Grinch

The Grinch is a cartoon character created by Dr. Seuss. He first appeared as the main protagonist in the 1957 children's book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, which was adapted in 1966 into a popular television special, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's MGM Animation/Visual Arts studio and directed by Chuck Jones. This was followed by two more television specials, a musical, and a 2000 theatrical film in which the titular character was played by Jim Carrey.

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.

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

A male humanoid creature with bright green fur, yellow eyes with red pupils, yellow teeth, a cat-like face, scrawny limbs, a round midsection, and a foul grimace, the Grinch is depicted as a hermit who lives in an isolated cave near Whoville, the town in which the original story takes place. His detestation of the Christmas holiday and lack of emotional empathy (represented by his biological heart, which is shriveled and stunted, or as stated in the story, "two sizes too small") drives him to steal the neighboring residents' Christmas gifts and decorations, an act for which he disguises himself in a Santa suit.

The Grinch appears to possess a number of superhuman powers. He is able to lift an entire sleigh loaded with Whoville's entire supply of presents himself, with the strength "of ten Grinches, plus two." Though the book and TV special simply explain this as the Grinch influenced merely by Christmas spirit and his enlarged heart, the film alludes to the notion that the Grinch was already incredibly strong. The Grinch character is played by Jim Carrey in the popular movie produced in 2000. The Grinch is accompanied by his companion, a dog named Max, who is forced to dress up like a reindeer and pull a sleigh across Whoville.

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 House 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 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 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 character is spoofed in Marvel Comics' The Mighty Thor #444, as a Hulk-like, simple-minded creature named 'the Groonk'. He is pursued by Thor (Eric Masterson) around New York after he attempts to steal Christmas presents, in the company of a dog named Max. Eventually, Thor discovers that the Groonk is the guardian of a community of homeless people and one of their number, a girl named Cindy Lou, explains that he was simply trying to give her a real Christmas. Thor subsequently leaves them alone, understanding that the Groonk meant no harm.

The Grinch appears in the Psych episode "The Polarizing Express." During Shawn Spencer's first dream sequence, he can be briefly glimpsed outside the office window, stealing presents from passers-by.

The Grinch also appears in Glee in episode "A very Glee Christmas" The Grinch was played by Sue Sylvester who seeks revenge from Will Schuester who stole all of her secret santa scam present. Sue then dress herself like a Grinch and dress one of her cherrios, Becky Johnson as a reindeer. She enters the choir room and destroy the glee club christmas tree and all the music sheets. After trashing the choir room, she encounter Britanny. Britanny believes her as Santa Claus, Sue explain that one of the light on the tree is broken and she need to take the tree back to the North Pole to be repaired.

External links

• Template:Imdb character
• Grinch Costumes website