How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a Christmas children's book by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a cranky, solitary creature who attempts to thwart the public's Christmas plans by stealing Christmas gifts and decorations from the homes of the nearby town of Whoville on Christmas Eve. Miraculously, the Grinch realizes that Christmas is not all about money and presents.
This article is about the book. For other uses, see How the Grinch Stole Christmas (disambiguation).Author
Dr. Seuss
United States
English
Redbook (magazine)
Random House (book)
October 12, 1957 (Redbook)
November 24, 1957 (renewed in 1985)
64[1]
The Cat in the Hat (publication date)
Horton Hears a Who! (in universe)
The story was published as a book by Random House in 1957, and at approximately the same time in an issue of Redbook.[2] The book criticizes the commercialization of Christmas and the holiday season.[3]
The book has been adapted many times, first as a 1966 animated TV film narrated by Boris Karloff, who also provided the Grinch's voice. In 1977, a Halloween prequel, Halloween Is Grinch Night, aired with the Grinch voiced by Hans Conried. These were followed with a 2000 live-action feature film starring Jim Carrey, a 2007 musical, a 2018 animated film starring Benedict Cumberbatch, a 2020 live television adaptation of the musical starring Matthew Morrison, a unauthorized 2022 slasher horror parody film starring David Howard Thornton and a 2023 Wondery podcast starring James Austin Johnson.
Plot[edit]
The Grinch is a sour, solitary creature with a heart "two sizes too small" who lives on a mountain overlooking Whoville, the home of the Whos. Having been annoyed by Whoville's noisy Christmas festivities for years, the Grinch resolves to stop Christmas from coming. He disguises himself as Santa Claus and travels to Whoville on a sleigh pulled by his dog, Max. Slinking down the chimney of the first house on the square, the Grinch steals all of the presents, the food for the feast, and even the Christmas tree. He is briefly interrupted by Cindy Lou Who, a young Who girl, but concocts a crafty lie to send her away.
After doing the same to the other Whos' houses, the Grinch takes his sleigh to the peak of Mount Crumpit and prepares to dump all of the stolen items into an abyss. As morning arrives, he expects to hear the Whos crying, but is surprised to hear them singing a joyous Christmas song instead. After much pondering, the Grinch realizes that Christmas means "a little bit more" than just presents and feasting, causing his heart to grow three sizes. The reformed Grinch returns the Whos' presents and food and is invited to their Christmas feast.
Analysis[edit]
Some writers, including Dr. Seuss, have made a connection between the Grinch and Dr. Seuss. In the story, the Grinch laments that he has had to put up with the Whos' celebration of Christmas for 53 years. As both Thomas Fensch and Charles Cohen note, Dr. Seuss was 53 when he wrote and published the book.[14][15] Dr. Seuss asserted the connection in an article in the December 1957 edition of Redbook: "I was brushing my teeth on the morning of the 26th of last December when I noticed a very Grinch-ish countenance in the mirror. It was Seuss! So I wrote about my sour friend, the Grinch, to see if I could rediscover something about Christmas that obviously I'd lost."[16] Seuss's step-daughter, Lark Dimond-Cates, stated in a speech in 2003, "I always thought the Cat... was Ted on his good days, and the Grinch was Ted on his bad days."[17] Cohen notes that Seuss drove a car with a license plate that read "GRINCH".[15]
Thomas Fensch notes that the Grinch is the first adult and the first villain to be a main character in a Dr. Seuss book.[14]
Adaptations[edit]
The book has been adapted into a variety of media, including stage and film. Chuck Jones and Ben Washam adapted the story as an animated television special in 1966, featuring narration by Boris Karloff, who also provided the Grinch's voice. Thurl Ravenscroft sang "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch", with lyrics written by Dr. Seuss himself.[18][19] A prequel called Halloween Is Grinch Night aired on ABC on October 28, 1977. Hans Conried was the voice of the Grinch and the Narrator because Boris Karloff had died in 1969. A crossover special called The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat aired on ABC on May 20, 1982. In 2000, the book was adapted into a live-action film, directed by Ron Howard and starring Jim Carrey as the Grinch.[20] Illumination Entertainment also developed a 3D animated feature film, titled The Grinch,[21] directed by Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier and starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the Grinch.[22] It was originally scheduled to be released on November 10, 2017,[23] but was pushed back to November 9, 2018.[24] In 2022, the book was adapted into a horror film, directed by Steven LaMorte and starring David Howard Thornton as the Grinch.[25]
Several audio recordings and audiovisual adaptations of the book have also been published. In 1975, Zero Mostel narrated an LP record of the story.[26] In 1992, Random House Home Video released an updated animated version of the book narrated by Walter Matthau, also including the story If I Ran The Zoo.[27] In 2009, an interactive e-book version was released for the iPhone.[28] In 2000, Rik Mayall read the book as one of four of Seuss's books on the audio CD The Dr Seuss Collection. In 2023, Wondery released a podcast inspired by the book, hosted by James Austin Johnson.[29]
A musical stage version was produced by the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego in 2007. It also was produced on Broadway and a limited-engagement US tour in 2008. The North American Tour began in the fall of 2010 and has subsequently toured every fall since.[30] The book was adapted into a 13-minute song, performed by the Boston Pops Orchestra, arranged by Danny Troob, and featuring bassist Reid Burton and actor Will LeBow narrating it on the Boston Pops's 2013 CD, "A Boston Pops Christmas – Live from Symphony Hall with Keith Lockhart".[31]