"You think it'd be easy, and sort of a cinch,
to write a review for the movie THE GRINCH,
Yet it's hard to get started, I've so much to say,
So I think that I'll just get this thing underway......."

You know, it sort of makes me laugh sometimes. Theatrical release movies have always been the "big time", much bigger in fact than anything television could ever offer. I mean, just consider the fact that for most seasoned actors, an appearance on a lowly television show is an indication of how the mighty have indeed fallen. Sitcom stars (as well as every cast member of Saturday Night Live) strive to "graduate" from the pitiful status of TV star to the lofty heights and mountainous stature of MOVIE STAR. From the small screen to the big screen, it says it all.

Yet where do movie makers these days seem to be getting most of their ideas?

From television shows. Go figure.

New ideas are expensive and require imagination, so if all else fails we draw a bucket or two from the bottomless wellspring of old and beloved TV in hopes of wowing the movie-going masses. Will it really be very long before THREE'S COMPANY: THE MOVIE or FAMILY MATTERS: THE MOTION PICTURE gets pitched as an idea? (shudder)

And then there are the cartoons.

Every now and then someone gets it into their head to take a cartoon and give it a "live action" treatment. It always seems like a great idea and makes for great speculation around the water cooler- "Hey, who do you think they will get to play Shaggy and Thelma in the upcoming SCOOBY DOO movie?", but when we behold the actual results it's normally looked upon like something that was pushed out the backside of a large animal. Please, let's yabba-dabba-DON'T make another FLINTSTONES movie, and also maybe someday we will be able to be rid of the pain that are the memories of Robin Williams in POPEYE. By the way, a live action JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS movie will be released later this year. No, I'm not kidding.,P. Well, leave it to Ron Howard to give it a try........ and maybe even get it right.

"And Ron Howard said "Gosh! This could be just swell!
I'll go get Jim Carrey......... he's funny as hell!
And we'll remake THE GRINCH and given some luck,
it won't be so bad, and we'll all make a buck..........""

And so, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS has joined the ranks of cartoons that have been given the live action treatment.

C'mon, you all know the story of The Grinch. Remember? Green guy...... loner...... lives high up on a snowy peak...... hates everything about Christmas........ has a really cute dog. The original Grinch cartoon was a masterpiece. The genius of Dr. Suess combined with the precision animation and timing of Chuck Jones (yes kids, there *IS* a reason The Grinch looks so much like a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Thank Mr. Jones for that) gave us one of the best loved holiday specials this side of the one where Santa goes sailing across the snow on that big Norelco razor. If you don't know how the story goes, please send me your address so I can come slap you silly.

Anyway, Jim Carrey plays the Grinch himself. Like most Carrey performances it's a bit over the top, but isn't that what we want in a big old mean-hearted Grinch, someone who is larger than life? Director Ron Howard does a fantastic job of making Whoville LOOK like Whoville, and all of it's many colorful denizens really fit the part. The movie sets are all very BUSY, and just jam-packed with more detail than my eyes probably caught the first time around. For some reason the whole thing reminded me of the Peter Pan remake "Hook", only with snow, presents, and green hairy guy.

"So true to the style of the Grinch's creator,
this movie had rhymes read aloud by a narrator,
But who is that voice? He sounds like a specter,
Oh wait, it's the guy who played Hannibal Lechter........."

Ok, so you are asking, how the heck do you pad out a 26 minute cartoon to make it a full length feature film? The movie does indeed remain true to the original cartoon in the places that count the most. There are really no major elements from the original that are not in the movie. Oh sure, some things are given a different treatment, as the original "ramshackle sleigh" used by the Grinch was a very simple design compared to the film, which sports one that looks like a Star Wars Pod Racer designed by Fred Sanford and Son. And it's things like that which make a movie like this a difficult task. Most people know the story backwards and forwards, so when you are sitting there it's hard to not keep waiting for the scenes you know and love. The way the story goes in the film, the original cartoon is almost the second part of the movie. The first half of the film is all new Grinch material, which comes across as something Tim Burton might have concocted to show us that the Grinch is an angry Batman super-villain, showing us WHY he is evil and twisted, and how he got his super powers and nifty evil toys. Sort of a background from the day the Grinch was born to the present, and all the many reasons he has to look upon Christmas as a loathsome thing.

Yet it all seems to work, and work nicely. Like most family films, there are good hearted chuckles for the kids and just as many (if not more) "inside" jokes that go over their heads and will make adults laugh out loud. At times Carrey is a one-man show, and he makes the Grinch seem much like "The Mask". Yet despite being one of the biggest names in Hollywood today, there are times he is completely overshadowed by the most popular character from the original cartoon.........

"A cute little dog, with a horn on his head,
who does so much more than roll over, or play dead.
He steals all the scenes, and can really act too,
(heck, I think he's cuter than Cindy Lou Who)................"

Yep, Max the dog.

So does the movie work? I think it does. True, there are some of my favorite Grinch bits that were not in the film, for example there is no mention of the game of Zoo-Zither Car- Zay (that's that roller skate kind of Lacrosse and Croquet), but everything else is done and done right. It's got all of what you'd expect from a Dr. Suess creation, like Who-pudding, Who-hash, and an incredible movie version of Mount Crumpet. It's got the "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch" song, as well as that "Bahoo Dorey" thing. Heck, it's even got the Roast Beast! And it's got everything you'd expect in a Ron Howard film, even my favorite Ron Howard film game- "Let's see if we can spot Ron's brother, Clint Howard.......... again".

No, he doesn't play the Roast Beast.

To sum things up, I think HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS is as close as it gets with a cartoon made into a full length big budget film the RIGHT way. No, it's not a perfect film by any means, and chances are alot of people will not like the areas it has strayed from the original concept. But I think it's something Dr. Suess himself would have enjoyed watching. Let's face it, Dr. Suess was a genius (anyone who doesn't think so obviously didn't GET IT), and while nobody but the good doctor could have conceived the Who's and their green and grimacing neighbor, we can enjoy how this fable has been brought to the next level, and keep in mind the lesson it has been teaching us year after year since 1966.

"And so I will bring this review to an end,
and hope you enjoyed it, and might choose to spend,
your hard earned bucks on this holiday gem.
and until we meet next time....."

The balcony is condemned.