The Grinch (2018)

The Grinch
Scheme big.
Directed by	Scott Mosier Yarrow Cheney
Produced by	Chris Meledandri Janet Healy
Screenplay by	Michael LeSieur Tommy Swerdlow
Based on	How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss
Narrated by	Pharrell Williams
Studio	Universal Pictures Illumination Entertainment
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Running time	86 minutes
Country
Language	English
Rating
Budget	$75 million

The Grinch  (also known as Dr. Seuss' The Grinch) is a 2018 American 3D computer-animated Christmas comedy fantasy-musical film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. 

Based on the 1957 Dr. Seuss story How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, it is the third screen adaptation of the story, following the 1966 TV special of the same name and the remaking of the 2000 live-action feature-length also of the same name. It is directed by Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier, written by Michael LeSieur and Tommy Swerdlow and stars Benedict Cumberbatch,  Cameron Seely, Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson, Angela Lansbury  and  Pharrell Williams.The film is scheduled to be released by Universal Pictures on November 9, 2018. The film will be given a Real D 3D and IMAX 3D release.

Plot

Spoiler Warning: The following contains important plot details of the entire film.

In the town of Whoville, human-like creatures called Whos are filled with excitement about celebrating Christmas. The only one who isn't amused is a cantankerous, green furred creature called The Grinch, who has a heart "two sizes too small" and lives as a hermit in a cave on the top of Mount Crumpit just north of Whoville. The Grinch has a pet dog named Max, and they both only visit Whoville when the Grinch needs to buy food and do bad things.

Meanwhile, 6-year-old Cindy Lou Who notices that her mother Donna is overworked trying to take care of herself and her baby twin brothers, Buster and Bean. At first, she decides to send a letter to Santa Claus to help her mother, but after encountering the Grinch, who sarcastically says that she'll have to talk to Santa face-to-face about it, she then decides to go to the North Pole to talk to Santa, but when Donna tells her that it would take a month to get there and back home, her final decision is to try and trap Santa with the help of her friends.

With Christmas approaching, all the Whoville festivities give the Grinch a flashback, recalling his disjointing childhood spent mostly alone and unwanted in an orphanage. The Grinch soon decides that he will steal Christmas from Whoville to assuage his distress. He acquires a fat reindeer whom he calls Fred to help him pull a sleigh that he stole from his neighbor Mr. Bricklebaum. After a test run, the Grinch discovers that Fred has a family. With a heavy heart, he lets Fred go home with them.

On Christmas Eve, after making a Santa Claus disguise and dozens of gadgets to help him with his plan, the Grinch and Max, who pulls the sleigh in Fred's place, go down to Whoville to steal the decorations and presents. He soon encounters Cindy after falling into her trap. Her request to help lighten her mother's workload, and her kind advice about listening to the Whos' singing to alleviate his sadness, touches the Grinch's bitter heart. Nevertheless, the Grinch carries on with his scheme.

After stealing every Christmas present and decoration, the Grinch and Max head back to Mount Crumpit to dispose of them. The Whos wake up and are shocked to see that the presents and decorations are gone. At first, Cindy believes that she's to blame, because she 'trapped' Santa, but Donna tells her that Christmas is more than just about presents, and that Cindy's the best thing that ever happened to her. The Whos join together to sing.

The Grinch and Max hear the singing, rendering the Grinch puzzled to see that they are celebrating Christmas despite his scheme. After heeding Cindy's advice and immersing himself to their singing, his small heart triples in size, causing him to double over in breathless joy and wonder. The sleigh falls off Mount Crumpit, and the Grinch tries to save it. In the nick of time, Fred and his family come to his aid. After securing the sleigh, the Grinch and Max go to Whoville to return the stolen items. A guilt-ridden and remorseful Grinch admits his crime to the Whos, and apologizes before returning to his cave.

Feeling sorry for the Grinch, Cindy comes to invite him to celebrate Christmas at her house, and he awkwardly attends. When seated down for dinner, he realizes and confesses that it wasn't really Christmas he hated, but being lonely and his bitterness over being neglected. Before carving the roast beef, the Grinch offers a toast, "To kindness and love, the things we need most."

Spoiler Warning: All spoilers have been stated and have ended here.

Cast

• Benedict Cumberbatch as The Grinch, a misanthropic grumpy, green creature who dislikes Christmas.
• Cameron Seely as Cindy Lou Who
• Rashida Jones as Donna Lou Who, Cindy's overworked mother
• Kenan Thompson as Bricklebaum, The Grinch's Neighbor
• Angela Lansbury as the Mayor of Whoville
• Pharrell Williams as the Narrator
• Frank Welker as the voice of Max, the Grinch's pet dog
• Dee Bradley Baker as the voice of Fred, the friendly reindeer
• Ramone Hamilton as Axl, one of Cindy Lou's friends.
• Sam Lavagnino as Ozzy, one of Cindy Lou's friends.
• Scarlett Estevez as Izzy, one of Cindy Lou's friends.
• Tristan O'Hare as Groopert, one of Cindy Lou's friends.

Production

In February 2013, it was announced that Illumination Entertainment  is developing a 3D animated feature film based on the Dr. Seuss book, with Peter Candeland and Yarrow Cheney set to direct it and Benedict Cumberbatch voicing the title character.

Illumination originally wanted Cumberbatch to voice the Grinch in his natural accent, however, Cumberbatch felt that since the rest of the cast is American, the Grinch himself should have an American accent. By September 2018, Angela Lansbury had been set to voice the Mayor of Whoville. Rashida Jones, Cameron Seely, and Kenan Thompson also joined the cast, while Pharrell Williams, who had previously worked on Illumination's Despicable Me films, was revealed to be narrating the film.

The animation was created by Illumination Mac Guff in Paris, France. Several software programs were used in creating the film's CGI characters including Maya, ZBrush, and Nuke as well as in-house software. A 3D CGI model of the town of Whoville through which a virtual camera could travel was crafted using Maya, ZBrush, Foundry’s Mari, and Allegorithmic’s Substance Painter.

Release

The film was originally scheduled to be released on November 10, 2017, but in June 2016 it was pushed back to November 9, 2018.

Marketing

A balloon of The Grinch and Max debuted in the 91st Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2017 to promote the film. In October 2018, IHOP restaurants made holiday inspried breakfast menus  based on the new movie featuring Green Eggs and Ham, Holiday Whocakes, and Cindy Lou Who hot cocoa.

The first official trailer was released on March 8, 2018, in front of A Wrinkle in Time, Sherlock Gnomes, Isle of Dogs, Show Dogs and Solo: A Star Wars Story. The second trailer was released on June 14, 2018, in front of Incredibles 2 and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Box office

The Grinch grossed $270.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $241 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $511.6 million, against a budget of $75 million. Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $184.6 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues, making it the ninth most-profitable release of 2018.

The film was released alongside Overlord and The Girl in the Spider's Web in the United States and Canada, and was projected to gross $55–65 million from 4,140 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $18.7 million on its first day, including $2.2 million from Thursday night previews, more than the $1.7 million taken in by Illumination's Sing in 2016. It went on to debut to $67.6 million, finishing first at the box office and topping the 2000 film's $55 million opening. In its second weekend the film made $38.2 million, finishing second behind newcomer Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. In its third weekend the film made $30.2 million (including $42 million over the five-day Thanksgiving frame), finishing fourth In its fourth and fifth weekends, the film finished second behind Ralph Breaks the Internet, grossing $17.9 million and $15.0 million, respectively. It marked the first-ever time animated films were the top two films at the box office in back-to-back weekends.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 59% based on 182 reviews and an average rating of 5.96/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 32 critics. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 83% positive score and a 75% "definite recommend".

See also

• How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (TV special)
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film)

External links

• Official website
• The Grinch on IMDb

Videos

Main article: The Grinch (2018)/videos

Trailer

The Grinch - Official Trailer (HD)