The Grinch (2018)


 * NOTE: For the original version from the book and TV special, click here. For the 2000 version, click here.

"Today we will do mean things, and we will do them in style!"

- The Grinch to Max. "For fifty-three years, Christmas has brought me nothing but misery. I know just what to do. I become Santa Clause to steal their Christmas. If he could deliver it one night, then I can steal it. What does Santa have that I don't?"

- The Grinch

The Grinch is the titular protagonist of Illumination's 9th animated feature film The Grinch, based on the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss. He is a grumpy green outcast who seeks to steal and destroy Christmas for all the misery it has caused him.

He was voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, who also played Smaug and Sauron in The Hobbit trilogy, Dormammu in Doctor Strange, Shere Khan in Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle and Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness.

The Past
The Grinch was a orphan who grew up in the Whoville orphanage with no one to celebrate Christmas with since he was never adopted and did not fit in with the people of Whoville. Angered and heartbroken, he left Whoville and lived on Mt. Crumpet for 53 years.

The Present
In the town of Whoville, human-like creatures called Whos are filled with excitement about celebrating Christmas. The only one who is not all excited is a cantankerous green creature called The Grinch, who has a heart "two sizes too small" and lives in a cave on the top of Mount Crumpit just north of Whoville.

The Grinch's only friend is his loyal pet dog Max and they both only visit Whoville when the Grinch needs to buy food. Meanwhile, 5-year-old Cindy Lou Who notices that her mother Donna is overworked trying to take care of herself and her twin infant brothers, Buster and Bean. She at first decides to send a letter to Santa Claus to help her mother, but after encountering the Grinch who sarcastically says that she will have to talk to Santa face-to-face about it, she eventually decides to try and trap Santa with the help of her friends and ask him for his help since she thinks that it is too important.

After the Grinch is annoyed that the Whos brought a gigantic Christmas tree to town, he attempts to destroy the tree by catapulting a giant snowball at it, but it backfires and he ends up catapulted himself and soon, all the festivities take him back to his sad childhood where he is all alone in an orphanage while all of the other Whos were taken by families.

After returning to his cave, the Grinch soon decides that he will steal Christmas from Whoville to assuage his distress. He acquires a fat reindeer whom he calls Fred to help him pull a sleigh that he stole from the most happiest Who in Whoville, Bricklebaum. After a test run, the Grinch sees that Fred has a wife and child, so with a heavy heart, he lets Fred go back to them. On Christmas Eve, after making a Santa Claus disguise and dozens of gadgets to help him with his theft, the Grinch and Max, who pulls the sleigh in Fred's place, go down to Whoville and begin stealing the decorations and presents.

He soon encounters Cindy after falling into her trap and her request to help lighten her mother's workload soon touches the Grinch's bitter heart. After stealing every Christmas present and decoration, the Grinch and Max decide to head back to Mount Crumpit to dispose of them. The Whos wake up and are shocked to see that the presents and decorations are gone.

Cindy at first believes she's to blame because she caught Santa, but Donna tells her that Christmas is more than just about presents and that Cindy's the best thing that ever happened to her since she helps her mother out with her workload and the Whos join in singing.

The Grinch and Max soon hear the singing and the Grinch is puzzled to see that they are celebrating Christmas despite his theft, but he soon listens to their singing and his small heart triples in size. The sleigh almost falls off Mount Crumpit and the Grinch tries to save it and soon, Fred and his family come to his aid. After securing the sleigh, the Grinch and Max go to Whoville to return the stolen items and he admits his theft to the Whos and apologizes before going back to his cave.

Feeling sorry for the Grinch, Cindy comes to invite him to dinner at her house and he awkwardly attends and when seated down for dinner, he admits that it wasn't really Christmas he disliked, but being lonely and carves a roast beast as he celebrates Christmas with the Whos and starts a new life with them, especially with Cindy.

Personality
The Grinch is grumpy and cruel, and likes to bully and antagonize the citizens of Whoville whenever he can. He takes some sadistic pride in his work, and sees an artistry and style to being generally mean and nasty. However, deep down he has a soft spot, as he shows to his dog Max and a select few individuals that manage to appeal to it under his rough exterior.

Trivia

 * The Grinch is Illumination’s second protagonist to be a villain after Felonious Gru from the Despicable Me franchise.
 * Compared to the other versions of the Grinch, this Grinch is significantly less evil and scheming than previous versions, as he is portrayed more as a grouchy cynic who prefers to mind his own business than actively hurt other people, will still be social when he needs to be, treats his dog well, and only decides to steal Christmas to prove a point rather than out of pure hatred for the Whos and the holiday.