Halloween Is Grinch Night
| Halloween Is Grinch Night | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre |
Animation Comedy Halloween special Fantasy Family |
| Written by | Dr. Seuss |
| Directed by | Gerard Baldwin |
| Voices of |
Hans Conried Henry Gibson Gary Shapiro Hal Smith Irene Tedrow Jack DeLeon |
| Narrated by | Hans Conried (uncredited) |
| Composer(s) | Joe Raposo |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
David H. DePatie Friz Freleng |
| Producer(s) | Ted Geisel |
| Running time | 26 minutes |
| Production company(s) | DePatie-Freleng Enterprises |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC[1] |
| Original release | October 29, 1977 |
Halloween Is Grinch Night (titled Grinch Night for the sing-a-long videocasette release and The Grinch That Stole Halloween) is a 1977 Halloween musical TV special and prequel to How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. It won the 1977 Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program.[2] It premiered on ABC on October 29, 1977.
Plot
In Whoville, on a night known as "Grinch Night", which commences when a "Sour-Sweet Wind" blows and a chain of events causes the Gree-Grumps and Hakken-Krakks to annoy The Grinch into terrorizing the Whos. Later, Euchariah, a polite little Who with a slight astigmatism, goes to use the outhouse (referred to as "the euphemism" in the story), but is swept away to Mt. Crumpit by the wind.
On the road he encounters the Grinch, who is busy picking Brickles out of his fur after failing to hunt down the "Wuzzy Woozoo". Along with the Grinch's dog, Max, who is in the process of bringing a large wagon called the "Paraphernalia Wagon" down to Whoville. Euchariah decides to stall the Grinch from reaching Whoville. After some persistence from Euchariah, the Grinch tricks him into getting a strange trance in the Paraphernalia Wagon.
Inside the wagon, Euchariah is confronted by surreal imagery, numerous monsters and the Grinch's mocking voice. Although he is scared out of his wits, Euchariah bravely keeps on his toes long enough for the Sour-Sweet Wind to die down, thus forcing the Grinch to pack up and retire to his cave. Max on the other hand, who had been abused and overworked by the Grinch, goes home with Euchariah. Back in Whoville, the residents (including Euchariah's grandfather Josiah and his grandmother Mariah) celebrate the little Who's courage in preventing the Grinch from releasing the Paraphernalia Wagon's full horrors on their town and up in the mountains the Grinch, who is hauling the wagon home himself, ominously notes that one day there will be another Grinch Night when the Sour-Sweet Wind blows once more.
Voice Cast
- Hans Conried: The Grinch
- Gary Shapiro: Euchariah
- Henry Gibson: Max (singing)
- Hal Smith: Josiah
- Jack DeLeon: Sergeant Samuel McPherson
- Irene Tedrow: Mariah
- Mel Blanc: Monsters, Chorus
- Paul Frees: Monsters, Chorus
- Stan Freberg: Monsters, Chorus
- Thurl Ravenscroft: Singer, Monsters (uncredited)
- the Mellomen: Chrous, Monsters (uncredited)
Songs
- "I Wouldn't Go Out on a Night Like This" - Josiah
- "The Grinch Night Ball" - the Grinch
- "How Many Times" - Max's inner voice, the Grinch
- "As the Grinch Creaks Ever Closer..." - Chorus
- "I Wouldn't Go Out on a Night Like This (Reprise)" - Chorus
- "He is Wandering in the Wind" - Chorus
- "Ooga Booga" - the Grinch
- "Grinch Is Gonna Get You"/"Members of the Un-human race"/"the Spooks tour Finale" - Monster Chorus (Hans Conried, Thurl Ravenscroft, The Mellomen, Mel Blanc, Paul Frees, Stan Freberg, and Paul Winchell) (The song starts with all the singers, then turns into a duet between Ravenscroft and Winchell.)
- "There Goes the Grinch" - Chorus
Production notes
- This is the first Dr. Seuss special to be aired on ABC.
- Thurl Ravenscroft from the first four Dr. Seuss CBS specials returns as a singer.
- This is the first Dr. Seuss special to have music from Joe Raposo. The music is orchestral, somewhat like Eugene Poddany's music, and unlike Dean Elliott's jazz-themed music. The "Spooks' Tour" segment in particular is heavily influenced by Camille Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre and the Music from The "Spooks' Tour" is also used in Tales from the Haunted.
- This is the first Dr. Seuss special to have David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng both credited as executive producers since "The Cat in the Hat".
- This is the first Dr. Seuss special to not use "A Cat in the Hat Production".
Home video release
The special was first released on VHS by Playhouse Video in 1989. In 1992, it was released by Random House Home Video on VHS under the title It's Grinch Night. It was also released by VHS by CBS Video through 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in 1996 under the title Grinch Night. In 2003, the special was released as a bonus special on the VHS and DVD release of Dr. Seuss on the Loose from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. On October 18, 2011, the special was released on DVD by Warner Home Video under Dr. Seuss's Holidays on the Loose!, along with How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat.[3] In at least one of these home recordings, the song "The Grinch Night Ball" was dropped.
References
- ↑ "Beware of the Grinch!". The Robesonian. 28 October 1979. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ↑ "1977–1978 Emmy Awards". Infoplease.com. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
- ↑ Dr. Seuss's Holidays on the Loose! DVD - Warner Bros.: WBshop.com - The Official Online Store of Warner Bros. Studios
External links
- Halloween Is Grinch Night at the Internet Movie Database
- Holland, Chris; Scott Hamilton. "Stomp Tokyo Video Reviews - Halloween is Grinch Night (1977)". Stomp Tokyo. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
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