This review is in NO WAY sponsored. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.
When I first heard there was going to be a new version of The Grinch was coming out, I was excited, but leery. I love The Grinch, he is one of my all time favorite Christmas stories. I mean, how can you not love a bad guy gone good all because of the power of hope and love and… Christmas cheer! When his heart grows three sizes I cry. Yup. In every version of the film. And this one wasn’t any different.
Same Story
Of course we get basically the same story that we know and love. The Grinch hates Christmas. He wants to stop it. So he decides to pretend to be Santa and steals Christmas instead of delivering it. During the night he runs in to little Cindy-Lou Who, who catches him trying to steal her tree. He tells her that a light was broken and shoes her off to bed. The next morning, even though the Whos have nothing, they come together and sing their Christmas song – because Christmas is a feeling and not things. This warms the Grinch’s heart and it grows 3 times in size (it was only 2 sizes too small if you recall). He brings back everything and stays for dinner – even carving the roast beast.
But Different
This version of The Grinch has a few differences that I really loved. First of all, for added humor we get a new Who, Mr. Bricklebaum voiced by Kenan Thompson, who is the jolliest Who in all of Whoville. I mean, this guy loves Christmas. He is hilarious and I fell in love with his character pretty much instantly. Another new character is Fred the overweight reindeer. The Grinch takes him into his home, and kind of ends up liking him. But just when he is about to steal Christmas, Fred’s family shows up and The Grinch allows him to leave.
In this version we also see a little bit in to the past of The Grinch, a bit more than we have in previous versions. He is an orphan, and he hates Christmas because no one ever loved or wanted him – and no one celebrated Christmas with him. Yup, this part totally made me cry. Another major difference is that Cindy-Lou Who wants to ask Santa to help her single mom out. Donna Lou, voiced by Rashida Jones, is exhausted between working the night shift and raising two twin babies and Cindy-Lou. In previous versions Cindy-Lou has asked for The Grinch to be happy.
A Must See
While there are some differences, this is still the same classic we know and love. It is totally worth taking the whole family to over the holidays. My kids loved it. There is a lot of humor and Benedict Cumberbatch does phenomenal as The Grinch. His tone is just perfect. Max is just as lovable as ever – of course we feel bad for him here and there, but admire how loyal he is to The Grinch. And yes, when The Grinch’s heart grew 3 sizes I totally cried. Like a baby.
