Reel Jolly series: “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” (2000 and the 1966 Animated Classic Special)
- Matt Palmer
- Dec 21, 2025
- 5 min read
For the Christmas Eve edition of the Examiner, I wanted to focus on a lot of holiday reviews for everyone to enjoy! But, next week’s edition (New Year’s Eve) will consist of four new releases and one more holiday review. So, for this festive review, I wanted to take another look at the live-action “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (which just celebrated its 25th anniversary) and the 1966 beloved animated classic special!
In the live-action adaptation of the beloved children’s tale by Dr. Seuss, the reclusive green Grinch decides to ruin Christmas for the cheery citizens of Whoville. Reluctantly joined by his hapless dog, Max, the Grinch comes down from his mountaintop home and sneaks into town to swipe everything holiday-related from the Whos.
However, the bitter grump finds a hitch in his plans when he encounters the endearing Cindy Lou-Who.
Just about every holiday season, I check out both the beloved animated classic and the memorable live-action adaptation. Since last year I didn’t get a chance to check them out for the holiday review series, I figured I’d make up for it this year!
Every time I watch the 2000 adaptation of the classic, I enjoy it more and more. With a lot of great visuals of Whoville, a heartwarming, timeless message and a good amount of humor, this live-action adaptation will still be a holiday favorite for several more years to come!
Jim Carrey’s extremely energetic portrayal of the Grinch is easily the biggest highlight of this movie. Not only did Carrey bring more of his popular physical comedy to this version, he also had the great ability to balance the zany humor with some very heartfelt moments. With his great portrayal, Carrey also brought us some truly memorable segments that will surely entertain families.
His first interaction with Cindy Lou at the post office is quite memorable as the Grinch wraps her up like a present after she falls into the sorting machine. There’s also a fan favorite comedic moment (that’s also one of my favorites) where we see him going through his “daily schedule,” which includes starring into the abyss, wallowing in self-pity and dinner with himself (which he can’t cancel again). Carrey also does a great job with some heart-warming moments at the end when the Grinch finally has a change of heart.
One major change of the beloved story that worked really well in this adaptation is the Grinch’s added backstory, where we see a young Grinch getting bullied and ridiculed with his attempted new appearance. This sequence provides the emotional foundation for why he hates Christmas. This live-action version provides incredible hand-built sets and a few jokes that might go over the little ones’ heads.
Upon release, the movie received mixed reviews, yet audiences really loved it, making it a massive hit. This version also critiqued the commercialism of the holiday as well. The 2000 version has also become a holiday viewing tradition for most families.
MPA: Rated PG for some crude humor (runtime 104 minutes)
The 1966 made for TV Christmas special is an absolute classic. Based on the Dr. Seuss
tale, it’s about a Christmas-hating Grinch who wants to make everyone as miserable on Christmas as he is. The poor, small-hearted Scrooge learns the true meaning of Christmas through the loving Whos in Whoville.
The beloved animated 1966 classic delivers a great blend of Seuss’ whimsical storytelling and the iconic animated style of Chuck Jones. Believe it or not, this animated holiday tradition was initially met with mixed reactions from critics when the TV special first aired.
Boris Karloff’s iconic vocal performance with the narration and the Grinch character adds a unique layer of charm and gravitas to the animated story and Thurl Ravenscroft’s deep vocals on the song “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” is still one of the special’s biggest stand out moments.
The Grinch’s transformation and redemption offers a reassuring message of hope that is still profound today. The TV special’s effective moral that Christmas is about community and love rather than material possessions will really give everyone watching a warm feeling every time you watch it.
The special is a beloved classic, celebrated for its faithful adaptation of the Seuss story, masterfully blending the iconic animation with rich narration and vocals, while also delivering a timeless message, memorable songs and great visuals.
You can currently find both the live-action adaptation and the beloved animated TV special on Peacock!
The Grinch directing his dog, Max (Kelley), before stealing Christmas, is a result of Jim Carrey making fun of producer and director Ron Howard, imitating his style of directing. Howard found the scene hilarious and decided to include it in the movie.
The jewels in Martha May's hair when she is explaining the Grinch's backstory are from the tree topper that the young Grinch made for Martha, implying that she still has feelings for him.
The line "6:30 p.m. Dinner with me. I can't cancel that again" was improvised by Jim Carrey. Carrey also improvised the scene where he pulls the tablecloth from under the plates and cans. Originally, everything was supposed to fly off the table, but Carrey executed the move almost perfectly, which is why he exits the screen, then returns and knocks the stuff off the table anyway.
Jim Carrey was suggested for the title role by Audrey Geisel, the widow of Dr. Seuss, who controlled the rights to the book. She also suggested Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, and Robin Williams.
Sir Anthony Hopkins recorded all of the narration for this movie in one day.
The Whoville set was primarily constructed on the Universal Studios backlot, behind the Bates Motel. During a filming break, Jim Carrey startled tourists on the Universal Backlot Tour by running out of the motel wearing a dress and waving a knife. None of the visitors recognized him, and tour guides still share the story when passing the Bates Motel on the tour.
Jim Carrey's accent for the Grinch is based on that of Sir Sean Connery.
Jim Carrey, with no accompaniment nor anything to alter his voice, sang a few verses of the signature song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" which had the lyrics written by Dr. Seuss himself.
This was the highest grossing Christmas movie since Home Alone (1990).
Boris Karloff's voice changes when he speaks for the Grinch. Originally he spoke in his "Narrator" voice throughout. After recording was complete, the highs in his voice were mechanically removed for the Grinch, giving him the gravelly voice heard in the finished version.
Thurl Ravenscroft, who sang the song, is best known as the voice of Tony the Tiger in numerous Frosted Flakes TV commercials. Ravenscroft was picked to sing these songs because his voice was an extremely deep bass.
Dr. Seuss disputed casting Boris Karloff for fear that he would make the Grinch too scary.
Though all of the production and character designs were based upon original artwork from the book, Dr. Seuss thought that the Grinch more closely resembled Chuck Jones rather than the original Grinch drawings.
The lyrics to the song "Fahoo Foraze" were made to imitate classical Latin. After the special aired, the studio received letters asking for a translation from people who believed them to be real Latin.
The half-hour cartoon took 10 months and 25,000 drawings to complete.
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