Directed by Scott Mosier and Yarrow Cheney
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Rashida Jones, and Kenan Thompson
I've been a pretty big critic of the animated films of Illumination Entertainment in the past, as well as discussed the "success rate" of films based on the book of Dr. Seuss. Here, I get to talk about both!!
I don't think Illumination will never reach the heights of Disney or Pixar. Their films, while they have great animation, are mostly aimed at younger audiences. These aren't films that both kids and adults will enjoy equally. More style than substance, the Minion Factory appears to be more concerned with slapstick humor and visual gags than a solid script.
That falls in line with the impression I got from the first trailer for their Seuss remake, The Grinch, and my heart sank. The trailers showcased a version of The Grinch melded with Despicable Me humor (Despicable Grinch?). It came out last November, my curiosity got the better of me, and I went to go see it…and I liked it. I just watched it a second and third time this week, and I really like it.
Don't get me wrong, this third-version of The Grinch is not perfect and still carries the usual Illumination tropes but…well let's start the review.
You know the classic Seuss story. The Grinch (Cumberbatch) is a big, green grouch living alone on the outskirts of Whoville, the home of the Whos. The Whos love Christmas, while The Grinch hates it due to his traumatic past. When he can finally take it no more, he begins to form a plan to steal Christmas away from The Whos. Meanwhile, little Cindy Lou Who (Cameron Seely) is forming a plan of her own to catch Santa Claus on Christmas Eve and ask him to grant a very important Christmas wish.
The original Dr. Seuss book was about 70 pages, and the first film adaptation, the Chuck Jones animated special, clocks in at just under half an hour. The 2000 Ron Howard live-action adaptation starring Jim Carrey was just shy of two hours. The Grinch is just a little under an hour and-a-half. The reason I bring all this up, is when you're adapting a children's book into a feature film, chances are you're going to have to expand the story a bit to make a full screenplay. While there have been films that have done this successfully (Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, Captain Underpants, Shrek…), there have been plenty that have failed, like the majority of previous Suess film adaptations…and The Polar Express-YEAH I SAID IT. I hate that film…
Ron Howard's How The Grinch Stole Christmas is a guilty pleasure of mine and many others. I won't say it's a great film, but it does have entertainment value, mostly credited to Carrey's performance. That film does devote a lot of time to give The Grinch a detailed, convoluted backstory. The Grinch keeps it simple. He doesn't hate Christmas due to a shaving incident that everyone at school teased him for. This time he hates it because he was always alone in the orphanage at Christmas. He's anti-social, would rather stay at home with his dog Max, and eat his feelings, but he still feels empty inside. That works a lot better, and makes The Grinch more timely and relatable. In a way it sort of updates him for modern audiences. Even Cindy Lou Who's relationship with her mother (Rashida Jones) is given a fresh take.
However, a smaller backstory (and really a thinner script) leaves room for more of Illuminations' typical humor. There's a lot of Looney Tunes-ish slapstick and gags. But most of it works! Let's not forget the original animated Grinch was directed and co-produced by legendary Looney Tunes animator Chuck Jones, and that production padded the story with visual gags and slapstick. So Illumination's unique visual style of storytelling works for the Grinch. All the different contraptions he creates for his plan to steal Christmas, and the sticky situations he gets into, definitely are in the same spirit of the 1966 classic. I called it a thinner script, but I don't think that's a bad thing. It somehow does less than the 2000 film, but achieves more.
I do need to take a moment to sing the praises of the new character, Fred The Oversized Reindeer. All the advertising made me think he was just another Minion proxy, but no, he serves an actual purpose to the story and The Grinch's character arc, so yeah…Go Fred.
One small gripe I had with the film is that it replaces the classic narration, the original words written by Seuss, for newer "pseudo-Seuss" narration, with a voice actor that does not fit. At all. When you see who it is you'll realize it was clearly an Illumination executive's move to choose him. But anyway, even the 2000 film used the straight up Seuss text to bridge the scenes together. It's not badly written narration, but it doesn't hit like the classic Seuss text. I don't know, I'll give them credit for trying to do something new…and you know what I can take or leave the new songs from Tyler the Creator.
The animation is gorgeous as one would expect from Illumination. Their style really emulates the Dr. Seuss illustrations, and the world they built here oozes the Christmas aesthetic. The tech is really impressive, I mean when you see the snow caught in The Grinch's hair as the winter breeze blows, cutting edge. From a cinematography standpoint, there are a lot of beautiful shots throughout the film.
Benedict Cumberbatch as The Grinch is probably one of the best casting decisions ever made. I was initially kind of sad he decided to forgo his British accent, because it would have been perfect for The Grinch, but his whiny, Dr. House like voice really grows on you. It fits for this version of The Grinch. The rest of the voice cast is stellar. Cameron Seely is an adorable Cindy Lou. Rashida Jones is lovely as her mother. Kenan Thompson is hilarious as The Grinch's neighbor Bricklebaum, and while he doesn't talk, Max is one of the best dogs ever in an animated film.
I've come to enjoy The Grinch more with each viewing, and arguably more than the 2000 film adaptation. Does it eclipse the original 1966 animated special? No but it didn't necessarily need to. I know the film has it critics, and so does the 2000 film. If you like one more than the other it's fine. I'll continue to watch all three as time goes on. But The Grinch is beautifully animated and acted, and captures the spirit of Seuss while also updating it for modern audiences (Sidenote: The ending scene is one of my favorites of any animated film in recent years). So this Christma-…next Christmas, or before New Year's, I suggest you give it a watch. You might just end up being as pleasantly surprised as I did last November...
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