The Grinch (film) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Grinch |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Music by | Danny Elfman |
| Editing by | Chris Cartagena |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 22, 2018 (Regency Village Theater) November 9, 2018 (United States) |
| Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $75 million |
| Money made | $512.9 million |
The Grinch (also known as Dr. Seuss' The Grinch) is a 2018 American computer-animated Christmas fantasy comedy film produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. Based on the 1957 book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss, it is the third screen adaptation of the story, following the 1966 television special starring Boris Karloff and the 2000 live-action feature-length film starring Jim Carrey. It marks Illumination's second Dr. Seuss film adaptation, following The Lorax (2012). The film was directed by Scott Mosier and Yarrow Cheney (in the former's feature directorial debut) and produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, with a screenplay written by Michael LeSieur and Tommy Swerdlow. The film stars the voices of Benedict Cumberbatch, Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson, Angela Lansbury, and Pharrell Williams, who serves as the narrator. The plot follows the Grinch and his pet dog Max as they plan to stop Whoville's Christmas celebration by stealing all the town's decorations and gifts.
The Grinch was released and distributed by Universal Pictures in the United States on November 9, 2018. It grossed over $512 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing Christmas film of all time, as well as the highest-grossing Dr. Seuss film adaptation. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the animation and the vocal performances, but felt the film added little or nothing new to the source material. This was the final Dr. Seuss film adaptation released during the lifetime of Seuss' widow Audrey Geisel, who served as executive producer of the film and died on December 19, 2018, five weeks after the film's release.
Contents
Plot
In the town of Whoville, the human-like people called Whos are filled with excitement about celebrating Christmas. However, the only one who is not amused is the grumpy, cantankerous and green-furred Grinch, born with a heart being "two-sizes too small". He lives in his cave with his dog, Max, and only goes into Whoville to buy groceries and harass the Whos.
Meanwhile, 6-year-old Cindy Lou Who notices that her mother Donna is overworked trying to take care of herself and her twin infant brothers, Buster and Bean. Cindy initially decides to send a letter to Santa Claus to help her mother, but after an encounter with the Grinch —who sarcastically tells her that, if the matter is so urgent, she'll have to talk to Santa face-to-face about it— she decides to go to the North Pole to talk to Santa himself. When Donna tells her that a round trip to the North Pole would take a month, she instead decides to try trapping Santa with the help of her friends.
With Christmas approaching, an attempt by the Grinch to ruin a tree-lighting ceremony goes wrong, resulting in him having a flashback about his disjointed childhood spent alone and unwanted in an orphanage. The Grinch soon decides that he will steal Christmas from Whoville to assuage his distress. He and Max acquire a fat reindeer, whom the Grinch calls Fred, and steal a sleigh from his friendly neighbor Bricklebaum. After a test run, the Grinch and Max discover that Fred has a family, and the Grinch emotionally agrees to let Fred go home with them.
On Christmas Eve, after making a Santa disguise and crafting dozens of gadgets to help him with his plan, the Grinch and Max, who pulls the sleigh in Fred's place, go down to Whoville to steal the decorations and presents. He soon encounters Cindy Lou after falling into her trap. Her request to help lighten her mother's workload and her kind advice about listening to the Whos' singing to alleviate his sadness touches the Grinch's heart. Despite this, the Grinch continues his mission, unable to let go of the loneliness Christmas brought him.
After stealing every Christmas present and decoration, the Grinch and Max head back to Mount Crumpit to dispose of them. The Whos wake up and are shocked and disappointed to see that the presents and decorations are gone. Cindy Lou believes that she's to blame because of her trap, but Donna tells her that Christmas is not centered on presents and that Cindy's the best thing that ever happened to her. The Whos join together to sing "Welcome Christmas", rendering the Grinch puzzled to see that they are celebrating Christmas despite his thefts. Seeing Cindy and remembering her guidance, he immerses himself in their singing, causing his shrunken heart to blissfully triple in size.
Afterwards, the sleigh begins to fall off Mount Crumpit, and the Grinch attempts to save it. He succeeds at this when Fred and his family come to his aid. After securing the sleigh, the Grinch and Max slide down back to Whoville in order to return the stolen items, and the remorseful Grinch admits his crimes and apologizes to the Whos before returning to his cave.
Feeling sorry for the Grinch, Cindy later invites him and Max to celebrate Christmas at her house which he awkwardly attends. When seated for dinner, he realizes that it wasn't really Christmas he despised, but being alone and his bitterness over being neglected. With this, the Grinch finally accepts the Whos' friendship and enjoys Christmas with them giving a toast "To kindness and love, the things we need most."
Voice cast
- Benedict Cumberbatch as the Grinch, a grumpy, cave-dwelling, green-furred creature who hates Christmas
- Cameron Seely as Cindy Lou Who, a kind-hearted young resident of Whoville
- Rashida Jones as Donna Who, Cindy Lou's overworked single mother
- Kenan Thompson as Bricklebaum, a jolly citizen of Whoville who lives near The Grinch
- Angela Lansbury as Mayor McGerkle, the Mayor of Whoville who oversees the tree-lighting ceremony
- Pharrell Williams as the Narrator
- Tristan O'Hare as Groopert, Cindy Lou's best friend
- Sam Lavagnino as Ozzy, one of Cindy Lou's friends
- Ramone Hamilton as Axl, one of Cindy Lou's friends
- Scarlett Estevez as Izzy, one of Cindy Lou's friends whose mouth is mostly wrapped up in a scarf
- Michael Beattie as a store clerk
Georgia Toffolo provided the voice of Mrs. Toffee Apple (a customer who was trying to reach a jar of "Christmas chutney") in one scene in some releases. In addition, Bill Farmer voices Sam, a bus driver.
A recording of Pentatonix' "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" was used for the Who-Carolers that stalk the Grinch.
Production
Development
In February 2013, it was announced that Illumination was developing a 3D animated feature film based on the Dr. Seuss book, with the working title How the Grinch Stole Christmas, later shortened to The Grinch. Peter Candeland and Yarrow Cheney were set to direct, though in 2018 producer Scott Mosier took over from Candeland. Candeland still stayed on the project for additional story direction.
Casting
Benedict Cumberbatch was cast as the titular character in April 2016. Illumination originally wanted Cumberbatch to voice the Grinch in his natural accent, however, Cumberbatch felt that since the rest of the cast is American, the Grinch himself should have an American accent. By September 2018, Angela Lansbury had been set to voice the Mayor of Whoville. Rashida Jones, Cameron Seely, and Kenan Thompson also joined the cast, while Pharrell Williams, who had previously worked on Illumination's Despicable Me films, was revealed to be narrating the film.
Animation
The animation was created by Illumination Mac Guff in Paris, France. Several software programs were used in creating the film's CGI characters including Maya, ZBrush, and Nuke as well as in-house software. A 3D CGI model of the town of Whoville through which a virtual camera could travel was crafted using Maya, ZBrush, Foundry’s Mari, and Allegorithmic’s Substance Painter.
Music
On November 20, 2017, Danny Elfman was revealed to be composing the film's score. Tyler, the Creator wrote a new song for the film titled "I Am the Grinch". Tyler and Danny Elfman, who composed the film's score, collaborated on a new version of the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" for the film, which was featured in the final trailer, and early on in the film itself. The score and soundtrack albums were released (both digitally and on CD) and the film.
Release
Theatrical
The film was originally scheduled to be released on November 10, 2017, but on June 7, 2016, it was pushed back to November 9, 2018.
Marketing
Beginning in October, various billboards appeared for the film, each featuring an image of the Grinch, accompanied by a mean or ironic message. Universal and Illumination partnered with several companies to promote the film, including Wonderful Pistachios, Ebates, IHOP and 23andme for about $80 million worth of advertising. All-in-all the studio spent an estimated $121 million promoting the film worldwide. To promote the film, a giant inflatable balloon featuring the titular character first appeared at the 91st Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City on November 23, 2017, 1 year ahead of its release. Later in December 2018, The Grinch and Max also made cameos in that year's WNBC/WNJU holiday sing along promo.
Home media
The film was released on Digital HD on January 22, 2019, and on DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on February 5, 2019. It includes three mini-movies: Yellow is the New Black (which preceded the film in its theatrical run), The Dog Days of Winter, and Santa's Little Helpers. The Dog Days of Winter was first shown on NBC on November 23, 2018, after How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) and before Trolls Holiday.
Television
The film made its broadcast television premiere on FX on December 12, 2020, premiered on Disney Channel on December 13, 2020, and premiered on Freeform on December 18, 2020. The film was aired on NBC December 22, 2021.
See also
In Spanish: El Grinch (película de 2018) para niños
