Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Cameron Seely, Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson, Angela Lansbury, Tristan O’Hare, Ramone Hamilton, Sam Lavagnino, Scarlett Estevez, Pharrell Williams
OUR RATING: ★★★☆☆
Story:
Animated comedy directed by Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier and co-written by Mosier. The Grinch (2018) follows The Grinch (Benedict Cumberbatch), a cynical grump who lives a solitary life inside a cave on Mt. Crumpet with only his loyal dog, Max, for company. The Grinch only sees his neighbors in Whoville when he runs out of food. Each year at Christmas they disrupt his tranquil solitude with their increasingly bigger, brighter and louder celebrations. When the Whos declare they are going to make Christmas three times bigger this year, the Grinch realizes there is only one way for him to gain some peace and quiet, he must steal Christmas. Meanwhile, down in Whoville, Cindy-Lou Who (Cameron Seely), a young girl overflowing with holiday cheer, plots with her gang of friends to trap Santa Claus as he makes his Christmas Eve rounds so that she can thank him for help for her overworked single mother. As Christmas approaches, however, her good-natured scheme threatens to collide with the Grinch’s more nefarious one.
Our Favorite Quote:
'To kindness and love, the things we need most.' - Grinch Click To Tweet
Best Quotes
Narrator: Yes, Whoville is great, that is known far and wide and three weeks through December, this place hits its stride. Yes, the Whos down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot. But the Grinch, in his cave north of Whoville, did not.
Grinch: That’s impossible. We can’t be out of food. Where’s my personal reserve of moose juice? And goose juice? My emergency stash of Who Hash? And my secret slew of frozen Beezle-Nut stew? I specifically bought enough food to last until January. How much emotional eating have I been doing?
Store Owner: [to Grinch as he enters the store] Oh, hello! Happy Holida…
Grinch: [holds up his finger to stop him] Um-um.
Grinch: [grabs the jar that a woman was trying to grab from the top shelf] What’s this?
Who Lady: Hey, excuse me. Are you getting that? I need it for my Christmas stuffing.
Grinch: Hmm. No.
Who Lady: [Grinch drops it and the jar breaks] Sugarplum!
Donna Who: [over phone] No, I can’t today. I have a list of errands a mile long and the babysitter left the sink backed up. No, I’m not complaining. I’m venting. There’s a difference. Okay. Talk to you later. I have to get breakfast on the table. Right after I unclog this drain again! It’s like concrete.
Donna Who: Buster, we’ve talked about this. Your brother’s head is not breakfast.
Mr. Bricklebaum: The mayor wants Christmas to be three times bigger this year.
Grinch: [to Bricklebaum] Sorry, I can’t hear you. I don’t speak ridiculous.
Narrator: So the Grinch finally declared…
Grinch: I must stop this whole thing. Why? For fifty-three years I’ve put up with it. Now, I must stop this Christmas from coming, but how?
Narrator: Then he got an idea, an awful idea. The Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea.
Grinch: I know just what to do. I’m going to steal their Christmas. All the trimmings. All the trappings. All their gifts and garlands. When they wake and see it’s gone then all their joy and happiness will be gone as well. So prepare yourself, Max. For, tomorrow we begin.
Grinch: It’s go time!
Grinch: And now, the question we have all been waiting for. How will I steal Christmas? Well, prepare to have your little doggy mind blown. Poof. Ta-da! That’s right. I become Santa Claus. But instead of giving all the joy and happiness, I’ll take it away. If he can deliver Christmas to the whole world in one night, then I can certainly steal it from little old Whoville. I mean, come on, what’s Santa have that I don’t?
Grinch: [Max barks his reply] That’s hurtful.
Grinch: If I’m going to become Santa, then I need to get into character.
Grinch: Beautiful, isn’t it, Max? This, my little friend, is the Rein-Horn. It perfectly recreates
the mating call of the reindeer. Behold.
Grinch: [as he uses his device a little goat appears] Oh. Hey, there. Sorry, little goat. I was calling for a…
Grinch: [the little goat suddenly screams at them] What was that? Scram! Skedaddle! Strange goat.
Grinch: [he and Max run off] Now, reindeer migrate, so maybe we’ll catch a few headed south for the winter. I also read that they tend to mate in densely wooded…
Grinch: [to the little goat] Will you stop following us? Shoo! Away! Go back to the goat farm! Go eat a can.
Grinch: Max, we’ve hit the mother lode. We’ll have a hundred reindeer to pull our…
Grinch: [looking at Fred] Well, Santa had eight. He looks like he ate the other seven.
Axl: So what’s the big secret?
Ozzy: Yeah, I don’t have very long. My parents set the timer.
Axle: Dude.
Ozzy: Don’t ask. It’s new.
Cindy-Lou Who: Alright, everybody, brace yourselves. In exactly forty-eight hours we’re going to do something that’s never been done before. We’re going to trap Santa Claus!
Grinch: [as he, Max and Fred are trying to walk quietly across the snow] This is the loudest snow I’ve ever heard in my life.
Grinch: [to Max and Fred] You two, go around the back. Wait for me to drop the sleigh from the roof. Okay? Go, team!
Grinch: [to Max] Today was great! We did mean things and we did them in style.
Grinch: [as Max is giving him puppy eyes to join him in bed] Max, you know the rules. You sleep in your bed, and I sleep in…
Grinch: [suddenly sees the yak giving him puppy eyes to] No, no, not you, too. I don’t believe this. Max, did you teach him puppy eyes?
Grinch: [unable to resist both Max and the yak giving him puppy eyes] Fine. This one time.
[we see both Max and the yak get into bed with Grinch, with the yak squashing him]
Grinch: [as Max is barking at the birds] Max, stop socializing. Now let’s go in for a look.
Grinch: [referring to the children posing for a photo] Look at those greedy little gift monsters. Loading themselves up with Christmas junk.
Grinch: [as he sees himself on his tablet] Oh, hey, look, it’s me.
[Max suddenly crashed into him]
Grinch: Fred. What are you doing?
[we see Fred pumping whipped cream into its mouth and coming through its nostrils]
Grinch: Okay.
Grinch: [holds out a Santa shaped cookie] Look at it in all its red, sugary splendor.
Grinch: [Fred tries to grab the cookie with his mouth] No, no, no! Look at yourselves! Discipline! We must…
Grinch: [Fred grabs the cookie from Grinch’s hand and eats it] Resist.
Grinch: So, I tinkered with our sleigh a bit. Behold! Look at this, Max. Now you’ll be riding in style.
Grinch: Max, I’m promoting you. You will guide me sleigh tonight.
[we see Max trying to guide the sleigh, but gets buried into the snow]
Grinch: What? Max?
[Max comes up from under the snow and finally manages to guide the sleigh]
Grinch: Yes, Max!
Narrator: He swept up their presents with the speed of a wiz. And he knew he’d cause sadness, only theirs now, not his. All this excess and nonsense, it was all about greed. About meaningless stuff that they didn’t even need. Yeah. The Grinch went to work. He scooped up the toys. He raced against time, he raced against joy. He hit a few snags as he made his way through an angry orange cat, and a sleepwalking Who.
Narrator: [referring to the Grinch] He stole pop guns and bicycles, roller skates, drums, checker boards, tricycles, popcorn and plums. Gadgets and gizmos and dolls with strange names, goofballs and shloof-balls and video games. And he swiped, and he poached. Yes, the stealing was on. And this day that he hated, well, he made it be gone.
Narrator: As he watched the small girl, he thought he might melt. If he did what she did, would he feel what she felt? And the luscious sound swelled, reaching up to the skies. And the Grinch heard with his heart, and it tripled in size.
Grinch: Your daughter’s kindness changed my life.
Donna Who: That’s my little girl.
Narrator: And the Grinch raised his glass, and led the Whos in a toast.
Grinch: To kindness and love, the things we need most.
Trailer:
If you wanna learn how to ruin a classic, this is the best film to watch. The only good part of this movie was the animation. Most everything else went against a traditional Dr. Seuss’s tale. There was not much originality to this story in a Dr. Seuss fashion. They used standard Christmas songs and everyday modern ideas. There were no single parents in Whoville. There were no copyrighted songs and no “normal” names for toys and trinkets. I understand being creative but this was a totally different story all together. If they aren’t going to stick to the basics of the original creator, then they should not bring shame to his name. As a Dr. Seuss fan, I am highly dissatisfied and hope that they do not make another “remake”.
Rating: 1/5
Not true! Awesome movie!