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| The Grinch - 2018 |
Happy December, everyone! From now through Christmas, we'll be in full holiday mode here on the blog. So, I thought we'd begin things with a classic story. 2018's "The Grinch" tells the tale of a mean Grinch and the kind little girl who opened his heart to the magic of Christmas.
The film's voice cast includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Cameron Seely, Rashida Jones, Tristan O'Hare, Kenan Thompson, Sam Lavagnino, Ramone Hamilton, Angela Lansbury, and Pharrell Williams.
We begin with a look at the town of Whoville. As the narrator tells us, "Past the place where you come from, far beyond what
you see is a town like your town if your
town was a dream. Only it’s not a dream, a hoax, or a ruse, it is
Christmas in Whoville, the home of the Whos."
The narrator continues, "Yes, the Whos down in Whoville liked Christmas a
lot. But the Grinch in his cave north of
Whoville did not." The Grinch lives at the top of Mt. Crumpit with his dog Max.
Down in Whoville is a little girl named Cindy Lou Who. Cindy Lou is on a mission to mail a letter to Santa. She's got an important wish. She wants some help for her mother, who is single, working a full-time job, and raising three kids all on her own.
However, once Cindy Lou gets entangled with the Grinch (who is shopping for some food), her letter gets lost and she frantically looks for it to no avail. The Grinch remarks, "Oh, really?
Let me guess. Small child,
December 20, rabidly searching for a 'really
important' lost letter? Might it be your list of demands to Santa?"
Back on Mt. Crumpit, the Grinch asks Max what he would like to do for the day. Before Max can answer, the Grinch decides that his idea of a good time is playing "All By Myself" on his humongous pipe organ.
Meanwhile, the Whoville Christmas tree is being delivered, and it's going to be bigger than ever before. The Grinch is not happy about this, and he plans to sabotage the tree lighting ceremony.
At the ceremony, the Grinch inadvertently ends up botching up his planned sabotage and lights the spectacularly decorated tree, which angers him to no end.
The citizens of Whoville gather around the tree and begin to sing, which warms their hearts.
Th next morning, the Grinch reveals his plan to stop Christmas to Max, who is more than a little frightened at the Grinch's morning workout routine. The Grinch intends to disguise himself as Santa Claus in order to bring the Christmas festivities in Whoville to a screeching halt.
He even recruits a tubby reindeer named Fred to help with his dastardly plot.
With her letter undelivered, Cindy Lou reveals her plan to get Santa to help her mom out. She's going to personally trap Santa so she can explain the situation to him. Always up for an adventure, her friends agree that she should do it.
Meanwhile, the Grinch seems to be getting quite the bond going with Fred, who is now allowed to sleep in the bed with him and Max.
Sadly for the Grinch, it turns out that Fred has a family. The Grinch releases Fred so he can be with them.
Christmas Eve arrives and the Grinch is ready to sneak into Whoville and undo all their Christmas plans. With Max as his substitute reindeer, how could things go wrong?
The Grinch begins his plan by sneaking into each house and stealing all of their Christmas decorations.
Cindy Lou succeeds in trapping "Santa". The Grinch is moved by her story, but he continues with his plans to stop Christmas from happening.
After a long night's work, the Grinch returns to Mt. Crumpit with all of the Whos' Christmas possessions. Even after their Christmas seems to have been ruined, the Whos gather together and begin to sing. As the Grinch listens, his heart changes, and he embraces the Christmas spirit.
He returns with the Christmas decorations to the Whos and issues a heartfelt apology.
Later, Cindy Lou invites him to her family's Christmas celebrations. The Grinch arrives and is greeted warmly by everyone. He is even asked to sit at the head of the table. Before things begin, he publicly thanks Cindy Lou for helping to change his attitude towards Christmas. Then the Grinch raised a glass and led the Whos in a toast. "To kindness and love, the things we need most."
Cast rundown:
Benedict Cumberbatch...............................The Grinch
Cameron Seely..........................................Cindy Lou Who
Rashida Jones...........................................Donna Who
Tristan O'Hare...........................................Groopert
Kenan Thompson.......................................Mr. Bricklebaum
Sam Lavagnino..........................................Ozzy
Ramone Hamilton.......................................Axl
Angela Lansbury........................................Mayor McGerkle
Pharrell Williams........................................Narrator
And that's it for The Grinch. Out of all the versions of this story, this particular rendition is my favorite. It's extremely funny. One of my favorite things about this version is that the Grinch actually has a good relationship with Max, something that is not shown in other presentations, where the relationship between the Grinch and Max is almost abusive.
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