REVIEW: The Grinch Doesn’t Quite Live Up to Its Predecessors
Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas has been a holiday staple for families since its premiere in 1957. The story has been adapted into a holiday special, a musical, and a live action film starring Jim Carrey. Universal Pictures is now putting their own tag on the beloved tale adapting the story into a brand-new animated movie, The Grinch, which may be a hit for some and a miss for others.
In Universal’s The Grinch, the Grinch (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) despises Christmas. From the lights, to the joy, to the singing, the Grinch wants nothing more than for Christmas to just disappear. However, it is a little hard for the Grinch to escape the holiday when the town he lives in, Whoville, loves it so much. Every year the town goes out of their way to make Christmas bigger and better than it was the year before and the Grinch has had enough. He devises a plan to get rid of the Holiday, but what he doesn’t expect when executing his plan was a meeting with a young girl named, Cindy Lou Who.
The basic story created in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas plays out the same in this version, but how the tale unfolds varies. Unlike the live action movie and the musical, Cindy Lou Who has different reason for why she must meet Santa. Cindy Lou’s family, her friends, and even some Holiday loving members of the town are tapped on in this flick, which weren’t covered in the other adaptations.
Music plays a big part in this version, unlike its predecessors. Key moments throughout are emphasized by the music; however, unlike the beautiful animation, the music is subpar. The music doesn’t fit the story nor does it add much to the tale. In all honestly, the music could have been left it out, especially the new version of “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch”, and it wouldn’t have been missed.
Benedict Cumberbatch is decent as the Grinch, but his version sounds more exhausted than mean, which doesn’t bode well for the grinchier scenes. Cameron Seely was great as the voice of Cindy Lou, while Rashida Jones also did a nice job as Cindy’s mom, Donna Lou. Kenan Thompson brought a lot of laughs with his portrayal of the Grinch’s neighbor, Bricklebaum while Pharrell William’s role as the narrator sounded more like he was reading poetry than telling a beloved tale.
Fans of the original animated movie and the live action should stick to watching those this Holiday season. Fans looking for a new take on The Grinch, especially those with young kids, will get a kick out of this new version. If you are looking for something to do with the children this Holiday season, I suggest taking them to see this.
Grade: B-