Written by Briah Krueger
Illumination Entertainment, who brought us memorable titles such as Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets, and Sing, have a knack for delivering clever, hilarious, and colourful animations and bringing them to life for their audiences to cherish and watch again and again. And they have done it again with this must-see movie, The Grinch (2018).
Everyone knows and loves the classic story of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” by the imaginative Dr. Seuss, and most people who know the story also fell in love and created a Christmas tradition of watching the classic 2000 film How the Grinch Stole Christmas (starring Jim Carrey).
There has been some controversy of these two films being compared and some people refusing to give it a chance because of the love for the 2000 film. Though I myself am a huge fan of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, I also wanted to give The Grinch a chance. I found myself pleasantly surprised and shocked by how much I loved this movie, perhaps even just as much as the 2000 film adaptation of this beloved and timeless story.
The first thing I will say, is you can’t compare these two films. Yes, both plots contain the basics of Dr. Seuss’s story, but basics aside (like how the Grinch hates Christmas and steals it from the Whos) they have completely different details about the Grinch and everything in between.
The Grinch in the 2000 adaptation was essentially adopted, raised, and attended public school, leading to a crush and rejection from his peers as we know fuelled his rage of hating Christmas.
In the 2018 adaptation, the Grinch was never adopted and was forced to spend his childhood alone and scared in an Orphanage.
I was extremely pleased with this portrayal of the Grinch. You could see this sense of humanity (or should I say, Whomanity) in him. Of course, he still displayed his hatred of Christmas and he did mean and rude things to the Whos.
But in some moments of the film, you saw how lonely he was and how deep down he longed to belong somewhere and wanted to experience the love of Christmas. Plus, Benedict Cumberbatch gives us an outstanding version of the Grinch you’ll instantly love.
I also really enjoyed how this adaptation of the Grinch loved his dog Max so much and showed kindness to him throughout the movie. Yes, Max still did orders for him and he made Max do tasks that were too hard for him, but he pulled through. But he truly loved and appreciated his dog, it pulled at the heart-strings! The film also gives us a different view on Cindy Lou Who, as in this adaptation she is being raised (along with her infant brothers) by a single Mom who works late hours as a nurse.
This movie’s diversity, love, and passionate lessons (not to mention the killer soundtrack), really makes this an instant classic Christmas movie. There’s something for everyone to love and appreciate about this film (from youngsters to elders) with its colourful and whimsical pictures, clever and hilarious dialogue, and an ending that will make you smile and put you right in the Christmas spirit. With that said, this movie receives 8 candy canes out of 10!
I will definitely be buying this movie and making it a new Christmas tradition of mine once it’s out on DVD. You’re in for a treat!
