-overs, imaginatively drawn characters, and Karloff's impressive narration. Several songs interspersed throughout are memorable in and of themselves (such as "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch"). In a nutshell, no celebration of the Christmas holidays is truly complete without at least one viewing of How The Grinch Stole Christmas…
Britt Gillette
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Posted on 3 December 2004