Since the advent of the giant moving picture box there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of Christmas specials that have aired. Most of these have drifted into the ether of television nothingness. However, there are a handful of Christmas shows, mostly animated, that have remained dear to our hearts for decades and have even become a daily part of our culture.
One of these, which we’ll be discussing right here, is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Originally taken from a book written by Theodor Geisel, known to the world as Dr. Seuss, Grinch became an instant classic when it premiered on television in the mid 1960s. That was thanks in part to the show’s theme song, its narrator/star, and its animator – a man synonymous with drawing a “wascally wabbit” for many years. Let’s take a few moments to learn how Grinch went from book to cartoon to pop culture icon.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas was published in 1957. It told the story of the Whos – a jolly bunch of folks who were just bursting with holiday spirit – and the Grinch. A mean sonuvabitch with a heart two sizes to small, Grinch despised the citizens of Whoville for their perpetual cheer. He hated the Whos so much that he decided to do a little thieving and lying and hijack their holiday. Little did he know that it wasn’t the presents and decorations that endowed them with their cheer. Rather, it was their inner joy at the holiday that gave them such happiness. This touched the Grinch so much that his heart became several sizes too big to fit in his hairy, green chest.
Nine years after the book was published movement began to bring How the Grinch Stole Christmas to television. Enter Chuck Jones, animator and director for Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Ted Geisel knew Jones from the days when they collaborated on military training films during World War II. Some 20 years later, Geisel asked Jones to help him translate the Grinch to the small screen.
One of the first things Jones did was to give some color to the Grinch since, in Seuss’ book, he was drawn and painted in monochrome tones. The color he decided upon was an evil shade of green. The other thing Jones did was give some additional character to the Grinch’s face. In interviews conducted after the show aired the animator admitted that the television version of Geisel’s character looked more like Chuck himself than the character in the book.
Three more elements were added to the television version of The Grinch. The first was a voice for the Grinch. Instead of various animated voice actors of the day both Seuss and Jones chose a gentleman known, in the past, for his portrayal of movie monsters. Critics have mentioned that Boris Karloff, who both voiced the Grinch and provided narration, spanned the gulf between ominous and lighthearted when it came to his performance.
The next element to be added was music. Composer, and later actor, Albert Hague was picked to put together a soundtrack for the cartoon and provided a number of tunes that matched the moods of the characters. One of those, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” became an instant classic thanks in most part to the deep voice of Thurl Ravenscroft — the voice of Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger back in the ’60s. Unfortunately, due to an oversight when the cartoon was completed, Ravenscroft’s name was left off of the end credits. It wasn’t until years later that Thurl was given his due credit for his singing.
The final addition to the animated Grinch was Max — the main character’s over-worked dog. Despite the Grinch being a somewhat comical figure, Max became the show’s comic relief as he, reluctantly, assisted his master in robbing the Whos of all of their holiday possessions. His most important role came when, along with the Grinch, they dumped the entire holiday contents of Whoville down Mt. Crumpit.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas premiered on December 18th, 1966 on CBS. Initial reviews of the cartoon were mixed. Nevertheless, the show became a success with viewers and ended up being a staple of the CBS primetime holiday schedule for the next 22 years. After CBS ended the show’s run it moved to the Turner Broadcasting empire where it ran for years on TNT, TBS and the Cartoon Network. Most recently, the ABC networks, including ABC Family, have aired the special several times over the holiday season.
In addition to becoming a holiday favorite and creating another classic Christmas song, The Grinch also became a symbol of sorts for the those who didn’t didn’t display the holiday spirit. Eventually, people were no longer calling others a ‘Scrooge’. Instead, they would be called a ‘Grinch’ instead.
The Grinch had two more television specials after his grand premiere. Halloween is Grinch Night, premiering in 1977, and The Grinch Grinches the Cat in Hat, premiering in 1982, both aired on ABC. They were also produced by the same animation studio — DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. While not as famous as the original Grinch Stole Christmas, both specials won an Emmy and still have fans worldwide. In 2000, the holiday special got the live-action treatment with the theatrical release of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Jim Carrey taking the role of the mean Mr. Grinch. Similar to the results of the television version, the film version of The Grinch was a hit at the box office but had mixed reviews.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas is one of those holiday programs from the 1960s and ’70s that mixed comedy with a clear message of what Christmas is all about. Others have tried since then to duplicate what Chuck Jones and Dr. Seuss had previously done, but the mix has never been quite right. Perhaps there will be another combination of talent in the near future that will help show audiences what Christmas really means. Until then, there are plenty of opportunities to see the special each holiday season.
[Reference information courtsey of NPR and Wikipedia]
Clacked by Richard Keller 
on Dec 08, 2008 @ 15:00 EST5EDT
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