SUBMITTED BY SpySoldier

November 8, 2001 — DVD Shrine gets in on the action, here is a review from DVD Shrine:

Check out our review of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Oh, the Who-manity!

"For me and millions of others, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas holds a special place in our hearts. Remember hearing the story as a kid around Christmastime? I remember when "Grinch" was a new word, and wondering, what is that, and why would a Grinch want to steal Christmas? Even more vividly, I remember seeing the original Chuck Jones animated TV version of the Seuss storybook classic, probably sandwiched between Have a Merry Christmas Charlie Brown and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reinder or some other holiday specials, back in the days when such broadcasts were sponsored by the likes of McDonald's or Dolly Madison. I can remember being a bit appalled as I saw the Grinch in full color, frowning and scowling and moving around on the TV, and the realization dawned on my toddler mind: that Grinch is a lot scarier than in the book! Every Christmas for the next few years I watched the Chuck Jones version again and again, always feeling relieved when such a nasty character learns the true meaning of Christmas from the citizens of Who-ville, and even today, when I catch one of the countless airing on TNT, I marvel at the heart, humor, and wisdom of this little flatly-animated, tinny sounding TV special from the 1960s that still endures today. Today, I know Chuck Jones is the man also responsible for so many brilliant Loony Toons shorts, that the voice of the Grinch is actually Boris Karloff, and that the ending is unabashedly schmaltzy, but you know what? It's still great, full of magic, and deserves to be treasure for generations to come.

Unfortunately, I worry a travesty is about to fall on our current generation of children, and the generations that follow them. They might grow up believing that Ron Howard's unbelievably wrong-headed, noisy, coarse, and even grotesque "version" of Seuss's story is the "true" Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. If so, that's a real shame. Some might think the issue of a mediocre or bad remake of a treasured story is trivial or not all that big a deal, and I have felt this way myself at times in the past, but after watching Ron Howard's "version," all I can say is that this really pissed me off. Sure, this version made a jillion dollars at the box office, something which will never fail to mystify me. Are audiences really this willing to fall for certain marketing and merchandising ploys so fully? Apparently so, but I myself refuse to do so. In fact, for the rest of this review, I refuse to refer to this "version" as Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Instead, from here on out it will be referred to only as Hollywood's Crappy Version of a Wonderful Story.

Continue to the Review...