The Grinch stole Christmas and Jim Carrey brought this classic holiday flick back to the box office!
The Grinch stole Christmas and nearly made off with the year 2000's record for biggest opening weekend at the box office. How The Grinch Stole Christmas raked in an estimated $55.1 million on its first weekend, falling only $2.8 million behind the current champ: Mission Impossible 2. Not bad considering kidz only pay half price.
The story is similar, but not exactly the same as, the 1966 cartoon. The cartoon was only 26 minutes, so the character development isn't as deep as it is in the film. We get to journey back into the Grinch's past to see where he came from and why he hates Christmas so much. There are also a few new characters in the film, including the Grinch's love interest.
Jim Carrey's performance as the Grinch is awesome. Under pounds of green makeup and knotted hair, Jim manages to pull off a wacky character with his usual facial acrobatics. Although the trailer makes him look like he is playing the Mask in a Grinch costume, it really doesn't come across that way in the movie. You won't forget for a second that you're in Whoville. The incredible costumes and sets really make you feel like you're living in a cartoon.
Some may wonder if all the dialogue in Grinch is spoken in rhyme - the answer is no. However, the filmmakers didn't ignore that aspect of Seuss' storytelling. Important characters or speeches rhyme. It's done in a cool way - nothing that's too tedious or annoying.
Grinch is a definite winner. When attempting to make a flick out of a classic story, filmmakers will get trashed like crazy by the critics - but I'm hard-pressed for something bad to say about Grinch. The theme was pulled off well and the rest was very believable. In fact, believable enough to bring back that creepy feeling I used to get when my parents used to read it to me in bed.
