Full of opinions, but free of spoilers.
November is finally here and the hot days have officially been replaced with much cooler ones, so that only means one thing: Christmas movies! Christmas festivities are already taking place and while some embrace the premature celebrations and décor, others look down upon the early hoopla. The latter are sometimes known as a Grinch. You may identify with the frustrations of people practically overlooking Thanksgiving and going straight to Christmas decorations as soon as Halloween ones come down. But, there’s a story by our good friend Dr. Seuss about a creature who hates anything and everything to do with Christmas and his name is appropriately, the Grinch. He’s the sourest of the Grinches, the Grinchest of the Grinches, the meanest of the of them all, so that’s why he’s known as the Grinch; there is only one of his kind.
For me, The Grinch is my nostalgic seasonal movie like Hocus Pocus is for most people during Halloween. I love the original so much even though Jim Carey is kind of terrifying in that get-up of his. I love how it’s slightly twisted and so very weird, while being very self-aware of it. I know it’s intended to be a kid’s movie but when I watch it with my adult lens I have now, I wonder how many children were not actually allowed to watch it. The new adaptation is very much a kid’s movie, in a very cute and sweet way. There are some jokes within the movie that remind you this is movie intended for children who are at the age of still thinking fart jokes are the funniest thing on this planet. You, thankfully, don’t get a lot of fart-jokey moments in the movie, just a few sprinkled throughout. I feel like we see a lot more kindness from the Grinch in this movie then we did in the original one, which is another thing I enjoyed. We see him as more of a broken-down character who has been through a lot, rather then a straight up monster, which I believe to be his narrative originally. This movie has a few different plot points and different characters then the original, although I can’t really recall which one is most like the book’s story. I personally didn’t miss or crave any storylines from the first movie in this one. The Grinch’s relationship with Max is thoroughly shown and really added on to the story that the Grinch isn’t a monster, he’s just really hurt.
We meet new characters in this film like Fred the adorable yak, Mr. Bricklebaum (Kenan Thompson) and Groobert (Tristan O’Hare). We are revisited by old ones like Cindy-Lou Who (Cameron Seely), Cindy’s mother Donna Who (Rashida Jones) and our beloved Narrator (Pharrell Williams) with Benedict Cumberbatch voicing the Grinch. I really loved everyone in their roles and I was really surprised to hear Kenan Thompson in the film. I enjoyed Benedict as the Grinch. He embodied who the Grinch is without being too much or not enough. I love the interactions we get with the other Who’s and the Grinch. Cindy’s home life is a different in this movie then what we see in the Jim Carey adaptation, and I really like it because it’s catalyst for showing us how big Cindy’s heart really is.
I really enjoyed myself in this movie. It’s definitely a feel-good, warm and fuzzy movie, and I think we need that, but also, it’s a Christmas movie, and if there isn’t singing and strangers who become family gathering around for a huge meal then can it really be considered a Christmas movie? Do yourself a favor see this new classic Christmas movie. Of course, the children can enjoy this movie with you and it’s imperative that they do!
Let’s chat! What are your opinions about the movie? What upcoming release should I check out? Email me at ocrutchf@aum.edu.
Hey, my name is Olivia Crutchfield! I’m not a movie expert but I just so happen to live with one, and our love for movies takes us to the movie theaters every single week to see new releases. So, be on the lookout for a review from me almost every week.
If you consider yourself a movie expert or you just really love them like me and want to listen to three guys giving their opinion on movies, all the while being hilarious, you may want to check out the podcast Best Pictures anywhere you get your podcasts.