The Grinch

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This article is about the character. For the book and animated special, see How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. For the Ron Howard film, see How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (film).

The Grinch is a popular cartoon character created by Dr. Seuss. He first appeared in the 1957 children's book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. This was followed in 1966 by a popular television special, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's MGM Animation/Visual Arts studio, and directed by Chuck Jones.

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 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 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".

Contents

[edit] Description

[edit] Personality

The Grinch is a "Who-hating" grouch (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. In "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. In the movie, he is portrayed as having a reputation similar to Bigfoot, although in his case, he is known to exist. He is also a skilled architect, having built his sleigh and many of the contraptions within his cave himself. The Grinch also bears a grudge against the Mayor of Whoville, who had bullied him as a child and is his rival in winning Martha May Who's Heart.

On at least 2 occasions, the Grinch has demonstrated above-average (even superhuman) strength. Whether this is a trait commonly found in his species or simply examples of adrenaline rush is never stated outright.

[edit] Appearance

The Grinch has a bulbous stomach, long fingers, 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 - although they are noted to become more round and feature blue irises 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. 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.

[edit] Stars who have portrayed the Grinch

[edit] The live-action movie

Main article: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (film)
Jim Carrey as The Grinch
Jim Carrey as The Grinch

After Seuss's death, a 2000 live-action feature film adaptation was produced. Directed by Ron Howard, it featured Jim Carrey in the titular role and was a major financial success. Although a box-office hit, the film received polarized reviews.

[edit] List of Grinch works in the media

[edit] In popular culture

A reference to the Grinch is also used in the popular online game Guild Wars (in the form of the Grentchies), and made a cameo appearance on an episode of Family Guy (He was the person responsible for Joe Swanson's paralysis). He also appears in an episode of The Simpsons as "The Grumple" whom Homer gets into a fight with at an ice skating show while demanding that he give back the Christmas cheer he stole. The Grumple appears to stalk Homer periodically throughout the rest of the episode. A much more brutish version of the Grinch appears in World of Warcraft. He is a large, blackish-green yeti called "The Abominable Greench". He tries to steal Christmas from Azeroth when he steals a large amount of cookies from Santa. The quest given to kill him is called "You're a Mean One". Players are able to get a mechanical pet of the Greench from Christmas to January 2nd.

[edit] "Grinch" as a slang term

Seuss's work has become sufficiently well-known that the Grinch's very name (like that of another fictional character, Ebenezer Scrooge) has entered general usage as a slang term designating a cruel, antisocial, or Christmas-hating individual. In 1994, during the Republican Party's "Contract With America", political cartoonists frequently applied the term to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, calling him the "Gin-Grinch Who Stole Christmas". In the movie Jingle All the Way, the con artist Santas refer to the police as the "Grinch". In the live-action movie, the Mayor reads a "passage" from 'The Book of Who', which states 'The term 'grinchy' shall apply when Christmas spirit is in short supply' (this is followed by a passage that the Mayor made up to discourage the Whos from picking The Grinch as the Holiday Cheermeister). The word "Grinch" has also been used by conservative activists to criticize the American Civil Liberties Union and other liberal and secular groups for their "war on Christmas."

[edit] External links

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