The Grinch


Christmas time is in full effect and what better way to get into the Christmas spirit than with our favorite Grinch?! The Grinch stars Rashida Jones, Pharrell Williams, Kenan Thompson, and Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular Grinch, and it is essentially everything you would expect it to be. It was the standard formula for what any Grinch tale typically is, albeit with a few modern twists thrown in, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. To put it simply, is this movie anything special? No. Was it enjoyable for kids and adults alike? Yes.
            I can’t tell you too much about the story that you don’t already know. The Grinch has a small heart, Cindy Lou is adorable, Grinch’s heart grows, merry Christmas. That’s basically every Grinch tale, but this particular Grinch tale introduces a new character that adds a nice heartfelt subplot not found in the original, Cindy Lou’s mom. Obviously, something was going to be added to the Grinch tale that we all know and love since the first animation from 1966 was only 26 minutes long, which is much too short for a feature length, and that comes in the form of Cindy Lou and her mother. The subplot of Cindy Lou’s relationship with her mother, and her wanting to find Santa to ask him for help to make her mother’s life easier is a touching one, because it is relatable. We’ve all seen our parents struggle before, and we know that as kids, there’s not much we can do to help, no matter how much we’d like to. It adds another character with depth other than the Grinch, and that was a welcome touch.
            As for our titular character, Benedict Cumberbatch lends his voice beautifully to the beloved character. He is charming, funny, witty, and just a blast throughout the entire film with his typical hatred over the residents of Whoville, and his adorable relationship with his dog, Max. I love dogs, so I may be biased in saying that Max has close to 90% of the adorableness of this film, but he’s just so dang cute. The animation for this is also handled beautifully by the team at Illumination. The colors are vibrant and sure to catch the attention of any child in the theater. If you’re looking for something new this winter, you can skip out this interpretation. But, if you want to enjoy a solid hour and forty-five minutes of a nice nostalgia trip while having a few laughs, this is definitely something I recommend taking your kids to. While this won’t exactly wow anyone, it is an enjoyable experience, and I’m going to give The Grinch a solid 7/10.

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