How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) (TV Special Review)

    The books of Dr. Seuss are an important staple of the youth, and something no child should be without. When I was a kid, I couldn’t get enough of them, and as an adult I’ve begun to appreciate them from a different perspective, as there’s so much more to them then just colorful characters and creative rhymes. Many of his stories convey important life lesions that are meaningful for kids, and sense they were so unforgettable with their presentation, they continue to stick with us as adults. Along with all the Dr. Seuss books I grew up with, I also had just about every TV special based around these books on home video. These included “The Cat in the Hat”, “Daisy Head Mayzie”, “The Lorax”, “Horton Hears a Who” and even obscure ones like “The Butter Battle Book”. Of course, my absolute favorite of them all was the 1966 TV special “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, adapted from the Dr. Seuss book of the same name. It’s certainly the most famous of all the TV specials based around his books, to the point where it’s more celebrated and cherished then the book itself. While the other TV specials adapted from his books were all very good in their own right, they never overshadowed the actual books in terms of popularity. Truthfully, the 1966 TV special achieved something immortalizing and has sense been regarded as one of the absolute greatest Christmas specials of all time.

   For my feelings, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is my absolute favorite holiday special ever made, but why is that, what is the magic ingredient that makes this short little special surpass other Dr. Seuss adaptions, and how has it withstood the test of time? Describing the plot is almost pointless as it’s so popular, but I pride myself on being a profession with my reviews, so here’s the quick synopsis. 

Whoville is a small town populated with creatures called “Who’s”, and they love Christmas with a burning passion. Every year they celebrate the holiday with music, laughter, games, and everyone is happy. Yet, there’s still one bitter creature who lives up on the heist mountain alone and absolutely hates the whole Christmas season. This miserable creature naturally is … the Grinch, and after countless years, he’s hatching a plan to put an end to the holiday once and for all. The bulk of this episode mainly focuses on watching the Grinch stealing the gifts and decorations from the people of Whoville, which on paper sounds like a negative experience, and yet everything about this special really works. Animator and director Chuck Jones gives the special a bouncy and fun flair, with lots of creativity and imagination on display. Even when focusing on something as simple and negative as one-character robing from the innocent, the special maintains this infectious sense of fun and I really think it’s a case of all the right talents coming together for one project.

   Naturally, right along with Ebenezer Scrooge and George Bailey from "It's a Wonderful Life", The Grinch is one of the all time great Christmas characters. Of course, I have to acknowledge one Boris Karloff who supplies both the voice of the Grinch and is the narrator of the special. 

Now most people know Boris Karloff best for his classic horror movie roles, like playing the lead monster in “Frankenstein”, “The Mummy” and “Bride of Frankenstein”. Yet, I’ve always loved his contribution to the Grinch the most, as he’s incredibly dignified as the storyteller of this special, and gives it this warm atmosphere, which is on par with a grandfather reading to their grandkids. Now despite the rich source material from Dr. Seuss, I truly believe that it’s the animation, writing and directing of Chuck Jones that really gives this TV special life. Naturally, Chuck Jones is a legend in the realms of animation, as he gave life to such cartoon classics as “The Loony Toons” and “Tom and Jerry”. The one thing he always excels at is the character animation, as many of his cartoon characters rarely spoke and conveyed most of their personalities through both facial features and body posturing.

This is where the character of the Grinch really shines, as the animation on him alone is bursting with both charm and personality. When I say this is one of my all-time favorite performances from an animated character, I’m not just referring to the voice actor, … I’m also talking about the animators and the performance they give to the character. It may seem like a minor thing to praise, but the animation of the Grinch really is one of the most important things this special got right. Unlike any other Christmas special, this is the only one that solely put its focus on a villain character. Granted we had some cute characters like the dog Max and the little Who Girl named Cindy Lu, but they were just minor parts. The Grinch from beginning to end is the only character we have, so the animation on him really needed to appeal to kids, and in this regard, it’s an absolute success.

  This also marks arguably the specials greatest contribution that surpasses its literary source material, which is the characters re-design. We always think back on the Grinch with his green fur, and big head, which wasn’t his original design in the book. 

Initially his colors were black and white, with solid red eyes and a smaller head. So, I’ve praised the character animation, but what about the actual animation for everything else. Personally, I think “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is the absolute best-looking animated Christmas special ever made. While the animation in the other Dr. Seuss specials was fine, there is just something about the colors, the design and layout of this special that puts it on a higher level of quality. These colors are so vibrant, and decorative that the animation just pops before your eyes, and still looks wonderful all these years later. No other winter sky has looked more blue, and no other Christmas tree greener then in this special. I love the details to the homes, the decorations, the odd contraptions, and even the snowflakes have a very distinct look that stands out. The background illustrator was Maurice Noble, who had frequently collaborated with Chuck Jones, providing some of the greatest imagery for any of the Looney Toons shorts, and I'd argue his work on the Grinch is his magnum opus.   

  With the animation addressed, lets finally talk about the specials next immortalizing contribution … the songs. While the other Dr. Seuss TV specials had there share of songs, nothing even came close to leaving as big an impact on our pop culture then the villain song titled “You’re a Mean One Mister Grinch”. To call this one of the most iconic villain songs ever is something of an understatement, as it’s achieved a status as a classic Christmas song in its own right, which is no simple feat for a bad guy song in a 30-minute long TV special. While all the rhymes from the book carried over to this special, the lyrics in this song were original, yet carried the same mannerism and charm of Seuss speech. My personal favorite song is the “Welcome Christmas” song heard at both the opening and closing of the film. Like most kids, I was introduced to popular Christmas songs like “Jingle Bells”, “Deck the Halls”, and “We wish you a Merry Christmas”, yet I distinctly remember liking the Who’s “Welcome Christmas” more then any other song I heard during the holiday season. There’s just something warm, and inviting about this song that’s just stuck with me through the years. Right from the opening title card, the music starts chiming, and it instantly wins me over. The opening scene introducing the Who’s decorating the town for Christmas might actually be one of my favorite little animated sequences put to a Christmas cartoon. Again, it’s the combination of this music with these colors that carries this infectious appeal, and just gets the ball rolling. 

   However, the absolute best scene obviously is the ending, in which our villain finally realizes that … “Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more”. It’s one of the simplest, yet touching scenes I’ve ever experienced in an animated production, and it still gets to me even as an adult. I think it works because it doesn’t come off as overly preachy with the delivery of its message. It just conveys it’s moral, we see how it impacts our villain, and we see what he takes from the lesson he learns. It’s so humble and simple that it’s actually gotten me teary eyed, which I don’t say lightly. The only other Christmas special I can think of that’s actually gotten me teary eyed was Disney’s short “The Little Match Girl”, but those tears seemed more warranted, as there was some real drama and loss there. Yet, though its own humble warmth, and appeal, this special brought out the exact same emotional response in me, and continues to do so over the years.  

  The story of the Grinch in general is one my absolute favorites of the holiday season, and this short little animated TV special is my favorite version of it by far. To label it as a holiday classic is almost too simple for its own good ... because it truly is my absolute favorite animated Christmas special, and probably one of my top 3 Christmas … anything's. I love the rhymes, I love the animation, I love the story, I love the main character, I love the music, I love the simplicity of its moral … I just love it all around. Rightfully, it's become a yuletide tradition for families all over the world, and it’s our job to make sure it remains as such. There have been countless other Grinch spin-off shorts and theatrical movie adaptions, to the point where I’m almost afraid this special may slip from younger children getting exposed to the holiday. While other versions aren’t without some charm and appeal, lets always remember the golden child that really started it all, and the Christmas special that I firmly believe no family should be without.    

 

Thanks for reading my review of the 1966 TV special “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” … and continue to enjoy the Christmas and holiday Specials you Love!