How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (also known as Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas or The Grinch) is a 2000 American Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by Ron Howard, who also produced with Brian Grazer, from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. The film was based on Dr. Seuss's 1957 children's book of the same name, as the first Dr. Seuss book to be adapted into a full-length feature film and the first of only two live-action Dr. Seuss films (followed by The Cat in the Hat in 2003). This was also the second adaptation of the book (after the 1966 animated TV special of the same name).
This article is about the 2000 live-action film known as "The Grinch" in the UK. For the 2018 animated film, see The Grinch (film).How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- Brian Grazer
- Ron Howard
- November 8, 2000 (Los Angeles)
- November 17, 2000 (United States)
105 minutes[1]
United States
English
$123 million[2]
$346.5 million[2]
Narrated by Anthony Hopkins, it stars Jim Carrey as the eponymous character, with Taylor Momsen, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Bill Irwin and Molly Shannon in supporting roles. The film centers on the Grinch, a misanthropic green creature who lives in a cave on nearby Mount Crumpit and despises the celebrations, as he attempts to sabotage their holiday plans in Whoville.
Produced by Imagine Entertainment, How the Grinch Stole Christmas was released by Universal Pictures in the United States on November 17, 2000. Upon release, critics praised Carrey's performance and the film's visual prosthetics but criticized its dark tone and humor; it has since gained a strong cult following. The film spent four weeks as the number one film in the United States and grossed $346 million worldwide, making it the sixth-highest grossing film of 2000. At the time, it also became the second-highest-grossing holiday film of all time behind the 1990 film Home Alone, until both films were surpassed by the 2018 animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.[2][3] The film won the Academy Award for Best Makeup; it also received nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design.[4]
Plot[edit]
As the inhabitants of Whoville prepare for Christmas, the Grinch, a misanthropic green creature who lives in a cave on Mount Crumpit, hates the holiday and attempts to sabotage their plans. One day, six-year-old Cindy Lou Who, who is beginning to question everyone's obsession with the material aspects of Christmas, encounters the Grinch at Whoville's post office. She falls into the giant mail-sorting machine, but the Grinch grudgingly saves her.
Cindy learns from the townsfolk that the Grinch arrived in Whoville as a baby and was adopted by two elderly women. In school, the Grinch fell in love with his pretty classmate Martha May Whovier. Jealous, the school bully Augustus MayWho began making fun of the Grinch's hairy appearance. At Christmas, the Grinch made an angel as a gift for Martha, then attempted to shave his face, accidentally cutting himself several times. When his teacher and classmates saw the result, all but Martha May laughed at him. The young Grinch snapped, declared his hatred for Christmas, and fled to Mount Crumpit, where he has lived, alone except for his dog Max, ever since.
Cindy nominates the Grinch as the town's Holiday Cheermeister, outraging MayWho, who is now the mayor. She climbs Mount Crumpit to invite the Grinch to the award ceremony, and he eventually accepts after realizing he could potentially encounter Martha and upset MayWho. As Cheermeister, he participates in various events and begins enjoying himself, until MayWho gives him an electric razor as a gift, reminding him of his childhood humiliation. MayWho then offers Martha a new car while publicly proposing to her. Enraged, the Grinch berates the Whos for their avaricious and commercialized "love" of Christmas. He shaves the mayor's head, burns down the town's Christmas tree, and goes on a rampage before returning home.
Learning that the Whos have a spare Christmas tree and are continuing with the festivities, the Grinch decides he must steal all of their presents, decorations and food while they sleep, to truly ruin Christmas. He disguises himself as Santa Claus and Max as a reindeer, descending into Whoville on a hi-tech sleigh. The first house he enters is Cindy's; when she catches him stealing their tree, he lies to her to facilitate his escape. He singlehandedly strips the entire town of Christmas cheer, stuffing everything into a giant sack, which he drives to the top of Mount Crumpit with the intention of destroying it.
Awakening on Christmas morning, the Who's are horrified to discover the theft. MayWho blames Cindy for enabling the Grinch to ruin Christmas; however, her father, postmaster Lou Lou Who, defends her for reminding everyone that they have been focusing too much on gifts and decorations and not on showing love and kindness to each other. The townsfolk agree, join hands, and begin Christmas carolling.
Just as he is about to push the sack off the top of Mount Crumpit, the Grinch hears the people singing and realizes his failure. At last understanding the true meaning of Christmas, his heart grows three times larger, and he bursts into tears. The sleigh and its sack of stolen property begin to slide over the edge of the cliff, along with Cindy, who had come to visit the Grinch and climbed aboard. The Grinch saves Cindy and the sleigh, and they ride down the mountain to return everything. He apologizes and surrenders to the police, who pardon him and ignore MayWho's demand to arrest and pepper spray him.
Having had enough of MayWho, Martha returns his engagement ring and declares her love for the Grinch instead. Later, the reformed Grinch invites the townsfolk over for the Christmas feast, where he personally carves the Roast Beast himself in his cave.
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Release[edit]
Theatrical[edit]
How the Grinch Stole Christmas was released by Universal Pictures in the United States on November 17, 2000.
Television[edit]
It premiered on television on ABC on November 25, 2004 and aired there until 2014 (with the exception of 2009). From 2010 to 2014, it was coupled with the animated television special. It currently airs annually on Freeform's (formerly ABC Family) 25 Days of Christmas. The American television airings include deleted footage which was not included on the original, theatrical, or VHS/DVD releases. The scenes include Cindy's dad maxing out his credit card on Christmas gifts, Cindy asking her dad who the Grinch was before heading off to school, Lou visiting Cindy being made to stay after school after mentioning the Grinch, extended scenes of the post office, the Grinch in his cave, Cindy inviting the Grinch to the Christmas party, Martha May and Betty Lou competing in the Christmas Lights Contest, Martha May winning the contest, the Grinch trying out different outfits to wear at the Christmas party, the Grinch drinking eggnog, the Whos passing out gifts to each other, and Cindy's family getting ready for Christmas morning at night.
Since 2015 (like the 1966 cartoon), it has aired on NBC during Christmas night after the animated television special. It was not aired in 2022 due to an NFL game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Arizona Cardinals. It aired on FX to promote the television broadcast premiere of the 2018 animated film in 2020.
Marketing[edit]
In the summer of 2000, a trailer for How the Grinch Stole Christmas premiered in theaters. It was hooked up to screenings of Mission: Impossible 2, in which Paramount Pictures agreed to screen the trailer if Universal included a trailer to a Paramount film in front of Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.[38] The next trailer debuted on October 6, 2000 with the release of Meet the Parents. Meanwhile, Toys "R" Us began promoting the film, transforming their locations into Whobilation Headquarters with the most aggressive visual merchandising display in the company's history. Shoppers would be wowed from the moment they entered the store by the unbelievable displays and visual elements featuring the Grinch. The Herald Square location in New York City featured floor-to-ceiling themed window graphics of the film's main characters. Moreover, the entrances featured 8-foot (2.4 m) 3D film characters at numerous stores.[39] Wendy's would even begin selling kids meal toys at their restaurants.[40] Other promotional partners included Kellogg's, Nabisco, Hershey's, Visa, Coca-Cola and United States Postal Service.[41]
To coincide with the release of the film, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal's Islands of Adventure began hosting a holiday event called Grinchmas.[42][43]
Home media[edit]
The film was released on VHS and DVD on November 20, 2001.[44] Within its first week of release, the film sold a combined total of 8.5 million home video units, selling 3 million DVD copies and 4 million VHS copies, making it the best-selling holiday home video title at the time.[45] It would go on to join Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Shrek and The Mummy Returns as one of the only four films to sell more than 2 million DVD copies during their opening weeks.[46] Overall, it was ranked as the second-highest opening week home video sales for any live-action film, after Titanic.[47] In December 2001, Variety reported that it was the second biggest selling home video release of 2001, selling 16.9 million copies and earning $296 million in sales revenue.[48] A Blu-ray/DVD combo pack was released on October 13, 2009. It was later given another Blu-ray release with the film digitally remastered on October 13, 2015.[49] It was also remastered in 4K and released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on October 17, 2017.[50]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
How the Grinch Stole Christmas grossed $260 million domestically and $85.1 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $345.1 million, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of 2000.
In the United States, the film opened at #1 on its opening day, making $15.6 million, with a weekend gross of $55.1 million, for an average of $17,615 from 3,127 theaters. Upon its release, it had the sixth-highest three-day opening weekend of any film, behind Toy Story 2, X-Men, Mission: Impossible 2, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and The Lost World: Jurassic Park.[51] Moreover, the film surpassed Batman Forever to achieve the largest opening weekend for a Jim Carrey film. How the Grinch Stole Christmas had the biggest opening weekend for a Ron Howard film, smashing the previous record held by Ransom.[52] It was the first non-Disney film to win the Thanksgiving weekend box office since Mrs. Doubtfire in 1993.[53] It held the record for the highest opening weekend for a Christmas-themed film for 18 years, until the 2018 film version of The Grinch surpassed it with $67.6 million.[54]
In its second weekend, the film grossed $52.1 million, dropping only 5.1%, setting a new record for highest-grossing second weekend for any film at the time, beating The Phantom Menace.[55] It stayed at the top of the box office for four weekends until it was overtaken by What Women Want and Dude, Where's My Car? in mid-December. How the Grinch Stole Christmas continued to draw holiday crowds while defeating another family-oriented film, The Emperor's New Groove.[56] By this point, it surpassed Mission: Impossible 2 to become the year's top-grossing film.[57] The film closed on March 1, 2001, with a final domestic gross of $260,044,825.[2] Box Office Mojo estimates that it sold over 48.1 million tickets in North America.[58]
Critical response[edit]
On Rotten Tomatoes, How the Grinch Stole Christmas holds an approval rating of 49% based on 144 reviews and an average rating of 5.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Jim Carrey shines as the Grinch. Unfortunately, it's not enough to save this movie. You'd be better off watching the TV cartoon."[59] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100 based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[60] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[61]