Credit: How The Grinch Stole Christmas/Warner Bros.
Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas was the first iteration of the beloved children’s Christmas story, in which an ousted member of Whoville detests everything that is Christmas and that the people of Whoville seemingly worship due to a rough past with the holiday and the residents of the snowflake town.
Throughout the book, we learn of the event that changed The Grinch into a better person, when his heart grew fonder and grew three sizes one Christmas. However, since the original book was released in 1957, a cartoon adaptation and a movie adaptation occupied up to the early 2000s with The Grinch adaptations, until recent years when Illumination released their adaptation and a horror-themed adaptation even more recently.
Below, we’ve detailed the various adaptations of The Grinch, from the original children’s book in 1957 to the most recent horror and popular adaptations.
Credit: How The Grinch Stole Christmas/Warner Bros.
Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas
The original piece of work that introduced audiences to The Grinch character was the book by the creator of Dr. Suess, How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Most recently, in Dr. Seuss-related news, heartbreakingly, the estate of the famed author announced that some of the author’s books would no longer be published.
As unfortunate as the news may be, generations of children and adults already have copies or have experienced the numerous books and unique stories and characters that Dr. Suess has created over his releases during his career. From the people of Whoville to the Lorax, The Cat in the Hat, and many others, the future generations of children won’t grow up with the familiarity of Dr. Suess’ characters and settings.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas was a popular book, enough for various adaptations between cartoons, television, broadway, off-Broadway, live-action movies, and more. Still, adaptations have varied dramatically throughout the years. The most popular of them outside the original book has been the Ron Howard film with Jim Carrey and the newest family-oriented rendition, The Grinch from Illumination.
Credit: How The Grinch Stole Christmas/Universal
Ron Howard’s Adaptation of The Grinch
Ron Howard’s adaptation of The Grinch, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, was popular upon release and since has become one of many Christmas classics, from Jim Carrey’s role of The Grinch alone, but also for its unique live-action take on every aspect of the original while created one of the most extended forms of any adaptation of The Grinch as well.
This specific adaptation of The Grinch was not only among many roles for Jim Carrey that featured his unique character acting abilities, but the young actress of Cindy Lou Who, Taylor Momsen, went on to create her band, The Pretty Reckless, and she was also part of the cast of Gossip Girl. Other actors from the Ron Howard adaptation of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, outside of Jim Carrey and Taylor Momsen, included Jeffrey Tambor, Molly Shannon, Clint Howard, Mindy Sterling, and even Bryce Dallas Howard, known to most for Jurassic World.
In a world where movies and other projects are revived as series and other forms of media to carry on a previously established legacy, it’s surprising that a major adaptation of The Grinch took so long after Ron Howard’s adaptation. Still, some movies and adaptations are better left untouched for extended periods.
Credit: The Grinch/Universal
Illumination’s The Grinch and More
Illumination’s The Grinch, while not the most recent of the various adaptations of The Grinch, it’s undoubtedly the most popular of the recent adaptations of the Dr. Seuss classic book How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Illumination’s The Grinch was likely the funniest, most family-oriented, and indeed modern, of course, with its unique take on the classic How The Grinch Stole Christmas story.
On top of its unique tale on the classic Dr. Seuss book, the animated film also featured the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character of The Grinch, as well as the voices of Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson, Pharell Williams, and Angela Lansbury. Surprisingly, Illumination’s The Grinch has become the highest-grossing Christmas film of all time, with Ron Howard’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas holding the fourth highest-grossing Christmas film. Since the release of Illumination’s The Grinch, a new adaptation has been making headlines recently for its most unique take on the beloved children’s cartoon book and character.
Set for a December 15th, 2022 release, The Mean One will be an authorized horror version of the classic How The Grinch Stole Christmas story, which will set “the green creature” on a murder spree, on top of ruining Christmas in a snowy mountain town, eerily similar to the original but much darker. The Mean One, while unofficial, joins the growing list of classic children’s programs and books that have been turned into horror adaptations, such as The Banana Splits horror rendition, The Banana Splits Movie, and Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.
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