Being one of the most classic Christmas stories, it’s no wonder that “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” has received multiple movie adaptations. Spanning 1966 to 2018, three movies have been released using the beloved character and his story.
The original story of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” follows the Grinch’s, a hater of Christmas, plans to steal it from the nearby town of Whoville. Through a fake Santa Claus outfit and an improvised reindeer, the Grinch is able to successfully steal all of Whoville’s presents, decorations, and overall, spirit.
However, as he is about to throw the Whos’ Christmas off a mountain, he sees the Whos join hands in the center of their town and sing together. Upon this, the Grinch is able to realize that Christmas is more than presents, decorations, and other material things; it’s about something deeper and more meaningful. Although the original story leaves exactly what that “something more” is, it’s clear to the reader that Christmas isn’t just about the gifts.
As many know, when movie adaptations are created based on books, the story tends to divert from the original version when working to make a full feature length film. This phenomenon can also be incredibly apparent in children’s books’ adaptations, as books directed towards younger audiences are often much shorter, and more obscure in their world-building, leading to writers and directors having less to work with.
This leads to the question on how accurate the three different adaptations are to the source material and whether they are able to
capture the true lesson of the story… or if it gets lost in translation.
The first adaptation, created in 1966, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,” is essentially a carbon-copy of the original story, maintaining the same Dr. Seuss art style, as well as the narrator and spoken lines being taken straight from the book itself.
Being compared to the other adaptations, it’s no question that the 1966 version is the closest to the original story. Being an exact replica only spanning 26 minutes, it is able to properly capture the exact message of the story.
Roughly 34 years later, the 2000s adaptation, donning the same name, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” was released. This version stars Jim Carrey as the Grinch, along with the additional roles created for the Whos.
Along with larger roles of additional characters, the film itself spans one hour and 45 minutes, in typical fashion of full length movies, leading to more creative action being given to the writers and directors.
The live-action version expands the world of the story to a much larger extent compared to the original book and its true-to-form movie adaptation.
Upon its release, the film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for Carrey’s portrayal while its dark humor and tone were often criticized.
The film takes many creative liberties regarding the main message of the story, depicting both the Whos and the Grinch as unaware that Christmas is worth more than any material items, instilling an interesting and compelling critique on consumerism.
Despite the film showing so many expansions and tweaks to the film, it’s still able to keep that same message while also adding an interesting change that could arguably make the film’s message meaningful.
The most recent adaptation, donning a modified name, “The Grinch,” made in 2018, shows a return to animation in 3D.
Being a one hour and 30 minute film, the film continues with the trend of creating new characters in order to forward the plot, and adapting smaller storylines to other characters. The film follows closer to the original story, while also putting a more modern spin on it, such as covering the song,“You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” in a hip-hop style.
Both of the recent adaptations provide the Grinch with a sympathetic backstory, although they change between both versions.
Although the original story and 1966 adaptation leave it obscure to the reader, the 2000s version depicts the Grinch akin to a cryptid or an urban legend that is feared throughout the town who lives in a trash filled cave on a mountain, while the 2018 version is depicted closer to a grumpy neighbor that happens to dislike Christmas, having him living in a fully furnished mountain.
Despite these various changes between the three adaptations of Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” all of the films are able to still convey the message that Christmas can still exist without packages, boxes, or bags.