What Did Critics Say at ‘The Grinch’ Premiere?

What Did Critics Say at ‘The Grinch’ Premiere? – The revision of one of the essential Christmas fables by Ron Howard and Jim Carrey was not entirely successful, however, it added details to the story of the moody green ogre.

By Megan Sauer

One of the (anti)Christmas stories that has managed to hold the status of an essential fable of the season is: How The Grinch Stole Christmas! the children’s story written in verse by Dr. Seuss.

These rhymes have been part of the collective imagination since 1957.

This story is an allegory that seeks to exalt the true meaning of Christmas and make a critique in the key of a story to vindicate the spirit of the celebration through values, love and human generosity as a response to commercialization, consumerism, exploitation and hatred.

The book also illustrated by Dr. Seuss did not go unnoticed by cinematography and before it had completed a decade on the shelves. MGM Television acquired the rights to make the legendary animated short film in 1966.

Directed by Chuck Jones and Ben Washam, which was first aired on the CBS television network and featured narration by Boris Karloff, who also dubbed the voice of The Grinch.

What is The Grinch about and where to see it?

With the new millennium also came a new film version of the story, this time the studios were ambitious since they did not make an animated remake.

But rather a live-action feature film directed by a quite accomplished and entertaining filmmaker such as Ron Howard, who chose a chameleonic actor dedicated to comedy and pantomime like Jim Carrey to give life to the great green ogre.

The film was known in Spanish-speaking territory under the name of The Grinch.

The ingredients were in place predicting a successful work destined to consolidate itself as the new classic of the season, however, the response from critics was more of rejection.

Although it did manage to sympathize with the audience who turned it into one of the films highest grossing films of the last two months of 2000.

The Grinch is available for viewing on Netflix, Prime Video and HBO MAX.

The Grinch by Ron Howard practically follows the premise of the book and the animated precursor that revolves around a green ogre known as The Grinch, who, motivated by his hatred of Christmas, will seek to ruin it for the Whos, the residents of the nearest town.

To achieve this he will carry out a sabotage operation that includes stealing the decorations and gifts from all the homes.

However, the meeting with the little Who, Cindy Lou ( Taylor Momsen ), will lead The Grinch to review some episodes of his life that had an impact on his isolation and hatred of Christmas.

These details were added to the script since, unlike the animated short, this was a feature-length work.

During its premiere, The Grinch captured the attention of viewers due to its anticipated promotion that raised high expectations and, as we pointed out in previous lines.

The film achieved success at the box office, however, as a film it failed to sympathize with specialists or with fans of the film. the lyrics of Dr. Seuss and much less with the fans of the animated film.

With a majority of negative reviews, this adaptation stood out for its lack of ingenuity when executing the fantasy, leaving aside the magical essence of the story due to its excessive comedy.

Aside from this, where there was a positive consensus was the interpretation of Jim Carrey as the hermit, of whom a handful of favorable comments were documented.

What did the critics say?

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times noted:

“I think a lot of kids are going to watch this movie with perplexity and disgust (…) Adults may appreciate Carrey’s remarkable performance.”

Michael Dequina, of TheMovieReport.com, said:

“Howard and the rest of the team do something the late Dr. Seuss would never do: Take chronological age over the youthful, innocent energy that lives untouched in everyone and never goes out of style.”

Slate ‘s David Edelstein commented:

“Five-year-olds may enjoy it, but people who grew up with the animated version of Jones will be staring at their watches and gnashing their teeth.”

Variety ‘s Todd McCarthy stated:

“Loud, exhausting and totally charming, Ron Howard’s attempt at a Christmas classic is an empty box with ostentatious packaging.”

Nick Rogers, of Suite101.com, wrote:

An unforgivable transgression from the usually reliable Ron Howard, The Grinch has visual polish and resembles, not a jolly Christmas, but a mescaline trip.

Felix Vasquez Jr., of Cinema Crazed, said:

So far from the book that it is not Dr. Seuss.

Rene Rodriguez, of Miami Herald, commented:

The clumsiest and most boring big-budget fantasy since Steven Spielberg smashed Peter Pan in Hook.

Nell Minow, of Common Sense Media , highlighted:

The live-action version of this classic has some raw and terrifying moments.
Desson Thomson of the Washington Post noted:

It is not Christmas that is stolen in this film. It is the spirit of Dr. Seuss.

Entertainment Weekly ‘s Owen Gleiberman noted:

The Grinch is Jim Carrey’s show, and he just wraps the movie around his thin green finger.