The Grinch
Encyclopedia
The Grinch is a fictional character created by Dr. Seuss
. He first appeared as the main protagonist
in the 1957 children's book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
The devious, anti-holiday spirit of the character has led to the name "Grinch" becoming a term used to describe a person opposed to Christmas time celebrations or to someone with a coarse, greedy attitude. In fact, a document in the live-action film (the Book of Who) stated that "The term Grinchy shall apply when Christmas spirit is in short supply".
The Grinch has since become an icon of the winter holidays, despite the character's hatred of the season, and has appeared on various forms of memorabilia such as Christmas ornaments, plush dolls, Halloween costumes, and various clothing items.
suit.
In the film versions, the Grinch appears to possess a number of superhuman powers. He is able to lift a sleigh loaded with Whoville's entire supply of presents himself, with the strength "of ten Grinches, plus two." Though the animated special explains this as the Grinch influenced merely by Christmas spirit and his enlarged heart, the live film alludes to the notion that the Grinch was already incredibly strong. As a child, he was shown lifting a Christmas tree over his head and throwing it across the room. He also most likely carved out his cave with his bare hands, as the entrance was a rock wall when he was a child. The film also presents a number of other powers. These include his humanly impossible leaps, his inhuman accuracy (shown when throwing letters), his horrible breath, and an implied ability to be able to survive in the cold with little or no protection. He was also shown to be able to consume glass and pottery harmlessly, and seemed to very much enjoy consuming these.
book and in an issue of Redbook
magazine. Almost a decade later in 1966, the story was adapted into a popular animated television special of the same name
, which was directed by Chuck Jones. Boris Karloff
serves as both the story's narrator and the voice of the Grinch.
In 1977, Seuss responded to the fan request for more Grinch tales by writing Halloween Is Grinch Night
, a Halloween
special that aired on ABC
. This was followed in 1982, when Marvel
green-lit The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat
, which was also produced by Dr. Seuss (though under his real name, Ted Geisel). Although not as successful as the original, the two spin-offs both received Emmy Awards. Several episodes of the 1996 Nick Jr.
television show The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
featured the Grinch, this time in puppet form, a rare screen appearance for the character without being animated or illustrated.
A 2000 live-action [{How the Grinch Stole Christmas (film)|feature film based on the story]], directed by Ron Howard
and starring Jim Carrey
in the title role, was a major financial success, though it received many mixed reviews and holds a 53% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
. A video game based on the film, simply entitled The Grinch was released on several consoles and PC in the same year. It was followed in 2007 with the release of a Nintendo DS
version that went under the full title of the movie.
The Grinch was portrayed on the stage when the story was turned into a musical
by the Children's Theater Company out of Minneapolis. The show made it to Broadway
by way of a limited run in 2006, with Patrick Page
playing the Grinch.
In 2009 a Maryland performing company called Talent Machine Company did their annual holiday show and ST. John's College Theater. In this years holiday show the Grinch was played by the talented Paige Sachwitz (Paige Bullock), Paige Sachwitz also appeared and many other Talent Machine Company Productions.
In mediums of television and cinema, the Grinch has been played or voiced by five actors: Boris Karloff in the original 1966 short, Hans Conried
in Halloween is Grinch Night, Bob Holt in The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, Anthony Asbury in The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, and Jim Carrey in the 2000 film adaptation (in 2009, Carrey would play another famous character with ill regard towards Christmas - Ebenezer Scrooge
in Disney's CGI-animated A Christmas Carol
, as well as another famous Dr. Seuss character, Horton the Elephant
, in the film version
of Horton Hears a Who.)
The Grinch appears in the Psych episode "The Polarizing Express." During Shawn Spencer
's first dream sequence, the Grinch can be briefly glimpsed outside the office window, stealing presents from passers-by.
The Grinch also appears in Glee
in the episode "A Very Glee Christmas
". The Grinch was played by Sue Sylvester
, who seeks revenge on Will Schuester
, who stole all of her secret "Santa scam" present. Sue then dresses herself like the Grinch and dresses one of her students, Becky Johnson, as a reindeer. She enters the choir room and destroys the glee club Christmas tree and all the music sheets. After trashing the choir room, she encounters Britanny, who believes that she is Santa Claus. Sue explains that one of the lights on the tree is broken and she needs to take the tree back to the North Pole
to be repaired.
Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
. He first appeared as the main protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
in the 1957 children's book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a children's story by Dr. Seuss written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It was published as a book by Random House in 1957, and at approximately the same time in an issue of Redbook...
The devious, anti-holiday spirit of the character has led to the name "Grinch" becoming a term used to describe a person opposed to Christmas time celebrations or to someone with a coarse, greedy attitude. In fact, a document in the live-action film (the Book of Who) stated that "The term Grinchy shall apply when Christmas spirit is in short supply".
The Grinch has since become an icon of the winter holidays, despite the character's hatred of the season, and has appeared on various forms of memorabilia such as Christmas ornaments, plush dolls, Halloween costumes, and various clothing items.
Character description
Although the animated film and all subsequent visual media depict the Grinch as green with yellow eyes, in the original Seuss book he, like everything else, is printed in black, white, and shades of red. He lives in an isolated cave near Whoville, the town in which the original story takes place. He despises the Christmas holiday because his heart is "two sizes too small", and hatches a plan to steal the Whos' Christmas gifts and decorations, an act for which he disguises himself in a SantaSanta Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
suit.
In the film versions, the Grinch appears to possess a number of superhuman powers. He is able to lift a sleigh loaded with Whoville's entire supply of presents himself, with the strength "of ten Grinches, plus two." Though the animated special explains this as the Grinch influenced merely by Christmas spirit and his enlarged heart, the live film alludes to the notion that the Grinch was already incredibly strong. As a child, he was shown lifting a Christmas tree over his head and throwing it across the room. He also most likely carved out his cave with his bare hands, as the entrance was a rock wall when he was a child. The film also presents a number of other powers. These include his humanly impossible leaps, his inhuman accuracy (shown when throwing letters), his horrible breath, and an implied ability to be able to survive in the cold with little or no protection. He was also shown to be able to consume glass and pottery harmlessly, and seemed to very much enjoy consuming these.
History
The Grinch first appeared in the 1957 story How the Grinch Stole Christmas, written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss, published as both a Random HouseRandom House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
book and in an issue of Redbook
Redbook
Redbook is an American women's magazine published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines.-History:...
magazine. Almost a decade later in 1966, the story was adapted into a popular animated television special of the same name
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (TV special)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a 1966 American animated television special directed by Chuck Jones. It is based on the homonymous children's book by Dr. Seuss, the story of The Grinch trying to take away Christmas from the townsfolk of Whoville below his mountain hideaway...
, which was directed by Chuck Jones. Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
serves as both the story's narrator and the voice of the Grinch.
In 1977, Seuss responded to the fan request for more Grinch tales by writing Halloween Is Grinch Night
Halloween is Grinch Night
Halloween Is Grinch Night is a 1977 25-minute TV special and prequel to How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. It won the 1977 Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. It premiered on ABC on October 29, 1977...
, a Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
special that aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. This was followed in 1982, when Marvel
Marvel Productions
Marvel Productions Ltd. , last called New World Animation, was a television and film studio subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment Group , based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, then New World Entertainment and News Corporation/Fox...
green-lit The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat
The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat
The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat is an animated musical television special and crossover starring two of Dr. Seuss' famous characters, The Grinch and The Cat in the Hat. It premiered on May 20, 1982 on ABC and won two Emmys.-Plot:...
, which was also produced by Dr. Seuss (though under his real name, Ted Geisel). Although not as successful as the original, the two spin-offs both received Emmy Awards. Several episodes of the 1996 Nick Jr.
Nick Jr.
Nick Jr. was a programming block on the Nickelodeon television channel, seen on Nickelodeon weekday mornings. It was aimed at a preschool-age audience ages 6 and under. On September 28, 2009, Nick Jr. became its own official channel, replacing Noggin...
television show The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss is an American live-action/puppet television series based on characters created by Dr. Seuss, produced by Jim Henson Productions. It aired for two seasons on the Nick Jr. Block on Nickelodeon...
featured the Grinch, this time in puppet form, a rare screen appearance for the character without being animated or illustrated.
A 2000 live-action [{How the Grinch Stole Christmas (film)|feature film based on the story]], directed by Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
and starring Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
in the title role, was a major financial success, though it received many mixed reviews and holds a 53% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. A video game based on the film, simply entitled The Grinch was released on several consoles and PC in the same year. It was followed in 2007 with the release of a Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
version that went under the full title of the movie.
The Grinch was portrayed on the stage when the story was turned into a musical
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (musical)
Dr Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! is a seasonal musical adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book How The Grinch Stole Christmas.-Minneapolis:...
by the Children's Theater Company out of Minneapolis. The show made it to Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
by way of a limited run in 2006, with Patrick Page
Patrick Page
Patrick Page is an American actor and playwright living in New York City.-Career:Page’s Broadway credits include originating the role of The Grinch in Dr...
playing the Grinch.
In 2009 a Maryland performing company called Talent Machine Company did their annual holiday show and ST. John's College Theater. In this years holiday show the Grinch was played by the talented Paige Sachwitz (Paige Bullock), Paige Sachwitz also appeared and many other Talent Machine Company Productions.
In mediums of television and cinema, the Grinch has been played or voiced by five actors: Boris Karloff in the original 1966 short, Hans Conried
Hans Conried
Hans Georg Conried, Jr. was an American comedian, character actor and voice actor.-Early years:He was born on April 15, 1917 in Baltimore, Maryland to Hans Georg Conried, Sr. and Edith Beyr Gildersleeve. His mother was a descendant of Pilgrims, and his father was a Jewish immigrant from Vienna,...
in Halloween is Grinch Night, Bob Holt in The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, Anthony Asbury in The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, and Jim Carrey in the 2000 film adaptation (in 2009, Carrey would play another famous character with ill regard towards Christmas - Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight-fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which give people happiness...
in Disney's CGI-animated A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol (2009 film)
A Christmas Carol is a 2009 film written and directed by Robert Zemeckis...
, as well as another famous Dr. Seuss character, Horton the Elephant
Horton the Elephant
Horton the Elephant is a fictional character from the books Horton Hatches the Egg and Horton Hears a Who!, both by Dr. Seuss. Horton is a kind, sweet-natured elephant who cares about other animals or people...
, in the film version
Horton Hears a Who! (film)
Horton Hears a Who!, also known as Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!, is a 2008 American CGI-animated comedy feature film based on the Dr. Seuss book of the same name. It is the fourth feature film from Blue Sky Studios, and the third feature film based on a Dr. Seuss book, following How the Grinch...
of Horton Hears a Who.)
The Grinch appears in the Psych episode "The Polarizing Express." During Shawn Spencer
Shawn Spencer
Shawn Spencer is a fictional character on the American television dramedy Psych played by American actor James Roday. Taking advantage of his eidetic memory, he poses as a psychic and works as a private detective who often consults with the Santa Barbara Police Department...
's first dream sequence, the Grinch can be briefly glimpsed outside the office window, stealing presents from passers-by.
The Grinch also appears in Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
in the episode "A Very Glee Christmas
A Very Glee Christmas
"A Very Glee Christmas" is the tenth episode of the second season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 32nd episode overall. It was written by series co-creator Ian Brennan, directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, and premiered on Fox on December 7, 2010...
". The Grinch was played by Sue Sylvester
Sue Sylvester
Susan "Sue" Sylvester is a fictional character of the Fox musical comedy-drama series, Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Jane Lynch, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Sue was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian...
, who seeks revenge on Will Schuester
Will Schuester
William "Will" Schuester, often referred to as Mr. Schue, is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Matthew Morrison and has appeared in Glee since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Will was developed by Glee...
, who stole all of her secret "Santa scam" present. Sue then dresses herself like the Grinch and dresses one of her students, Becky Johnson, as a reindeer. She enters the choir room and destroys the glee club Christmas tree and all the music sheets. After trashing the choir room, she encounters Britanny, who believes that she is Santa Claus. Sue explains that one of the lights on the tree is broken and she needs to take the tree back to the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
to be repaired.
External links
- Grinch Costumes website