| The Grinch | |
|---|---|
| Grinch character | |
 The Grinch with his pet dog/best friend Max. | |
| First appearance | How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957) |
| Created by | Dr. Seuss |
| Designed by | Dr. Seuss |
| Portrayed by | |
| Voiced by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Family | Max (pet dog/best friend) |
| Spouse | Martha May Whovier (How the Grinch Stole Christmas) |
TheGrinch is a character created by children's author and cartoonistDr. Seuss.[1] He is best known as the titular main protagonist of the 1957 children's bookHow the Grinch Stole Christmas! He has been portrayed and voiced by many actors, includingBoris Karloff,Zero Mostel,Hans Conried,Bob Holt,Walter Matthau,Anthony Asbury,Jim Carrey,Rik Mayall,Benedict Cumberbatch,Matthew Morrison,David Howard Thornton, andJames Austin Johnson.
The Grinch is depicted as a green, furry, pot-bellied, pear-shaped, snub-nosedhumanoid creature with a cat-like face and a cynical personality. In full-color adaptations, he is typically colored green. He has spent the past 53 years living in seclusion on a cliff overlooking the town ofWhoville.
In contrast to the cheerful Whos, the Grinch ismisanthropic, ill-natured, and mean-tempered. The reason for this is a source of speculation; the consensus among the Whos is that he was born with a heart that they say was "two sizes too small". Though always hateful, he especially hates theChristmas season, making particular note of how disturbing the various elements ofChristmas time are to him, including the earsplitting noises of strangely-designed musical instruments, eatingChristmas dinner, and singingChristmas carols. Unable to stand the holiday any longer, he enacts a dastardly plan to stop it from happening.
Aided by his pet dog, Max, he meticulously designs a red suit to disguise himself asSanta Claus and breaks into the Whos' homes onChristmas Eve while they sleep to steal everything they own, and dump it off from a nearby mountain. Although he pulls off the theft successfully, on Christmas morning he is shocked to hear the Whos still singing cheerfully, happy simply to have each other. He then realizes that the holiday has adeeper meaning that he never considered. Inspired, he stops the Whos' belongings from falling off the edge of the mountain, and in the process his heart grows three times its size. He returns all the gifts he stole and gladly takes part in the Whos' Christmas celebration.
The Grinch is still portrayed as a bitter and ill-tempered character in artwork and other media. In both theanimated TV special and the2000 live-action film, he is shown to have superhuman strength when he stops an entire sleigh loaded with presents from going over a cliff and lifts it over his head, and he is also described as "[finding] the strength of ten Grinches plus two" during that moment of crisis. In the 2018 film, the Grinch has assistance saving all the Whos' stolen goods.
With the character's anti-Christmas spirit followed by the transformation on Christmas morning, scholars have noted similarity toEbenezer Scrooge fromCharles Dickens's 1843 novellaA Christmas Carol.[2][3] Cardiologist David Kass suggested that the growth of the Grinch's heart at the end of the story indicates that the Grinch has the physiology of aBurmese python.[4]
In Seuss's book, the Grinch's hatred for Christmas is unknown, but the 2000 film adaptation provides abackstory in his upbringing: abandoned in infancy in Whoville and left in the cold, unnoticed by the revelers at a Christmas party, the Grinch is taken in by two Who women. He proves an unruly schoolboy and is bullied by a schoolmate, Augustus May Who (later Whoville's mayor), but falls for a Who girl named Martha May Whovier. Determined to impress her, he uses various family heirlooms to make an angel Christmas tree-topper for a Christmas gift exchange and vainly attempts to shave. He is mocked for his efforts by everyone at school except Martha and so conceives an abiding resentment. The TV specialThe Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat lays much of the blame on the absence of the Grinch's mother, who had been a positive, nurturing influence on the Grinch in her lifetime but died some time prior; when the Grinch is finally provoked to grieve at the end of that special, he returns to being good.
The first use of the word 'Grinch' in a work by Dr. Seuss appears in the 1953 bookScrambled Eggs Super! (one of the books withdrawn from circulation by the Seuss estate in 2021[5]) about Peter T. Hooper, a boy who collects eggs from a number of exotic birds to make scrambled eggs. One of these exotic birds is the "Beagle-Beaked-Bald-Headed Grinch" who shares the later Grinch's cantankerous attitude.
The name later appeared in the May 1955 issue ofRedbook in a 32-line poem called, "The Hoobub and the Grinch". This version bears virtually no resemblance to the later character other than name, instead being a fast-talking salesman in the vein of Sylvester McMonkey McBean fromThe Sneetches and the Once-ler from Seuss's later bookThe Lorax.[6] "The Hoobub and the Grinch" would be republished as part of the posthumous anthologyHorton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories in 2014, in which the illustration draws this Grinch far differently.[7]
The Grinch, in his best known incarnation, made his book debut in the 1957 storyHow the Grinch Stole Christmas!, written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss, published as both aRandom House book and in an issue ofRedbook magazine. In 1966, the story was adapted into an animatedtelevision featurette of the same name, which was directed byChuck Jones and included the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch".Boris Karloff serves as both the story's narrator and the voice of the Grinch, but the song was sung byThurl Ravenscroft, as Karloff could not sing.[8] The Grinch's green color debuted in the television special as a consensus choice among Jones and Seuss, who agreed green was the only choice that made sense.[9]
In 1977, Seuss responded to the fan request for more Grinch tales by writing the animated television specialHalloween Is Grinch Night. The Grinch is voiced byHans Conried.[10] This was followed in 1982, whenMarvel green-litThe Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, a TV film co-starringthe Cat in the Hat. The Grinch is voiced byBob Holt. The special was produced by Dr. Seuss (though under his real name, Ted Geisel). Although not as successful as the original, the two films both receivedEmmy Awards.[11]
Several episodes of the 1996Nick Jr. Channel television showThe Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss feature the Grinch as the main antagonist, this time in puppet form.[12] He was performed and voiced byAnthony Asbury from Season 1 (1996) to Season 2 (1998).[13]
A 2000 live-actionfeature musical comedy film based on the story, directed byRon Howard and starringJim Carrey as the Grinch, was a major success at the box office.[14][15][16] A video game based on the film, simply entitledThe Grinch, was released on several consoles and PC in the same year. It was followed in 2007 by the release of theNintendo DS titleDr. Seuss: How the Grinch Stole Christmas!.
The Grinch was portrayed on the stage when the story was turned intoa 1994 musical by the Children's Theater Company out ofMinneapolis. The show made it toBroadway by way of a limited run in 2006.[17] Icelandic actorStefán Karl Stefánsson portrayed the Grinch in the touring production of the musical from 2008 to 2015.[18][19][20] The Grinch is also a minor character in the 2000 musicalSeussical, which is based on multiple Seuss works.
The Grinch's story was adapted fora 2018 animated film byIllumination Entertainment, starringBenedict Cumberbatch as the title character.[21]
On Wednesday, December 9, 2020,NBC aired the holiday live production,Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical Live! based on the Broadway stage musical.Booboo Stewart plays young Max, Amelia Minto playsCindy Lou Who,Denis O'Hare plays old Max andMatthew Morrison stars as the Grinch. The musical includes songs from the original musical, such as "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch".[22][23][24]
In 2023,Outright Games and Casual Brothers Ltd. developed and released a video game titledThe Grinch: Christmas Adventures, where you play as both the Grinch and his dog Max as they traverse through 18 levels in Whoville to steal Christmas presents from the Whos, including jigsaw puzzles in order to unlock upgrades.
In many different movies, specials, and television series, the Grinch has been voiced and played by many different characters throughout many films. InChuck Jones'1966 television special, the Grinch was voiced byBoris Karloff before he died three years later in 1969.[25]Zero Mostel voiced the Grinch in the 1975 audio recording ofHow the Grinch Stole Christmas!,[26] whileHans Conried voiced the character inHalloween Is Grinch Night[10] andBob Holt voiced the character inThe Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, a crossover with one ofDr. Seuss' charactersThe Cat in the Hat.[11]
Walter Matthau voiced the character inRandom House Home Video.[27]The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss also features the Grinch, where he was played by puppeteerAnthony Asbury.[13]
The Grinch was voiced byCorey Burton inSeuss Landing andSneech Beach Area.[28] InRon Howard's 2000How the Grinch Stole Christmas film, the Grinch's first live-action feature, he was played byJim Carrey. Despite the film having mixed reviews, Carrey's performance as the Grinch was praised by critics.[14][15][16] InThe Grinch video game, he was voiced by Josh Gerhardt.[29][30]Stefán Karl Stefánsson played the character inDr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical from 2008 to 2015.[18][19][20]
InUniversal Pictures andIllumination's feature filmThe Grinch directed byScott Mosier andYarrow Cheney, he was voiced byBenedict Cumberbatch.[21] In the Grinch's third live-action feature,Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical Live!, he was played byMatthew Morrison.[22][23][24] In the horror movie parody of the Grinch,The Mean One, the Grinch was played byDavid Howard Thornton.[31][32] In someCapital One commercials, the Grinch was voiced byDavid Kaye.[33] In someWalmart commercials, the Grinch was voiced byDarin De Paul[34] and played byWalton Goggins.[35][36]
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The Grinch has become an anti-icon of Christmas and the winter holidays, as a symbol of those who despise the holiday, much in the same nature as the earlier character ofEbenezer Scrooge. Over the years, the Grinch has appeared on various forms of memorabilia such asChristmas ornaments, plush dolls, and various clothing items.[17] The grumpy, anti-holiday spirit of the character has led to the everyday term "Grinch"[53][54] coming to refer to a person opposed toChristmas time celebrations[55][56] or to someone with a coarse, greedy attitude.[54] In 2002,TV Guide ranked The Grinch number 5 on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list.[53]
He also made a brief appearance on the television in bothHome Alone andHome Alone 2: Lost in New York.
The Grumple is a green monster featured in the Christmas special "Kill Gil, Volumes I & II" ofThe Simpsons. He is a parody of the Grinch and is voiced byHank Azaria.[57]
InThe Fairly OddParents episode, "Merry Wishmas", Timmy Turner, Santa Claus, and the elves watch "How the Grump Stole Wishmas", a parody of the Grinch.
In an episode ofTiny Toon Adventures, a parody of the Grinch was voiced byHomer Simpson's voice actorDan Castellaneta.[57]
The Grinch also appeared as a cameo inRobot Chicken, voiced by the series creatorSeth Green.[58]
The Grinch also appeared as a cameo inMad, voiced byStephen Stanton.[59]
InFamily Guy, the Grinch made a cameo appearance, voiced byWally Wingert.[60][61]
In the season 19 Christmas special "The Grounch" ofAmerican Dad!, Roger turns into a Grinch-esque monster due to observing 1 year straight of celibacy and proceeds to steal the coital paraphernalia at a sex party. During his thieving rampage, a parody of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" plays, acknowledging that this plot line is, in fact, a parody.
In the early hours of Christmas Eve 2018, a group of climbers put a giant Santa hat onAntony Gormley's colossalAngel of the North statue (20 metres; 66' high, wingspan 54 metres; 177') nearGateshead, north England. They had attempted to do this, unsuccessfully, for several Christmases.[62] In the early hours of December 29, the pranksters returned, one of them dressed as the Grinch and the others as Santa Claus, and the Grinch "stole" Santa's hat.[63]
Starting in 2021, a popular meme depicted a blue version of the Grinch (known as "The Blinch") smiling, with text stating that his smile was a result of having "knee surgery tomorrow". The meme gained increased popularity in 2024.[64]
A creature based on The Grinch, known as "The Gooch", was added toGrand Theft Auto Online in the 2022 holiday update. The creature appears in green smoke, robbing players of money and any items in their inventories. Defeating the creature grants the player an outfit similar to that of the Grinch.[65]
In 2022, XYZ Films produced ahorror film interpretation, starringDavid Howard Thornton as the "Mean One", aspoof of the Grinch character.[31][32] In this adaption, the titled character became a literal monster that will kill anyone who celebrates Christmas. This leads to an adult, Cindy: who had met the Mean One a long time ago and witnessed him killing her mother, to try to stop his reign of terror and bringing the holiday spirit back to Newville.
Since 2024,McDonald's has sold a Grinch-themed meal only in Canada, usually with Dill Pickle McShaker fries, "Who-Hash bites" which are tinytater tots, and mismatched socks.[66]
Multiple politicians in theUnited Kingdom andUnited States have been compared to the Grinch, often due to accusations that they will 'steal' Christmas.
Sean Hannity andLaura Ingraham describedPresident of the United StatesJoe Biden as "the Grinch Who Stole Christmas" onFox News in 2021, criticising him for delays in the supply chain for US imports.[67]
Mick Lynch, head of the UK'sNational Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, was compared to the Grinch from November to December 2022 in media coverage of the ongoingrailway strikes by the union.Tabloid newspaperMetro as well as Prime MinisterRishi Sunak likened him to the Grinch and accused him of wanting to "steal Christmas". Lynch retorted that "I'm not the Grinch, I'm a trade union official and I'm determined to get a deal."[68][69][70][71][72]
In December 2023, lawyers forDonald Trump calledSpecial counselJack Smith a Grinch in a court filing in response to Smith's request for an expedited appeal on whether Trump could claimpresidential immunity. The filing directly quotedHow the Grinch Stole Christmas!, arguing that if theUS Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit did not rule against Smith's request, it "would make President Trump's opening brief due the day after Christmas. This proposed schedule would require attorneys and support staff to work round-the-clock through the holidays, inevitably disrupting family and travel plans. It is as if the Special Counsel 'growled, with his Grinch fingers nervously drumming, "I must find some way to keep Christmas from coming. … But how?"'"[73][74]
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