It runs straight into the anti-commercial message that the whole thing was based on, as well as unduly complicating a finale that should be crystal clear.
That renders the longer versions little more than handsome baubles: embellishing the particulars in the name of making money off of the brand. The result is narrative bloat and a compromised ending that needs to make significant alterations to a story that worked perfectly as-is. None of them bring anything to the Seuss story, and all of them end up as pro forma storylines that rely solely on the characters for anything special or distinctive. (The less said about the musical that aired on NBC in 2020, the better.) They include such narrative cul de sacs as trying to explain why The Grinch is so sour and Cindy Lou Who's efforts to get a letter to Santa. The two theatrical versions of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! - a live-action version from 2000 directed by Ron Howard and a computer-animated take from 2018 directed by Scott Mosier and Yarrow Cheney - dive headlong into the endeavor and come up with very little in return. The narrative doesn't need anything more.Īll of that falls apart the moment a longer story is required. The Whos remain angelic and benevolent and forgive the Grinch without question. (The sight gags are dialogue-free.) It's barely enough to cover the running time, but it keeps the fairy tale aspects of the story intact. Jones himself adds a good deal of physical comedy - such as Max's shenanigans during the sleigh ride down - which similarly fits into the story without disrupting it. The narrative remains exactly as it was in the book, with only the addition of a pair of songs to embellish it. The Jones cartoon doesn't change that equation at all. Once The Grinch finds the better angels of his nature, his previous sins are forgiven without hesitation. It works in large part because the book functions as a fairy tale, not a real universe. Seuss essentially glosses over the specifics of why, save that The Grinch has changed and they innately understand that. They forgive The Grinch instantly for his transgressions and welcome him at the feast, the food for which he stole out of their refrigerators.
As a result, the book keeps the Whos themselves as very distant figures, quietly wise and seemingly untroubled by the loss of their material possessions.
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