Review of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

I first saw this seasonal TV special on Cartoon Network when my Dad used to have Sky, it is the first version of the famous story by Dr. Suess, has become an enduring tradition in the United States, produced and directed by Looney Tunes genius Chuck Jones. Basically it is Christmas Eve, the Whos in the town of Whoville are in the the festive spirit, decorating, wrapping presents and singing. While on top of Mount Crumpit lives the Grinch (voiced by Boris Karloff), a green, hairy, pot-bellied, pear-shaped, snub-nosed creature, with a heart two sizes too small, who has hated Christmas for 53 years. He has finally become fed up of putting up with hearing and watching the yuletide activities, and wishes there was a way to stop Christmas from coming. It is when the Grinch sees his dog Max with snow on his face, like the beard of Santa Claus, that he gets a wonderful, awful idea. The Grinch decides to steal Christmas, he creates his own Santa Claus coat and hat to disguise himself, makes Max into a makeshift reindeer, and builds a sleigh. He travels through Whoville and goes to every house to steal their decorations, food, presents and trees, and loads them into bags. The Grinch is almost caught by little Cindy Lou Who (June Foray), who sees him stealing the tree, but he lies, pretending he is Santa taking it to fix at his workshop, and sends her back to bed. He repeats the process of stealing all Christmas related items from every household, and also the Whoville village. With all of Christmas stolen, the Grinch and Max travel back to the top of Mount Crumpit to dump it. He waits to hear the sadness of the Whos as they wake up on Christmas Day, but he is puzzled to hear happy singing coming from below. The Grinch begins to understand that Christmas does not depend on material items, realising the true meaning of Christmas his heart grows three times larger. He is in time to save the stolen items from falling off the cliff, he gains strength to lift the sleigh, and he brings everything back to the Whos. In the end, the Grinch hands back all the presents and returns the decorations, he and Max join in the large feast, and the Grinch is given the honour of carving the roast beast. Boris Karloff narrates and voices the hairy, green pest well, the animation is colourful, and the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" by Thurl Ravenscroft (the voice of Tony the Tiger from the Frosties adverts) is recognisable, it is regarded as a classic, an enjoyable animated short. It was number 82 on The 100 Greatest Cartoons. Worth watching!