Halloween is Grinch Night (1977) (TV Special Review)

    The animated 1966 TV special “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” needs no introduction, as it’s become a staple of the holiday, and personally one of my all time favorites that I watch every year. Less known however was a second holiday special that aired on TV a decade later in 1977, and it’s called “Halloween is Grinch Night”. Obviously, Dr. Seuss set out to make another holiday staple, but this didn’t leave the same impact as its predecessor, and has become something of an obscure relic. I was first introduced to this special near the end of my Elementary School years, and despite developing interests in more mature programs, I was still very intrigued to see what my favorite holiday icon would bring to my favorite holiday. As a kid, I remember just feeling very confused about this special … I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it, it was just … something I watched, and that was it. There were absolutely select highlights, but I never felt any excitement to re-watch it for Halloween the same way I love watching the original during Christmas. However, I've grown a soft spot for this special, and have come to appreciate it more as an adult then I did as a kid. So, lets journey back to the 1970’s to see what either doesn't work, or still holds-up in this Dr. Seuss Halloween special.  

     The initial set-up here is actually a clever role-reversal of what transpired in the original. In that special, the Grinch was the one person who hated Christmas, and thus he tried to steal it from all the others who embraced it. This time, all the Who’s down in Whoville are terrified of the season, and have barricade themselves inside their homes. Much to the Grinch’s delight, he decides to share all the frights of the season with all the Who’s, and thus, he takes a wagon full of nightmarish creatures, and begins his decent to the town, in which he’ll unleash Halloween on everyone. It’s a great set-up for a Grinch themed Halloween special, but there’s unfortunately little pay-off to all it promises. Unlike the first special which kept all its focus on the title character, this one keeps cutting to all these boring side characters, who I don’t care for in the slightest. There’s also a lot of aimless meandering, which is terrible for a half-hour short. The Grinch spends the entire special slowly coming down the mountain, he gets stopped several times along the way by a village boy, he never reaches his destination, and at the end he just turns tail in empty defeat.

    Yeah, there’s not even a character arc for the Grinch this time, unlike the Christmas special, in which the Grinch at the start became a completely different person by the end. Horror legend Boris Karloff sadly passed away before this film, and thus we have a different talent voicing the Grinch in this special. It is cool that for this Halloween special, the Grinch is voiced by Hans Conried, who I've always remembered for voicing one of my childhood favorite Disney villains ... Captain Hook, from 1953's "Peter Pan". 

The lead boy named Euchariah doesn’t have much of an arc either, as he’s just the good kid who keeps the Grinch from coming to town, and that’s it. There isn’t even any real moral or life lesion tied into this one … nothing along the lines of “it’s not right to scare people” or “stand up and face you’re fears”, and it just feels kind of disposable as a result. This surprises me because Dr. Seuss wrote the screenplay, and he usually channels mature life lessons to go along with his odd-ball stories. Also, unlike the Christmas special, which was brought to life through those wonderful rhymes and those catchy songs … this one is packed with completely forgettable tunes, and confuses rhyming with rambling. Seriously, it’s obnoxious how dialogue heavy and cluttered this special gets. As a result, this short can get surprisingly boring at times. Also, as a side note, despite putting Halloween in the title, the holiday itself is never mentioned by name once, but it at least captures a strong feeling of the season, and it dose so without resorting to traditional Halloween imagery ... which is impressive.

    How’s the animation in this special, both on its own, and when compared to the original Christmas special. After all these years, the animation in the original “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” still looks extraordinary, the designs are great, the character animation is expressive, and the colors just pop before my eyes. Despite being another TV short, with the exact same run time, and ten years to build on the craft … “Halloween is Grinch Night” sadly looks and feels like it had half the animation budget of the original. It’s certainly not bad animation, but when compared to the first, it just feels kind of cheap. This especially applies to the character animation on the Grinch, who in this special rarely captures the same look, expressions, or personality of his predecessor. Having said all that, the Atom scenery on display is gorgeous, and it dose lend to an effective seasonal atmosphere. In fact, for as boring as the story, songs, and characters get, the atmosphere established in the opening dose sustain my engagement in viewing the picture. That, and the prominent Orange and Purple colors on display absolutely put me in a Halloween mood.   

    At the end of the special, Euchariah keeps the Grinch from going any further, which provokes our villain to invite the boy into … “The Paraphernalia Wagon". I have to say, this whole climax is pretty damn cool. The wagon basically transports the boy to some kind of warped dimension, full of whacky creatures, twisted surroundings, and chaotic environments. It’s one of the most bonkers crazy animated sequences I’ve ever seen in my life. 

I distinctly remember watching this for the first time as a fourth grader, one who was already exposed to a number of adult films, and yet … this scene still bugged me out. This is where the novelty of a Dr. Seuss Halloween special really shines, as all the spooky illustrations and creatures are 100% unique, would never be seen in any other Halloween special, and could only exist in the world of Seuss. For as mind-numbing and chaotic as it gets, it’s by no means “mindless”, as there’s clear thought and creativity that went into these designs and visuals. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dr. Seuss pitched this special just so he could create this one scene, as clearly all the effort and animated splendor was dedicated to this sequence. The song is even kind of catchy, and I love how the score builds and builds though the scene. 

   Due to my love for the Grinch character, I so wish I could label this special as an underrated Halloween classic, but I don't think it's quite good enough for that distinction. The Atom scenery is gorgeous, the final scene in the Paraphernalia Wagon is a lot of fun, and I do generally enjoy this special ... but as more of a guilty pleasure then a truly great special. There is still a lot of filler, some of it can be boring, overly talky, no real character arc’s or even lesions for kids. 

As such, I think most would find this a forgettable experience, with one or two highlights. I've personally grown to like and appreciate the special over time, and would at least recommend it to general fans of Halloween specials. In all fairness, this short apparently accomplished something special, as it won the Prime Time Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Programming, and it’s gained fans over the years. At best, I can once again refer to this Halloween special as a guilty pleasure of sorts, and I can see why some fans may have a soft spot for it. While this won’t be a holiday staple in the same vain of the Grinch's more famous Christmas offering, I just can't help taking delight from a Halloween special featuring this character, as well as featuring such distinctly creative imagery from the mind of the great Dr. Sues.

Thanks for reading my review of the 1977 special “Halloween is Grinch Night” … and let's make every day in October feel like Halloween.