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Title: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966– )
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
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Storyline
Bitter and hateful, the Grinch is irritated at the thought of the nearby village having a happy time celebrating Christmas. So disguised as Santa Claus, with his dog made to look like a reindeer, he raids the village to steal all the Christmas things. The village is sure to have a sad Christmas this year. Written by Anonymous
Plot Keywords:
generosity | christmas special | change of heart | christmas | compassion |Taglines:
The fabled story world of DR. SEUSS comes to television for the first time in this colorful special for the whole family!Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
18 December 1966 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)Color:
Color (Metrocolor)Aspect Ratio:
4:3
Edit
Narrator: Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville - did not. The Grinch hated Christmas - the whole Christmas season. Now, please don't ask why; no one quite knows the reason. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. Or it could be that his head wasn't screwed on just right. But I think that the most likely reason of all... may have been that his heart was two sizes too small. But, whatever the reason, his heart or his ...
See more »
(uncredited)
Written by Dr. Seuss and Albert Hague
Performed by Thurl Ravenscroft
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Thurl Ravenscroft, who sang the song, is best known as the voice of Tony the Tiger in numerous Frosted Flakes' TV commercials. Thurl was picked to sing these songs, because his voice was like an extremely deep bass or baritone voice. See more »Goofs
When the Grinch is cutting Max's antler, the cut lines appear on the prongs before he actually starts to cut. See more »Quotes
[first lines]Narrator: Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville - did not. The Grinch hated Christmas - the whole Christmas season. Now, please don't ask why; no one quite knows the reason. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. Or it could be that his head wasn't screwed on just right. But I think that the most likely reason of all... may have been that his heart was two sizes too small. But, whatever the reason, his heart or his ...
See more »
Crazy Credits
The 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!" See more »Alternate Versions
The version shown on CBS from, possibly, the 70's up to 1985 eliminates the verses and segments "You're a vile one" and "You're a rotter" of the Mr. Grinch segment/montage. It cuts from the segment where the Grinch stuffs the items from the Christmas tree in bags up the chimney to the scene where he appears, grinning, at the Who children sleeping in bed with their candy canes. See more »Soundtracks
You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch(uncredited)
Written by Dr. Seuss and Albert Hague
Performed by Thurl Ravenscroft
See more »
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I know that I will catch a lot of heat for saying this, but this is the ONLY version of Dr. Seuss' tale that you should bother to watch. That's because it closely follows the book (with, of course, songs added for this Christmas special) and the moral of the original tale is preserved (that the Whos don't really NEED presents and they are truly filled with the Christmas spirit). Years ago, an abomination arrived in movie theaters and parents dutifully took their kids to see it--and it was a total bastardization of the story. This time, the moral is completely changed and the Whos are selfish jerks who are 100% commercially-oriented and annoying!! And, to make things worse, since it's only a short story, it's horribly padded by allowing Jim Carrey to shamelessly overact. My advice is stick to the original!
Why is this original telling so great? Well, much of it is because the quality of the animation is very good and Chuck Jones had a wonderfully devilish quality about the Grinch that makes the character come to life. And, with the terrific voice talent of Boris Karloff (who is PERFECT for the role), you can't help but love this rogue! For the special, Seuss wrote some great songs--particularly the Grinch song that was so perfectly sung by Thurl Ravenscroft. You can't help but adore this film from start to finish--it's about as well-made as any Christmas production and is a definite must-see in my home.