WHAT’S IT ABOUT
The Grinch and his loyal dog, Max, live a solitary existence inside a cave on Mount Crumpet. His main source of aggravation comes during Christmastime when his neighbors in Whoville celebrate the holidays with a bang. When the Whos decide to make Christmas bigger and brighter, the disgruntled Grinch realizes there is one way to gain peace and quiet. With help from Max, the green grump hatches a scheme to pose as Santa Claus, steal Christmas and silence the Whos’ holiday cheer once and for all.
MoviesInMo Review
This is a very welcome re-telling of the Grinch story, unlike that horribly accepted 2000 live-action version. This time the Seuss estate decided to go with an animated version, and it was definitely the right thing to do. The story is better as it expands on the “missing” information from the original 1966 animated classic. The messages of togetherness, love, and family were the main focus as opposed to worrying about how animated a studio can make a guy (Jim Carrey) in costume look. The Grinch is not better than the original from 1966, but it does give us a bigger picture into the mind of the holiday-hating misunderstood Grinch. Throughout the film, we get constant reminders of how easy it can be to make a difference in someone’s day. This could be a negative change, like the Grinch causing chaos in Whoville, or positive influence, like Cindy Lou Who’s perpetual kindness. This film also highlights our dependency on companionship. The Grinch’s dog Max is a perfect example of this. In every version of the Grinch, he says he hates people, wants to be alone, and thrives off the misfortune of others. Yet, in every version, we find out he’s lonelier than we could have imagined and caused problems out of the fear of rejection. So what does The Grinch teach us? It teaches us to stop and think. We don’t know what the people around us are dealing with and most of the time all it takes is a little kindness or just a simple smile, to change someone’s negative outlook on life. Yes, it may be only temporary, but it only takes a second to alter the mindset of a person that could have otherwise made a detrimental decision.
OUR REVEIW – A WHOVILLE 8
MEDIA
- Genre – Family
- Street date
- Digital – January 22nd 2019
- DVD/Blu-Ray/4K/3D – February 5th 2019
- Video – 1080p
- Screen size – 2.35:1
- Sound – English Dolby Atmos, English Dolby TrueHD 7.1, French Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles – English SDH, French, Spanish
Extras
- Who’s Who in Who-Ville (2160p): A virtual interactive map in the style of a pop-up book giving viewers an opportunity to learn more about the characters and their making. When selecting one of these characters, the following four options are made available:
- Character Profile
- Animation Tests
- Progression Reel
- Photo Gallery
- Mini-Movies (2160p): A trio of animated shorts, all of which are presented in Dolby Vision HDR, provide a few more minutes of amusement for the whole family. One of these featuring the Minions played at the start of the movie in cinemas.
- Yellow Is the New Black (4 min)
- The Dog Days of Winter (4 min)
- Santa’s Little Helpers (4 min)
- The Making of the Mini-Movies (2160p, 6 min): Briefly explore the themes of each of the mini-movies through the eyes of the filmmakers who made them.
- Cindy-Lou’s Yule Log (2160p, 8 min): A Grinch version of the virtual fireplace stylized after Cindy-Lou’s living room on Christmas Eve with music as decorations are slowly stolen.
- Any Who Can Draw (2160p, 7 min): Hosted by an Illumination artist Mark O’Hare, viewers can learn how to draw Grinch, Max and Fred.
- Lyric Video (2160p, 5 min): Essentially, a pair of sing-along music videos by Tyler, the Creator.
- “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”
- “I Am the Grinch”
- From Green to Screen (2160p, 6 min): Very brief EPK-style piece with cast & crew interviews discussing characters, themes and the adaptation with BTS footage.
- Illuminating The Grinch (2160p, 5 min): Another featurette made from interviews and BTS footage looking at the animation of the characters from sketches to finished product.
- My Earliest Grinch Memories (2160p, 3 min): Cast and crew reveal their earliest memories and the enduring appeal of this holiday classic.
- Grinchy Gadgets (2160p, 3 min): Explore the wondrous world of Grinch’s gadgets.
- Songs from His Little Heart (2160p, 3 min): From Danny Elfman’s score to specialty songs, a brief discussion on creating the music behind the movie.
- Christmas Around the World (2160p, 2 min): Quickly highlights how different cultures celebrate the holiday season.
- Production Babies (2160p, 1 min): Celebration of the babies born to the filmmakers during the production.