The Grinch

photo courtesy of universalpictures.com

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

     Benedict Cumberbatch gets his grouch on in The Grinch. This latest adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s classic book comes from Universal-owned Illumination Entertainment, the studio behind Despicable Me, Minions, and The Secret Life of Pets. Like its predecessors, this iteration tells the story of the Grinch’s plot to steal Christmas from the little town of Whoville. Cameron Seely plays Cindy Lou Who, and Rashida Jones plays her mom.

     It’s not hard to see why Illumination might choose The Grinch as their next project. The parallels between The Grinch and Despicable Me, their most profitable franchise, are readily apparent. The studio even makes some stylistic connections between the two, like Tyler, the Creator’s cover of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” which hearkens back to Pharrell’s “Despicable Me” title track.

photo courtesy of variety.com

     But while The Grinch isn’t a total misstep, it doesn’t display quite the same spark of creativity that made Despicable Me a hit, either. Like Despicable Me, The Grinch sets the bar for its humor low—lots of slapstick and schadenfreude—which goes over well with a young audience. Even on that level, though, The Grinch isn’t quite as inventive as it could be; it doesn’t surprise you. For adults, only a few gimmicks will earn a laugh.

     The narrative is sort of a mixed bag. On one hand, the heart of Dr. Seuss’s story shines through and makes portions of The Grinch touching and timely. There’s a reason why the story is a Christmas classic, and it would take an actual Grinch not to recognize that. On the other hand, the other portions of the movie—the “filler” that the filmmakers inject to help the story meet its hour-and-a-half runtime—fall short. Have you ever wondered where the Grinch got the sled? How he mapped out his routes through Whoville neighborhoods? What sort of practice he may have gotten in before the final run-through? These are just some of the questions that The Grinch asks and answers, for some reason.

photo courtesy of imdb.com

     Compared to top-shelf animated features, The Grinch certainly seems like a step down. Illumination’s not exactly known for reaching for the stars, and The Grinch more or less continues that tradition. Still, if all you need is something to keep the kids occupied, The Grinch will do the trick. If you want something more, you’ll want to hold on for Ralph Breaks the Internet, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Mary Poppins Returns in the coming weeks.

The Grinch is rated PG.

TRAILER

Watch the trailer here. 

photo courtesy of empireonline.com