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Ah, finally, a really real Christmas movie, and no one can debate it: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). This is the live-action version directed by Ron Howard (famous for his work on films such as A Beautiful Mind, but will always be Winthrop Paroo from The Music Man to me), and starring Jim Carrey (best known for roles like Ace Ventura, but more appreciated by me for roles in such movies as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and also introducing Taylor Momsen (a little girl who hasn't done much else yet). It is narrated by Anthony Hopkins, who has a lovely speaking voice as well as wonderful acting skills. It is based on a children's book by Dr. Seuss.
In case you don't know the story (which I'm sure you do, but bear with me), the story begins in a snowflake, where there is an entire society of Whos - very tiny people with very cute noses. These are the same kind of Whos that appear in the book Horton Hears a Who. The Whos love Christmas - and when I say "love Christmas," I mean love Christmas. But the community has begun to focus too much on the gift-giving aspect of Christmas and Cindy Lou Who (Momsen), a young girl in Whoville, wonders if presents are all there is to Christmas. She has a chance encounter with the Grinch (Carrey), a green, mean, anti-Christmas machine, who was born with a heart "two sizes too small." He tries to be mean to her, but ends up saving her life when one of his pranks threatens her mortally. She wonders after he disappears if he is actually a good person after all.
We find out that the Grinch hates Christmas and the Whos because when he was a boy in Whoville, most of the other children made fun of him bitterly, especially on a day when he decided to shave his beard and ended up cutting his face several times. He had wanted to impress Martha May Whovier (played by Christine Baranski) by making her a Christmas present on his own. Humiliated and feeling quite unloved, the 8-year-old Grinch ran up the mountain and never came back down.
After renewing his hatred for the Whos after another humiliating incident, the adult Grinch decides to destroy Christmas by stealing all of the decorations and gifts in Whoville. He dresses up as Santa, and steals everything. He pulls it up the mountain and plans to drop it over the edge. Back in Whoville, the Whos awake to find that everything is gone, but come to the conclusion that Christmas isn't actually about presents, but about being with the people you love. The Grinch hears their rejoicing from atop the mountain and comes to the same conclusion. His heart grows three sizes and, after saving Cindy Lou yet again (since she has come up to wish him a Merry Christmas and inadvertently gotten herself into trouble), he sleds down to Whoville with all of the stolen goods. He gives them back, and joins in the Christmas festivities. He even wins the heart of Martha May.
A few thoughts.
After the opening credits, the movie starts out being very visually hectic and disorienting. It gets better over time, but I wish they had lent a bit more calm to the beginning so that it wouldn't be so off-putting.
When reflecting on the commercialism of Christmas, Cindy Lou sings a song called "Where Are You, Christmas?" The lyrics are "Where are you, Christmas?/Why can't I find you?/Why have you gone away?...My world is changing/I'm rearranging/Does this mean Christmas changes too?" At the time the movie came out, I found this particularly poignant, as I was graduating high school, and I truly felt that year that everything was changing, and worried I would lose the Christmas I knew. As I have discovered, things change, but that doesn't mean Christmas loses its meaning or loveliness. Still, the song is very meaningful for me, and awfully sweet.
Jim Carrey has a wonderful capability to make real life into a cartoon, as does the entire film. It is whimsical and bizarre, and stretches the limits of reality. For example, the Grinch tries to drown out the Christmas music by putting his head between the cymbals of a giant organ-grinder monkey. He also steals one of the Christmas trees by cutting a circle around it in the floor with a giant saw and pulling it out from underneath. The movie did an excellent job capturing the spirit and silliness of the book, without mocking it.
While over the top, this movie is ultimately sweet, and Carrey is inspired and hilarious. I suggest you check it out if you haven't already.
We find out that the Grinch hates Christmas and the Whos because when he was a boy in Whoville, most of the other children made fun of him bitterly, especially on a day when he decided to shave his beard and ended up cutting his face several times. He had wanted to impress Martha May Whovier (played by Christine Baranski) by making her a Christmas present on his own. Humiliated and feeling quite unloved, the 8-year-old Grinch ran up the mountain and never came back down.
After renewing his hatred for the Whos after another humiliating incident, the adult Grinch decides to destroy Christmas by stealing all of the decorations and gifts in Whoville. He dresses up as Santa, and steals everything. He pulls it up the mountain and plans to drop it over the edge. Back in Whoville, the Whos awake to find that everything is gone, but come to the conclusion that Christmas isn't actually about presents, but about being with the people you love. The Grinch hears their rejoicing from atop the mountain and comes to the same conclusion. His heart grows three sizes and, after saving Cindy Lou yet again (since she has come up to wish him a Merry Christmas and inadvertently gotten herself into trouble), he sleds down to Whoville with all of the stolen goods. He gives them back, and joins in the Christmas festivities. He even wins the heart of Martha May.
A few thoughts.
After the opening credits, the movie starts out being very visually hectic and disorienting. It gets better over time, but I wish they had lent a bit more calm to the beginning so that it wouldn't be so off-putting.
When reflecting on the commercialism of Christmas, Cindy Lou sings a song called "Where Are You, Christmas?" The lyrics are "Where are you, Christmas?/Why can't I find you?/Why have you gone away?...My world is changing/I'm rearranging/Does this mean Christmas changes too?" At the time the movie came out, I found this particularly poignant, as I was graduating high school, and I truly felt that year that everything was changing, and worried I would lose the Christmas I knew. As I have discovered, things change, but that doesn't mean Christmas loses its meaning or loveliness. Still, the song is very meaningful for me, and awfully sweet.
Jim Carrey has a wonderful capability to make real life into a cartoon, as does the entire film. It is whimsical and bizarre, and stretches the limits of reality. For example, the Grinch tries to drown out the Christmas music by putting his head between the cymbals of a giant organ-grinder monkey. He also steals one of the Christmas trees by cutting a circle around it in the floor with a giant saw and pulling it out from underneath. The movie did an excellent job capturing the spirit and silliness of the book, without mocking it.
While over the top, this movie is ultimately sweet, and Carrey is inspired and hilarious. I suggest you check it out if you haven't already.
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