Because the holiday season is in full swing, I decided to watch three movie adaptations of the classic Dr. Seuss story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and make a guide to help you decide what movie to watch. 

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)

Chuck Jones’s adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! stays remarkably true to Seuss’ original story and style. This is not out of character for Jones though, because he was hired to direct several of Seuss’ other most popular stories, including Horton Hears a Who! (1970), The Cat in the Hat (1971), and The Lorax (1972). In Jones’s version, the Grinch’s character still has his sinister smile and malicious red eyes, and Cindy Lou Who still bears her wispy hair and naive nature. One of the main differences between the original children’s story and the film is, the book was not drawn in color. The colorful aspect of the movie demonstrates the polarity of the atmosphere in the two settings of the story: the Grinch’s hideous cave having a more dull palette than the whimsical Whoville’s bright and colorful palette. While the movie goes by rather fast, seeing as it has only a 26-minute runtime, its pacing is spot on, and Jones conveys all the morals and plot of the story very well in the short period. 

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Director Ron Howard’s version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas has a completely different ambiance than Chuck Jones’s; this is largely due in part to the movie being live-action. If done incorrectly, a live-action adaptation of an animated story, especially one with such an elaborate and obscure setting as Seuss’, can be disastrous. While I do think the live action is lacking slightly in the amount of obscurity that the earlier version exhibits, Howard executed the visuals of classic children’s story spectacularly otherwise. Jim Carrey’s facial expressions as the Grinch make the movie that much more enjoyable, and the backdrop that Howard builds is just as otherworldly as Seuss’, with parabolic houses adorning every brightly lit-up street, and comically small cars bumping down the perpetually snowed-over roads. Because the original story was only 69 pages in length, the 2000 adaptation developed the characters quite a bit more than Seuss had. Instead of the Grinch being an elusive creature who hates Christmas for seemingly no reason, in Howard’s version, the Grinch is given a backstory which overall makes him a more sympathetic character, and enhances his overall character arc. Little Cindy Lou Who’s character is also developed greatly in the film adaptation; she is no longer the big-eyed little girl who is only seen once or twice in the book. Instead, Cindy is a cunning, decisive young girl who single-handedly wins over the Grinch’s disproportionately small heart and goes against the materialistic Mayor Agustus Maywho’s wishes to have a Grinch-less Christmas. All the characters in this Grinch have more entertaining and humorous dialogue than the earlier version or book, further adding to the entertainment of the movie.   

Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018)

The most recent variant of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! strays further from the original book than either version encountered thus far. Yarrow Cheney and Scott Moiser took the dated story and completely modernized it. The most noticeable features of the Whos in Seuss’ book are their button noses and animalistic facial features and bodies, all of which were completely redesigned in the 2018 adaptation. The 1966 version stayed pretty close to the original animation style, and the 2000 version used a great deal of visual effects to emulate the initial style as best they could, but the 2018 movie executed the character design in a different manner than the previous two by giving the Whos more human-like bodies and faces. Cheney and Moiser’s version of the Whos are beautified, which changes the movie from feeling more other-worldly, to feeling like it’s just a step away from our reality. One thing that does stay constant between the movie and book is the Whos’ signature button noses. Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch’s soundtrack features contemporary artists such as Tyler the Creator, and Danny Elfman. These artists give the movie a more modern feel, and make it more appealing to a younger audience by using popular Christmas songs and fun music that is objectively more enjoyable for kids than some of the original soundtracks are. In the 2018 adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Cindy Lou Who and the Grinch’s character is completely altered. In the 1966 version Cindy plays a very minor role, and in the 2000 version she plays a much bigger role, but the dynamics of her family are not explored. However, in the 2018 rendition, Cindy’s family dynamic and the Grinch’s non-existent family dynamic, play a dramatic role in the development of the plot. In Seuss’ original story, Cindy is the youngest of four boys and has two parents present in her life, however in the modern version, Cindy is the oldest of three, and has a single mother who is constantly overworking herself to take care of the kids. The conflict of the Mother being overworked creates the subplot of Cindy trying to find a helper for her mother, and develops onto the theme of the importance of family that is common throughout the movie. The Grinch’s character is changed from the original version with a backstory that makes him into a more sympathetic character, much like the 2000 version of the Grinch. His heart wrenching backstory also adds on to the theme of the importance of family, and to the overall subplot of the movie. 

Overall, the three versions of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! do not disappoint, and each of the movies have different aspects that make the movie great. If you are looking for a quick movie to watch during the holidays that has Dr Seuss’ signature style and a nostalgic feel, look no further than Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) which can be found on Peacock with a premium subscription, Amazon Prime Video for $3.99, YouTube for $3.99, or TNT for free with cable. However, if you want to watch a more humorous take on the classic picture book that can be enjoyed by both kids and adults alike, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) is the perfect choice. It can be found on Hulu with a premium subscription, Vudu for $3.99, Freeform for free with cable, Amazon Prime Video for $3.99, YouTube for $3.99, and Apple TV for $3.99. Finally, If you are looking for a modern retelling of the classic Christmas story that younger kids will love, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018) is the movie for you. It can be found on Hulu with a premium subscription, Vudu for $3.99, Amazon Prime Video for $3.99, YouTube for $3.99, and Apple TV for $3.99. 

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018)