Film Review: The Grinch

 "The Grinch"  

*** (out of ****)

While perhaps a slightly longer running time - 10 to 15 minutes - may have benefitted the original animated movie "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (1966) little else could have been done to improve the holiday classic. However, our society's sick fascination with "modernizing" classics eventually caught up to this Dr. Seuss story. 

It's not that this 2018 animated remake from Illumination is bad. It just wasn't necessary. If anything, it serves the purpose of taking away the awful taste left in my mouth after watching Ron Howard's live action remake "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (2000) starring Jim Carrey.

The original "Grinch" was 26 minutes. Naturally that is far too short to constitute as a feature-length movie. As such it is difficult to remake this material without adding a lot more to it to fill up the time. Both the live action remake and this animated one believes the key to doing this is to add a background story for the Grinch. The original movie didn't tell us why the Grinch is the way he is. Quite frankly, it didn't need to. The original also takes place on Christmas Eve and wasted no time getting into the thrust of its story with the Grinch's plan to stop Christmas. Repeating that timeframe however doesn't help a feature-length adaptation prolong the plot.

And so our new story takes place on December 20th. The Whos down in Who-ville are preparing for Christmas. There will be a Christmas tree decorating event going on in the town square as the Mayor (voiced by the wonderful, late Angela Lansbury) has ordered Christmas must be three times bigger this year. The Grinch (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch), who still lives north of Who-ville - atop of a mountain - dislikes Christmas and the Whos. Not to mention all the noise, noise, noise that comes along with Christmas and the Whos' singing!

As has been the trend with modern animation, the characters are "hip" and knowledgeable about current and slightly older pop culture, so that children and parents can get the references, which is supposed to be the movie's effort at achieving humor. Every now and than there are innuendos that may go over a child's head and are really there for the parents. This time around we learn the Grinch has tried to isolate himself from the Whos and Who-ville and has attempted to stock up on food supplies so he won't have to engage with the Whos during the Christmas season. Unfortunately, he has been doing a lot of emotional eating - do children know what this means? - and is completely out of food. The Grinch and Max will have to head into town to buy groceries. 

This set-up - that also introduces the relationship between Max and the Grinch, with Max as an ever eager dog ready to please the Grinch - sets in place the chain of events to move our narrative forward and introduce the other characters. The most important of all will be Cindy-Lou (voiced by Cameron Seely), a lovable child desperate to contact Santa to ask for a special gift.

Other important characters we meet in Who-ville are Cindy-Lou's mother, Donna (voiced by Rashida Jones) - shown as an overworked single mom taking care of three little ones - and the so-called happiest Who in Who-ville, Mr. Bricklebaum (voiced by Kenan Thompson). When the Grinch arrives in Who-ville the movie also subtly mentions religion, as a choir of Whos are singing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". If you recall, in the original "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" the songs sung are in a made-up gibberish language and no mention of religion is ever brought up. It was a deliberate choice by director Chuck Jones and Dr. Seuss, who wanted their story to be secular in nature.

These encounters in Who-ville increase the Grinch's dislike for Christmas and spark a lightbulb to go off in his head. He will stop Christmas from coming by dressing up and Santa Claus and will steal all the Who boys and girls gifts on Christmas Eve. When everyone awakens on Christmas morning and discovers what has happened, there will be no Christmas to celebrate. 

In this new version, thanks to the new timeframe, the Grinch and Max have the opportunity to find reindeer to properly portray the Grinch as Santa. They even have time to do research to correctly anticipate how many homes they will need to sneak into. Kiddie humor is inserted into the story with the emergence of the character Fred, an overweight reindeer. Fred was the only reindeer the Grinch could acquire to participate in his plan. The character also has a minor rivalry with Max for the Grinch's attention. 

As I first began watching "The Grinch" I was somewhat dubious. I am not a fan of remaking classics movies. Why can't Hollywood leave well enough alone? Does everything need to be updated in a feeble attempt to introduce old ideas to younger generations? Can't younger generations and their older parents honor and celebrate the classics? It is a weird dichotomy society is going through with the increase in nostalgia - mostly the 1980s - and our desire to update everything. Things can't be old and new at the same time. Can they?

One of the first differences I noticed in this new adaptation was the narration. Of course the original had Boris Karloff. This time we have Pharrell. I could hardly contain my excitement! That's sarcasm by the way. Karloff had that deep baritone voice. In his later years, as is the case with "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", his voice had a grandfatherly affect on me. It was like being covered with a warm blanket listening to him narrate the Grinch. Pharrell's voice doesn't have the same effect. It is a young voice. A non-threatening or distinguished voice. Karloff could bring out the anger in the Grinch and various other emotions. Pharrell, not being an actor, simply can't. 

I must admit Benedict Cumberbatch's voice work isn't much better. I can only assume this was done on purpose. It is such a polar opposite to Karloff's voice. If we could describe Karloff's voice as masculine, Cumberbatch and Pharrell's are "delicate". Not feminine but soft-spoken. Less authoritative. Do children prefer the sound of these type of voices?

I thought my nausea was going to increase when I heard the new version of the song, "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch". It almost sounded like a dual track of a rap version being played over a children's choir. Was I turning into the Grinch? Was I going to have to listen to this "noise" through-out the movie? Is this what "modernizing" a movie means? Making it worse! Luckily, it is the only time we hear this version. It took away all of the humor and playfulness of the original song, which was superbly sung by Thurl Ravenscroft. You couldn't even understand the lyrics in this new version.

Then of course there was also the issue of the look of the Grinch and the rest of these characters. I knew going into the movie this was going to be CGI, as the classic animation, hand drawn style of my youth, has gone out the window. Cindy-Lou however is made to look much older and new Who characters are introduced to us. In the original though the characters weren't meant to look human. In this movie they kind of do.

But soon as the story began to settle my resistance to the movie slowly began to wane. It wasn't an abomination to my senses just an entirely unnecessary enterprise. In its own way it helps to reinforce what makes the original so special. There is a kind of magical appeal to the original movie that this remake could never duplicate. Things can't be old and new at the same time! There is a lot about this movie that makes it indistinguishable. If, for some reason, someone preferred this over the original it would be because they saw this remake first and have a bias against things that were made before they were born. The person would have to be one of those individuals that needs to be thought of as "modern".  

This all makes it seem like I dislike the movie. It does retain the theme of the original and expands upon it. Christmas is not something that can be stopped. It is a feeling of joy and good will. Commercialism and gift buying is not what the true meaning of Christmas is. I'm sure many younger children who will watch this for the first time will enjoy it. Especially if they are unable to compare it to the original. I do doubt though that this new version will ever replace the original in the heart's of those that have seen it. In the years that have passed since this new version was released, I don't feel this has emerged as a new holiday classic. I do however still see the original one for sale in stores and played on TV.

"The Grinch" is an aimable piece of entertainment families can enjoy. It's not great but in today's world it is something better than that. It's modern.