A grumpy hermit hatches a plan to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.A grumpy hermit hatches a plan to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.A grumpy hermit hatches a plan to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.
Boris Karloff
- Narrator
- (voice)
- …
Thurl Ravenscroft
- Singer
- (uncredited)
- …
June Foray
- Cindy Lou Who
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Dal McKennon
- Max
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Movie and TV Santas We Love
Movie and TV Santas We Love
Celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with some of our favorite portrayals of Santa Claus.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBoris Karloff's voice changes when he speaks for the Grinch. Originally he spoke in his "Narrator" voice throughout. After recording was complete, the highs in his voice were mechanically removed for the Grinch, giving him the gravelly voice heard in the finished version.
- GoofsAs the Grinch closes the bedroom door, the part of the coat visible between his arm and collar are left unpainted.
- Crazy creditsThe complete credit for Boris Karloff in the opening credits reads as follows: "the sounds of the Grinch are by Boris Karloff... and read by Boris Karloff too!"
- Alternate versionsAmerican network TV prints often eliminate the verse from "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" that begins, "You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch." In addition, a sequence showing the Grinch leering at a little girl with an evil grin is usually deleted.
- ConnectionsEdited into In Search of Dr. Seuss (1994)
- SoundtracksOverture
(1966) (uncredited)
(includes "Welcome Christmas")
Music by Albert Hague
Conducted by Eugene Poddany
Featured review
In my life, there are very, very few "children's" storyworlds that I believe matter. Few, very few of these have made successful films. I know of only two. Both are American.
One is the "Muppet Movie," the first one, which I think is still a sort of gold standard for films of any type. The other is this.
Suess is the only writer that I believe equals Lewis Carroll on his own terms. He finds that sweet spot triangulating the parts of real life we acutely know, parts of fantasy life that we don't but from non-adjacent locations, and text-centric rhythms. His drawings are the things we notice, in a clever strategy of distraction; we infuse them with the mysteries from those others.
This little movie preserves all those qualities, and I think it is because of a rare collaboration of three giants. One is Suess (Geisel) of course. His books are inherently cinematic, with the drawings containing more information than the words. Sure, the "message" is usually from a Norman Rockwell fantasy, but the means of telling the story is unique.
A second is Chuck Jones. He invented modern animation, the kind of work that grows from the situation rather than simply served. He changed our imagination as much as Kubrick or Hitchcock. Turns out he had been friends with Suess for 25 years before making this. Now, I can report that the entire intent of this thing is that somewhat repellent stuff that has grown up around Christmas, that sickly sweet stuff that is wholly modern and has nothing to do with the Christian celebration or its several predecessors. But the manner in which this is animated is pure genius.
Sure, he had the Suess illustrations and Seuss himself. But look at how he has assembled the thing. The edits are just a hair shorter than you would expect, even today, giving energy. The transitions do something clever, for instance look at the business about the little girl's service of a strawberry (Russian doll-style), how it transitions to the Grinch's eye and how that is mirrored with the transfer from her heart to his.
And third, there is Boris. Its my opinion that merely by being there when scary movies were invented, his presence, even in voice especially in voice turns this project into a masterpiece of illustrated narrative.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
One is the "Muppet Movie," the first one, which I think is still a sort of gold standard for films of any type. The other is this.
Suess is the only writer that I believe equals Lewis Carroll on his own terms. He finds that sweet spot triangulating the parts of real life we acutely know, parts of fantasy life that we don't but from non-adjacent locations, and text-centric rhythms. His drawings are the things we notice, in a clever strategy of distraction; we infuse them with the mysteries from those others.
This little movie preserves all those qualities, and I think it is because of a rare collaboration of three giants. One is Suess (Geisel) of course. His books are inherently cinematic, with the drawings containing more information than the words. Sure, the "message" is usually from a Norman Rockwell fantasy, but the means of telling the story is unique.
A second is Chuck Jones. He invented modern animation, the kind of work that grows from the situation rather than simply served. He changed our imagination as much as Kubrick or Hitchcock. Turns out he had been friends with Suess for 25 years before making this. Now, I can report that the entire intent of this thing is that somewhat repellent stuff that has grown up around Christmas, that sickly sweet stuff that is wholly modern and has nothing to do with the Christian celebration or its several predecessors. But the manner in which this is animated is pure genius.
Sure, he had the Suess illustrations and Seuss himself. But look at how he has assembled the thing. The edits are just a hair shorter than you would expect, even today, giving energy. The transitions do something clever, for instance look at the business about the little girl's service of a strawberry (Russian doll-style), how it transitions to the Grinch's eye and how that is mirrored with the transfer from her heart to his.
And third, there is Boris. Its my opinion that merely by being there when scary movies were invented, his presence, even in voice especially in voice turns this project into a masterpiece of illustrated narrative.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime26 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
Top Gap
What is the Mexican Spanish language plot outline for How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)?
Answer