How the Grinch Stole Continuity
Dec. 11th, 2007 02:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vovatI actually have at least three different Christmas specials to write about now, but since my comments on How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Dr. Seuss sure liked those superfluous exclamation points, didn't he?) and related tangents are running away with me, I might as well devote an entire post to them. Frosty and the Great Ak will have to wait for a future post.
When I talk about Grinch, I am, of course, referring to the animated version. I've so far managed to avoid the live-action one, although chances are I'll be roped into seeing it someday. I guess I don't know for a fact that it's terrible, but I don't like what I've seen of Jim Carrey's Grinch; and I understand that Hollywood thought his heart being two sizes too small wasn't enough of an explanation for his meanness, and had to give him childhood trauma as well. They did the same basic thing with Leatherface. And yet Seuss's widow was okay with the movie, and not with Weird Al and Moxy Früvous releasing songs based on Green Eggs and Ham. I have heard that she didn't like the live-action Cat in the Hat, though.
Anyway, when I was a kid, I had the book, and I was excited by the prospect of seeing the animated version. And wouldn't you know it, the power went out on the night they were showing it. Unlike today, when the TV Guide website lists five showings for our grumpy green friend in the next two weeks, missing the one showing back then generally meant you were Grinchless for another year. I remember listening to it on the radio, while my parents used a flashlight to help me follow along in the book. I guess it was the next year when I actually saw the special for the first time. Aside from a bit of additional material (mostly about the Whos' bizarre Christmas presents) that I'm sure confused me when I was listening on the radio, I believe the cartoon pretty much follows the book exactly. And, of course, "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" (as sung by Tony the Tiger) is a great song, and one that I unfortunately don't have on my computer.
The Grinch was popular enough to reappear in a Halloween special (which I don't believe I've ever seen; I'll have to remember to look out for it next October) and The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat (which I've seen a few times). While I'm pretty sure the former also features the Whos, the latter not only has the Grinch interacting not only with the Cat, but also appearances from ordinary humans (well, as ordinary as Dr. Seuss draws 'em, anyway). I think he also lived in a house, rather than a cave on Mount Crumpit. If the Grinch lives in the same microscopic world as the Whos (see Horton Hears a Who!), it seems rather unlikely that he'd be hanging around in our world, as the Cat presumably does. Maybe The Grinch Grinches, like so many other crossovers, isn't intended to be part of regular continuity (if such a thing even exists for Seuss's work).
Okay, I guess that's all I have to say about everyone's favorite nasty wasty skunk for now. As LeVar Burton used to say, see ya next time!
When I talk about Grinch, I am, of course, referring to the animated version. I've so far managed to avoid the live-action one, although chances are I'll be roped into seeing it someday. I guess I don't know for a fact that it's terrible, but I don't like what I've seen of Jim Carrey's Grinch; and I understand that Hollywood thought his heart being two sizes too small wasn't enough of an explanation for his meanness, and had to give him childhood trauma as well. They did the same basic thing with Leatherface. And yet Seuss's widow was okay with the movie, and not with Weird Al and Moxy Früvous releasing songs based on Green Eggs and Ham. I have heard that she didn't like the live-action Cat in the Hat, though.
Anyway, when I was a kid, I had the book, and I was excited by the prospect of seeing the animated version. And wouldn't you know it, the power went out on the night they were showing it. Unlike today, when the TV Guide website lists five showings for our grumpy green friend in the next two weeks, missing the one showing back then generally meant you were Grinchless for another year. I remember listening to it on the radio, while my parents used a flashlight to help me follow along in the book. I guess it was the next year when I actually saw the special for the first time. Aside from a bit of additional material (mostly about the Whos' bizarre Christmas presents) that I'm sure confused me when I was listening on the radio, I believe the cartoon pretty much follows the book exactly. And, of course, "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" (as sung by Tony the Tiger) is a great song, and one that I unfortunately don't have on my computer.
The Grinch was popular enough to reappear in a Halloween special (which I don't believe I've ever seen; I'll have to remember to look out for it next October) and The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat (which I've seen a few times). While I'm pretty sure the former also features the Whos, the latter not only has the Grinch interacting not only with the Cat, but also appearances from ordinary humans (well, as ordinary as Dr. Seuss draws 'em, anyway). I think he also lived in a house, rather than a cave on Mount Crumpit. If the Grinch lives in the same microscopic world as the Whos (see Horton Hears a Who!), it seems rather unlikely that he'd be hanging around in our world, as the Cat presumably does. Maybe The Grinch Grinches, like so many other crossovers, isn't intended to be part of regular continuity (if such a thing even exists for Seuss's work).
Okay, I guess that's all I have to say about everyone's favorite nasty wasty skunk for now. As LeVar Burton used to say, see ya next time!
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no subject
Date: 2007-12-12 02:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-12 04:44 pm (UTC)I know a band called the Whirling Dervishes did a guitar-based version of the Grinch song that's really quite good, although not quite as grrrr-reat as the Thurl Ravenscroft one. {g}
no subject
Date: 2007-12-12 03:09 pm (UTC)Grinch Night (the Halloween one) is AWFUL. but maybe worth a watch just to see it once. It's on one of the dvd's I have, but not sure which.
Have you seen they're making a movie of Horton? At least it appears to be CGI, not live action, so it *could* be decent. I'll probably see it because I am a sucker for all things Seuss.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-12 04:54 pm (UTC)Thanks. I wish I remembered the circumstances of seeing other Christmas specials for the first time, but I can't say I do.
I saw a review of "Grinch Night" that says that the Grinch basically just mumbles nonsense for most of the time. Doesn't sound that great, but I'd still like to see it once.
I saw a preview for the Horton movie, and while I can't say I like the idea, the fact that it's animated does serve to make me less upset than I was over the live-action films. I'm not sure why they would cast Jim Carrey as Horton. I don't like him much anyway, but even if I did, his voice really doesn't sound right for a character who's defined largely by gentleness and generosity. Oh, well.
Isn't there an animated version of Horton Hears a Who! on the same DVD with the Grinch? I've read that there's also an animated Horton Hatches the Egg, although it's much harder to come by.