Call me grinchly if you want, but I’ve never been a big fan of the green guy.  Dr. Seuss just isn’t my thing, and I’ve felt that way ever since the 1966 TV special.  The rhyming seems forced, the made-up words are silly and I cannot abide that “Fah Who For-aze, Dah Who Dor-aze” song (actually titled “Welcome Christmas”).  And that poor dog, Max.  Bah, humbug.

This new animated film, co-directed by Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier, turns a 26-minute TV special into an 86-minute movie, as the Grinch (voice of Benedict Cumberbatch) cheats Whoville of its holiday celebration.  And yet he doesn’t.  With no presents, Christmas trees, lights, stockings, firewood or food, the Whos still find holiday joy in singing that cringe-worthy song.  And that makes Mr. Grinch’s heart jump two sizes and he becomes almost human, returning everything he had stolen.

For seventy minutes or so I was glass-eyed, having to relive the Grinch’s grumpy criminality at three times the agonizing slowness as the familiar TV special (and without Boris Karloff’s enchanting voice).  But then it got better.  I was genuinely surprised at the ending, when Cindy-Lou Who (voice of Cameron Seely) not only forgives him for stealing all their stuff but invites him to dinner with the family (and most of the rest of the town).  They got that part exactly right, and suddenly the film didn’t seem like such a waste of time.

Maybe I’m just a softie, but that ending really improves the story and provides a poignancy and sentimentality that feels right.  I still don’t like most of the movie but I appreciate how it all wraps up.  Fans of the original will probably enjoy it and not mind the changes, especially involving the reindeer, Fred, and the new characters in town.  No doubt the film will become a perennial holiday program in a few years, though it will never be as popular as the original TV special.  ☆ ☆.  28 December 2018.