How The Grinch Stole Christmas 25th Anniversary Edition 4K
review by Bobby Blakey
You would be hard pressed to find a single person around that hasn’t heard of Dr. Seuss. Throughout the years there have been numerous animated and live action adaptations especially to the famed grumpy holiday icon The Grinch. In 2000 director Ron Howard teamed up with Jim Carrey to bring the character to life in How The Grinch Stole Christmas co-starring Taylor Momsen, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Molly Shannon, and narrated by Anthony Hopkins. Now to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the holiday classic they are bringing the classic to 4K for the first time.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas follows the magical land of Whoville, wherein live the Whos, who all love Christmas. Just outside of their beloved town lives the Grinch, a nasty creature that hates Christmas and plans to steal it from the Whos, which he equally abhors. Little Cindy Lou Who decides to befriend the Grinch.
The world of Dr. Suess is one that you wouldn’t think could ever make the transition to live action with the unique look and feel of the world and characters. I had my doubts when the film was released if it was going to work, but thanks to a genius performance from Carrey and an immersive world of Seuss come to life it delivered to perfection. The whimsical world is bright vibrant and full of joy and wonder in look and feel that has no business working but does perfectly.
One of the brilliances of Dr. Seuss’ unique art style is that it never dates itself and stands the test of time in its complex simplicity and originality. Capturing that in this film makes the film do the same thing and holds up as well today
as it did 25 years ago. Rewatching it once again is also a stark reminder of the brilliance of Carrey who goes all in for the role with so many memorable sequences and dialogue that transcends everything to be the holiday classic it has become. I have been a massive Carrey fan going back to his time on In Living Color and this is one of my favorite performances of his only enhanced by my love of all things Dr. Seuss.
This new high-def version of the film looks great and brings the vibrant colors and visuals to stunning life even more so than its original release. Sure, there is a dated tone on some level, but it still looks great and if nothing else there is yet another chance to get this film out to the masses for the holiday season like it richly deserves.
In addition to the film this release offers bonus content including over 30 minutes of brand-new bonus content exploring the making of the beloved holiday classic including deleted scenes, trailers, featurettes, outtakes and so much more.
Return to Whoville and grab your copy of How The Grinch Stole Christmas 25th Anniversary Edition 4K available now from Universal Home Entertainment.