Movie Review
Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (Release Date: November 9th, 2018)
A grumpy Grinch plots to ruin Christmas for the village of Whoville. Based on the beloved Christmas book by Dr. Suess of the same name.
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Cameron Seely, and Rashida Jones
Directors: Yarrow Cheney, and Scott Mosier
Rating/ Runtime: PG- 1hr 26
“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
My Thoughts…
You’re not a mean one Mr. Grinch, not really!
I had zero expectations for this movie, I mean it wasn’t even on my radar. Mainly because the Jim Carrey version scared the bejesus out of my tot, and to be frank, wasn’t that great. But, a friend was taking her kids, so after my daughter gave the trailer her approval, we decided to join in.
Without revealing too much, this Grinch was a bit of a softy. He’s still grumpy and still hates Christmas, but he’s more like that grumbly neighbour that everyone has. That said, he’s been dealing with Whoville’s over-the-top Christmas spirit for far too long and he’s had enough! Cue evil plan to rob his neighbours’ of their festive happiness, which he feels is entirely relative to how much stuff they get (he’s not wrong).
In this version, there is a very clear reason why the Grinch hates the holiday season, and we learn this pretty early on which makes him a more empathetic character. I think you all went “awww” when Baby Grinch first appeared in the trailers. Because of this, you understand his motivation. Then of course, he meets a special little girl who shows him maybe the Whovillians aren’t as shallow and consumer driven as he always thought.
The best part of this film is how the characters are updated, making it far more contemporary. “Cindy-Lou Who” is adorable and spunky, and “Max”, the Grinch’s dog, will just melt your heart and make you laugh.
Overall, the movie was cute but predictable, and though there were a few laughs for the parents, this one is definitely more for younger kids. I would say anyone under 10 will enjoy it, but for everyone else, this is no Despicable Me.
Rating… C+
Reads & Reels 
Thanks for the honest review. 🙂 It’s too bad to hear that it wasn’t much more than cute fluff, but at least now I know not to have my expectations too high if I go to see it. There’s a few different movies I want to see right now, so this one might go on the back burner for a wee bit.
I’ve never actually seen the Jim Carrey version, but always enjoyed the animated one when I was a kid. I decorated our bulletin board outside my room at work with that version of the Grinch, and marked our room a “Grinch-Free Zone”. lol
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Max was always my favorite anyway.
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He’s so cute in this 😊
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I only saw a few clips of the Jim Carrey one and that was enough for me! Me and my boyfriend are essentially overgrown children so we might head to the cinema to see this 😛
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I’m all about cartoons. It’s cute but not the best one lately. I hope you like it!
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