Performer: Boris Karloff (animated) Jim Carrey (live-action) Appears in: How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

This article is about the character. For The Snoops episode of the same name, see The Grinch (Snoops).

The Grinch is a popular cartoon character created by Dr. Seuss. He is the main character in Seuss's 1957 children's book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and as such, he is also the main character in the 1966 animated adaptation (produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Chuck Jones) and the 2000 live-action adaptation (released by Universal Studios and directed by Ron Howard).

In 1977, Seuss responded to the fan request for more Grinch tales by writing Halloween Is Grinch Night, a Halloween special that aired on CBS. Like its predecessor, the sequel was recognized at the Emmy awards. In 1982, Marvel Productions green-lit The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, which was also produced by Dr. Seuss, under his real name, Ted Geisel. This third special garnered two Emmy awards. The Grinch later became a recurring character on the TV series The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, where he often schemed to ruin the fun of the citizens of Seussville and the rest of the Wubbulous World.

The Grinch is considered a Christmas standard, and parodied/featured outside the Dr. Seuss brand frequently around the holiday season. The character is referenced by the media often in instances where a holiday display is ruined by vandals, or holiday burglaries are committed. Outside Christmas, the term "Grinch" is synonymous with "grouch".

Personality Edit

The Grinch is an unpleasant, surly, grumpy, selfish, venomously cranky, "Who-hating" grouch with a wicked temper, sour attitude, depressed judgment, and a heart about two sizes too small (the only exception to this is the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, where he becomes whole-hearted and loving), and is always out to ruin something. He comes down to Whoville only on holidays, which we see in two of the three TV specials, which are holiday-based. However, in How the Grinch Stole Christmas! he is opposed to the holiday (Christmas), and comes down to sabotage, whereas in Halloween is Grinch Night!, he comes down to waltz around for Halloween night, which in Whoville is called "Grinch Night". This signals all the Whos to annually lock down their homes. He is best described by the song You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch, sung by Thurl Ravenscroft. The Grinch's only friend is his pet dog, Max, a big-eyed pooch who is loyal to his master despite the Grinch treating Max like a nuisance. Max also is an unwitting accomplice in the Grinch's plots. The Grinch forces him to masquerade as a "reindeer" by attaching a crooked pair of horns on him and making Max pull the sleigh with all the Whos' Christmas trappings inside.

AppearanceEdit

The Grinch has a bulbous stomach, lengthy feet and fingers, grimy yellow teeth and is covered in green hair. His fingers and feet look longer due to the long portions of hair coming off of them. He has large, sinister black eyebrows, and deep lines on his forehead. His mouth lines are subtle when he is in a neutral mood, yet very stretched when he is happy. He has a pair of brooding, deep-set, ovoid eyes with red irises and yellow sclera which are noted to become more round and feature blue irises and white sclera after the Grinch's "conversion". Another physical characteristic noted to change after the Grinch learns the true meaning of Christmas is his face, which in addition to the line softening mentioned above, becomes somewhat heart-shaped as he smiles broadly. He also has a thinking smile which is sweet until the idea is fully revealed with an evil smile. A long neck is prominent, with layers of green fur coming down it. He seems to have pockets in the fur of his large stomach, as he rests his hands inside this area. With regard to posture, he is loose and can bend easily. He often walks in stealth-mode when around Whos.

The movieEdit

After Seuss's death, a 2000 live-action feature film adaptation was produced. Directed by Ron Howard, the film featured Jim Carrey in the titular role and was a major financial success. Although a box-office hit, the film received mostly negative reviews, comparing it unfavorably to the book and the television special. The movie fleshes out the Grinch's story by showing the Grinch as a youngster. It also vastly expands and ages forward the character of Cindy Lou Who, whose efforts to bring the Grinch back into the Whoville community meet with decidedly mixed results. The Grinch sometimes finds himself, despite his best efforts, falling into Seussian rhyme.

Appearances and references in other Christmas mediaEdit

• A blue-colored parody version of The Grinch makes an appearance at the beginning of It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special.
• The Grinch made a background cameo in the FoxTrot strip published on December 20, 1996, as part of the storyline in which Paige dreams about visiting the Land of Animated TV Christmas Specials.
  • Three years later, FoxTrot parodied the original Grinch story in a two-week storyline in which Jason writes a "new" Christmas TV special titled The Mrs. Grinch Who Was Too Cheap For Christmas. In it, Andy is portrayed as "Mrs. Grinch", a cheapskate who won't buy expensive presents for the "Kids down in Kidville" (portrayed by Jason, Paige, and Peter).
• The Grinch appeared in a flashback on Family Guy in the episode "A Hero Sits Next Door", in which it is revealed that Joe Swanson had his accident trying to stop the Grinch from robbing an orphanage on Christmas Eve.

External linksEdit

• Dr. Seuss Wiki: The Grinch
• Muppet Wiki: The Grinch - Information on the version of the character seen in The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss