The Grinch (2000)

"Those Whos are hard to frazzle, Max. But, we did our worst, and that's all that matters."

- The Grinch.

The Grinch is the titular protagonist villain/anti-hero of the 2000 live-action film How the Grinch Stole Christmas, loosely based on the Dr. Suess book and television special of the same name.

He was portrayed by Jim Carrey, who also portrayed the Cable Guy in The Cable Guy, the Riddler in Batman Forever, and Stanley Ipkiss/The Mask in The Mask. As a child, he was portrayed by the late Josh Ryan Evans in his final role.

Personality
The Grinch's reason for his hatred of Christmas was because of him being bullied by other kids for his appearance. As a child, he was an outcast at school and was bullied by his classmates, especially by Augustus Maywho. The only student to show the Grinch any compassion was Martha May, whom the Grinch had a crush on. Around Christmastime, the Grinch felt very appreciative and excited about Christmas for once and made a gift for Martha, but attempted to shave his beard, accidentally cutting himself all over his face. When the school saw the Grinch's face covered with shaving tape the next morning, they laughed at him. At this point, the Grinch finally snapped and destroyed everything in the classroom (including the very gift that he made for Martha) and threw the Christmas tree at the kids, sending them into panic. Declaring that he now hated Christmas, the Grinch left Whoville and ran away to live in on Mt. Crumpit.

History
The Grinch arrived in Whoville by mistake when he was a baby and was adopted by two elderly sisters. Although he showed some sadistic tendencies as a child, he was not the cruel, cynical person who he became.

He was an outcast at school and was bullied by classmates (mainly by Augustus May Who) because of his green and hairy appearance. The only classmate to show him any compassion was Martha May Whovier, whom he had a crush on.

One Christmas season when he was eight, the Grinch made a gift for Martha, but he attempted to shave his face after remembering what all the kids said, cutting himself in the process.

When everyone saw The Grinch's face covered with shaving tape the next morning, they laughed at him. He lost his temper, went on a rampage and ran away to live on Mt. Crumpit. Over the years, The Grinch remained in hiding in a huge cave and became a urban legend due to brief sightings.

All the Whos down in Whoville enjoy celebrating Christmas with much happiness and joy except the Grinch who resents Christmas and the Whos with great wrath and occasionally pulls dangerous and harmful practical jokes on them.

As a result, no one likes or cares for him. Meanwhile, a 6-year-old girl name Cindy Lou Who believes that everyone is missing the point about Christmas by being more concerned about the gifts and festivities.

After having a face-to-face encounter with the Grinch at the Post office which he saves her life, Cindy Lou becomes interested in his history. The next day, she asks everyone what they know about him and soon discovers that he has a tragic past.

Cindy Lou, touched by this story, decides to make the Grinch the main participant of the Whobilation, to the great displeasure of May Who (who is now the Mayor of Whoville) who reluctantly agrees after pressure from the townspeople who have been warmed by Cindy Lou's generous spirit.

When Cindy Lou goes to Mount Crumpit and offers an invitation to the Grinch, he turns her down. He gradually changes his mind, however, due to the promise of an award, the presence of Martha at the celebration and the chance to upset the Mayor.

Just as the Grinch is enjoying himself and almost won over, The Mayor gives him an electric shaver as a present, reminding him of his awful humiliation at school.

Later, May Who asks Martha to marry him, promising her a new car in return. This causes the Grinch to berate the Whos for thinking that Christmas is about gifts that they'll just dispose of later in the hopes of making them too ashamed to celebrate the holiday.

He then goes on to ruin the party by burning the Christmas tree with a makeshift flamethrower (although his actions prove fruitless as the Who's have a spare tree, which the Grinch sees them erect before he leaves).

When he discovers that his attack has not removed the Whos' Christmas spirit, the Grinch instead concocts a plan to steal all of their presents while they are sleeping.

Creating a Santa suit and sleigh with his own dog, Max as a "deer", the Grinch flies around Whoville, stealing all of the Whos' Christmas gifts. He is almost discovered by Cindy Lou, but lies to her in order to get away.

The next day, the Whos discover the Grinch's scheme and May Who denounces Cindy Lou as the root of this catastrophic disaster.

However, Lou Lou Who (the Whoville postmaster) finally stands up to him and reminds everyone that they still have Christmas spirit and that the true meaning of Christmas is to spend time with your family and friends.

The people accept his speech and begin to sing. Hoping that the change of mood would inspire the Grinch, Cindy Lou goes to Mount Crumpit to find him.

The Grinch reveals that he intends to push the stolen gifts off the top of the mountain after he hears the Whos crying.

However, instead of crying, he hears the joyful singing of the Whos. Infuriated over the failure of his plan, the Grinch has an epiphany about what Christmas is really about: not material gifts, but spending time with your loved ones, an insight that profoundly touches him and causes his heart to grow to three times its original size.

When the sleigh full of stolen gifts begins to go over the edge of the cliff, the Grinch desperately tries to save them to no avail.

However, when he realizes Cindy Lou has come to wish him a merry Christmas and is in danger of falling off the cliff with the sleigh, the Grinch finds enough strength to lift the sleigh, the gifts and Cindy Lou to safety.

After a long descent down Mount Crumpit, the Grinch returns to Whoville with Cindy and the gifts. He confesses to the burglary and apologizes for his actions towards the Whos.

He owns up his crimes to the police as they arrive, but the Whos reconcile with him, much to May Who's dismay. Then, Martha turns down May Who's proposal and decides that she would rather stay with the Grinch instead which it make the Grinch very happy.

The redeemed Grinch starts a new life with the Whos, commemorating the Christmas feast with them in his cave.

He was played by Jim Carrey as adult while while Josh Ryan Evans (in his final theatrical role) play as an 8-year-old Grinch when he was a child.

Video Game Appearance
The Grinch appears as the main protagonist and playable character in the 2000 video game tie-in of the movie. The Grinch decides to destroy the Whos Christmas, however when he loses his blueprints to his gadgets which end up scattering around the place he is forced to go on a journey to collect them.

The player is given tasks to do, such as smashing presents and other mischievous things to torment the Whos. Max the Dog is also a playable character which the Grinch can use to gain access to areas to help him progress further. Along the way the player collects parts for the Grinch's sleigh, and once completed they are involved in a boss mission in which they chase down Santa Claus in his sleigh and shoot him down.

But like the film and book, the Grinch realizes the Whos are still happy. Once his heart grows he returns to Whoville and apologizes for his actions.

Trivia

 * Unlike the book or 1966 cartoon where the Grinch is a smart, scheming and manipulative individual, the film shows him to be an entertaining, whimsical, comical and insane person with the scheming qualities.
 * In some ways, the film shows that the mayor is just as much a villain as the Grinch, maybe even worse. It is because of the Mayor's bullying, that caused the Grinch to become cold-hearted, unforgiving and diabolical.