Is The New 'Grinch' Movie Unbearably Bad Or Is It Serviceable Seussian Fare? Here's What The Reviews Say
Look, you know what the verdict is: the original Boris Karloff special still reigns supreme. Maybe, though, you have a Minion-loving kid who wants to get in the holiday spirit. Maybe you saw the godawful Ron Howard version starring Jim Carrey and you want to make extra sure that you won't be making a similar mistake (the Grinch DNA promo is worrying, granted). Here's the lowdown on "The Grinch" (in theaters now), so you can suss out if this Seuss movie's really a lump of coal in disguise:
It's 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas,' Only Padded-Out With Some Added Antics And A Sprinkle Of Backstory
The Grinch (Benedict Cumberbatch) still lives in a mountainous cave overlooking cheery, Christmas-loving Whoville, seething with irritation as they tee up their lavish celebration, and still underappreciates his loyal, beleaguered dog, Max.
We really do not need a backstory to tell us how the Grinch got so Grinch-y that he wants to steal all the decorations and gifts or why Cindy Lou Who (Cameron Seely) was awake on Christmas Eve. But feature-length movies are longer than Dr. Seuss poems, so we get a flashback to the young Grinch's lonely holidays in an orphanage. In the book, two-year-old Cindy Lou gets up for a glass of water but here the elementary-school-age Cindy Lou wants to make sure she sees Santa on Christmas Eve because she wants to ask him for something very special. It is special because it is not for herself but for her loving yet exhausted mom (Rashida Jones).
Benedict Cumberbatch And The Cast Do A Fine Job, Though This Grinch Is… Only Sort-Of A Jerk?
Cumberbatch isn't trying to channel Karloff (or, thank goodness, Jim Carrey); his Grinch is snarly and embittered, but you see glimmers of kindness, even if they're only directed occasionally at Max. That doesn't make his eventual heart-grows-three-sizes redemption any less satisfying, though. He's backed up by a talented voice ensemble that includes Rashida Jones and, in an all-too-brief cameo as the mayor of Whoville, Angela Lansbury.
[TheWrap]
Cumberbatch gives him an American accent and speaks quickly, with an addled officiousness; the sound is less Karloff, with his dark and booming British vowels, than Paul Giamatti at his most persnickety. That the Grinch is a self-isolated neurotic, making up for past trauma, is now front and center.
[Variety]
Whereas Boris Karloff's version was rotten to its core, and Jim Carrey's feral take on the character was unleaded nightmare fuel, this Grinch just wants to play with his pet and curl up with a book. Other than his desire to steal everyone's presents and throw them off a cliff, he's… actually pretty relatable?
It Isn't A Repeat Of The Jim Carrey Disaster…
llumination's Grinch doesn't distort the original, like Ron Howard's garish eyesore of a live-action version. Nor does it put that story through an embarrassing process of faux-modernization, though there is a mirthless gag involving the Grinch wearing booty shorts and some particularly lazy, Sing-worthy song cues. (Finally, a Seuss adaptation with a snatch of "Mambo No. 5"!) If anything, this is a more meager, timid iteration of Seuss' story, starting with the characterization of its famous antihero.
Does it add anything (apart from length)? Maybe not. As the special proved (and does year after year), perfection is perfection. Yet taken on its own terms (i.e., pretend that you've never encountered this story before, as countless children who see this movie won't have), "The Grinch" is a buoyant and agreeable entertainment, with a lead vocal performance, by Benedict Cumberbatch, that doesn't try to bend the story, the way Carrey's performance did (or Mike Myers' in the 2003 live-action "The Cat in the Hat"), toward some misbegotten goal of hellzapoppin' dump-truck anarchy.
[Variety]
… But It Only Works Because It's So Hard To Ruin Seuss
If "The Grinch" is the best movie that Illumination Entertainment has made thus far, that's because it's based on one of the most iconic kids stories ever told. And if "The Grinch" is also the most damning movie that Illumination has made thus far, that's because it's based on one of the most iconic kids stories ever told.
The best thing I can say about Illumination Entertainment movies at this point is that I know what to expect. The films never rise above mediocrity, they're rarely clever or insightful, but they're colorful, rely heavily on slapstick, and kids love them. Their latest film, Dr. Seuss' The Grinch, is no different. Illumination knows their brand at this point, and that brand is relying heavily on comedy with a smidge of sentiment tossed in for resolution.
[Collider]
If You Dislike Gratuitous Needle Drops, This 'Grinch' Will Grate On You
Tyler, the Creator's hip-hop-flavored take on "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" is bound to age badly, along with the film's bag of adult-contemporary holiday chestnuts from the likes of Buster Poindexter and The Brian Setzer Orchestra. (Nat King Cole and Run DMC, however, fit nicely into this stocking.)
[TheWrap]
Animation-Wise, The Movie Does Shine During The Grinch's Actual Heist
The Grinch gets closest to Seuss, Chuck Jones, or just the bouncy invention of a pretty good big-studio cartoon with the actual Christmas-stealing sequence, piled high with cartoon physics and Grinch-y gadgetry, and augmented with split-screen. The rest of the time, the animation just rounds off the scruffiness of the original illustrations.
The actual Christmas Eve robbery is an energetic heist that's full of clever little flourishes, as the Grinch deploys an arsenal of ninja-like tools to hit every house in Whoville in the span of one night.
TL;DR
It does not surpass the Chuck Jones version (or having the book read aloud by a parent, which is still ideal) but it is far superior to the Carrey film and should become a welcome family tradition.
TL;DW
The 1966 Chuck Jones special, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!," is available for rental on Amazon Prime, YouTube and Google Play. It's a little early, but it'll surely be airing on one or two channels closer to Christmas, too.
Watch The Trailer
