The Grinch (2018) User Reviews

This film shocked me...it was good...very good.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 24 December 2019]

I know this will upset some folks, but the 2000 version of Dr. Seuss' classic, "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" was an abomination. First, the entire message of the original story was lost...and was, in fact, the opposite of Seuss' story. Second, the story was all about Jim Carrey and his mugging for the camera....everything else seemed secondary. Because of this, I was terribly disappointed, as I loved the original story and the great 1966 cartoon. Because of this, I was very reticent to watch this 2018 incarnation. But, in hindsight, my fears about the latest film are mostly unfounded.

Because the film is about an hour and a half long, I already realized that the story had to be padded and include some new material...this is just inevitable. However, I was surprised how much I liked this material...such as the Grinch's cute reindeer. It was very pleasant and all contributed to the story instead of distracting from it. And, as far as the story goes, it stuck pretty close to the book--even using many exact quotes from the classic tale.

As far as the quality of the film goes, it's a mixed bag but mostly good. The animation was eye-popping and wonderful. It really is great on the big screen and the 3-D effects were magnificent. I also liked that they made the Grinch a hater of Christmas but NOT a hateful or evil character. He was kinder and more sweet at times....even though he hated the holiday. The only things I wasn't thrilled about were the narration by John Legend and the voicework for the Grinch himself by Benedict Cumberbatch. I had the distinct impression that BOTH were used simply because the studio could get them--not because they were appropriate for the film. Legend is apparently a nice guy...but his nice-guy voice wasn't what you'd want or expect from a narrator. The same for Cumberbatch--who DID sound very different from his usual English accented voice but still was too 'normal' a voice for a character such as the Grinch.

Overall, despite my voice talent complaint, the film is a great family film...one that honors the book and 1966 film instead of ignoring it like the 2000 incarnation. Well worth seeing and amazingly heartwarming...especially at the end as well as when the Grinch is interacting with his dog and pet reindeer.

Neither a Christmas cracker or a bah humbug

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 20 November 2018]

Part of me was interested in seeing 'The Grinch', being a fan of the original Dr Seuss story and especially the 1966 animated version with Boris Karloff voicing Grinch (do like the Jim Carrey version better than most) and being someone who likes Benedict Cumberbatch and a lot of what he's done. Was nervous though too because the trailer did not look good, the reviews are mixed to not great and did question whether it was necessary.

Dr Seuss adaptations have been very hit and miss. The animated short television specials have fared significantly better than the feature films, Dr Seuss' work lends itself better to adaptations of a short length and the television specials were not only great adaptations and true in detail and spirit but great on their own. Of the feature films, the best one is by far 'Horton Hears a Who' with the worst being the live action 'The Cat in the Hat' (to me among the worst films ever made). Illumination has also been variable, loved the first two 'Despicable Me' films while not caring for 'Minions'.

Saw 'The Grinch' anyway as someone trying to see and review as many 2018 films as possible and loving the story and Christmas films, also to see how Cumberbatch would fare as Grinch. Seeing it, it is nowhere near as good as the 1966 version and is neither a Christmas cracker or a bah humbug. It is also neither among the best or worst films of the year, somewhere in the middle for me.

There are definitely great things here. The animation cannot be faulted, so much gorgeous and meticulous attention to detail and rich vibrant colours that really immerses one into the world of Whoville. Some of the soundtrack has a festive and infectious feel. There are funny and emotional moments, the former with the funny and adorable (plus more interesting) Max and the latter with the Cindy Lou subplot, that and the character herself being the sweet and charming heart of the film.

It is not a film without soul, having a warm glow more than once and some spirited elaborate set pieces, it does well with sticking to the spirit of the story and with the back and forth between Mount Crumpet and Whoville. It is not too long and has a lively pace generally. As said, Max and Cindy Lou are the best characters. Mostly the voice acting is good, with Cameron Seely being the clear standout.

Having said all of this, 'The Grinch' could have been better. It does offer very little new or fresh, trying to be faithful to the source material while not moving enough beyond that that it all feels too safe. It could have done with more humour and heart generally, could have done without the repetitive and tired screaming goat gag and outside of the Cindy Lou subplot soul is missing.

Found myself mixed on the pretty unrecognisable Cumberbatch. He does well providing a curmudgeonly touch and has moments of grinchy- meanness, plaudits too for not making Grinch too scary or resorting to excessive mugging. Do feel though that he was not mean or Grinchy-enough and he would have fared much better using his own voice for the character which would have fitted better. Had a big issue with the annoying, intrusive and over-explanatory narration that was not always necessary and with a rather out of place Pharrell Williams. Other parts of the soundtrack grated and too reminiscent of commercial music neither catchy or to my taste that didn't gel with the setting or the rest of the film. Too many of the supporting characters are forgettable and one-dimensional.

Overall, better than what the critics have generally said but was rather mixed on a film with a lot of great merits but feels too safe and one does question the point of it. 6/10 Bethany Cox

OK, but feels unnecessary

[brynnharms-70885 · 4/10 · 10 November 2018]

Took the grandkids to this movie...they didn't think it was very good. It seems like something that was produced for the dollars it could make rather than a story that needed to be told.

The good: it was not very long. The colors are brilliant and visually stimulating. Max was remade with a little more of a fun personality.

The bad: Grinch somehow seemed wrong. I'm not sure if it was the voice, the artistic effects, or just a general un-Grinchiness. The story was a retelling that didn't need to be. The biggest negative is the feeling that this movie is forgettable.

I'm sure I'll never watch it again. I've watched the original about a billion times, and the Jim Carrey version nearly the same.

Bottom line...save your money and rent it later.

Excellent!

[AdrienneGrayceMusic · 10/10 · 11 November 2018]

There is a reason I don't read critic reviews, and it is because I never ever agree with them. Usually when they say a movie is bad, I like it and vice versa. I like to leave reviews for movies and tv shows because I enjoy them, and I don't care about other people's views. I will give you my honest review as just a regular movie lover. Glad I didn't listen to critics on this film. It was great! A sold out theater. Kids and adults all laughed throughout the film. I went with my husband, sister, brother in law, and my niece and nephew. We all loved it equally. I enjoyed Jim Carey's version but I cannot compare them. I was wondering if I could like this without it having Jim Carey but I truly did. Heart-warming film with a slightly different take on it from the last film. To me, the dog, MAX stole the show! Great animation and effects. 3D is even better. To the people saying there was no storyline...ummm, there was! sheesh. Its about...well...THE GRINCH!! You don't take my advice, its just MY opinion, but I advise everyone to see this. Do not expect an Emmy winner, but it is still a great, warm and cozy holiday film.

More or less EXACTLY what one would expect from Illumination's The Grinch.

[Joshua_Penczek · 4/10 · 10 November 2018]

Illumination is a studio known for producing gutless, boring, paint-by-numbers, mass appeal movies that focus more on cute gimmicks and marketing than they do on actual storytelling and character development. If you've seen anything else from Illumination, you practically don't need to see this movie, because you can probably just predict every scene in your head and just about get it right. While The Grinch isn't Illumination's worst, it's still a thoughtless and emotionless product only meant to sell toys and theater tickets before charm and charisma.

Benedict Cumberbatch's Grinch is boring. I do like Cumberbatch and I did think he'd be great to voice the Grinch, but he's terrible in this movie. His voice doesn't match the character whatsoever, and does nothing to bring the character more to life. At least Jim Carrey put energy and emotion into his performance, whereas Cumberbatch sounds like he's disappointed about the small paycheck he's just been given. The Grinch himself is written in a way that pulls all punches and has to cave in to cutesy kids logic instead of a clever way that tells a good story. Instead of making The Grinch actually funny or interesting, they make him the typical 2018 grumpy hipster who's a good guy at heart but just needs his morning coffee. Making him a mostly good character really undermines the climactic payoff of him finally understanding the meaning Christmas towards the end.

Sadly, both the character and the overall movie as a whole share the same problems; it's boring, uninspired, and vanilla. Much like the character, the movie sucks out anything interesting in favor for playing it safe and selling toys. The music is even done by rapper Tyler The Creator, and even as a moderate fan of his work, the music here is terribly uninspired and obviously an attempt to make the film more hip. Most of the jokes are entirely predictable. Actually, the entire movie is predictable. I don't mean we've seen the original movies, I mean the film follows every generic story you'll ever see in a kids movie. The film feels more like it was written by a computer and less like a team of engrossed screenwriters. One of the film's running gags is the ex-popular 'screaming goat' meme...seriously, I thought that meme stopped being funny in 2013.

Truthfully, this film is not the worst thing to come out of Illumination. It may not be a good movie, but at least it doesn't completely bastardize and miseducate its message like The Lorax did, and at least it isn't as excruciatingly for-the-masses as Minions or The Secret Life Of Pets. The Grinch, as well as every single other Illumination Studios movie, is like a cute untamed puppy; it may urinate on your rug and chew up all of your shoes, but it's cute and looks at you with big puppy dog eyes and does silly things, so you don't punish it and let it slide when it really shouldn't be forgiven so easily. When are we as an audience going to stop letting these thoughtless movies slide solely because of their cuteness? Regardless, moms and kids alike will continue to enjoy these movies without the slightest care, simply because it's cute and nothing more.

Very Colorful

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 26 June 2019]

I watched this with my grandson. Yes, I still think the original cartoon based on the book is superior. There is a simplicity that really works. The Grinch is downright mean. I love Benedict Cumberbach, but found his voice just too soothing to pull off our guy. There was too much psychological mumbo jumbo as the writers came up with an excuse for the Grinch being the way he was. Of course, it was his childhood. The movie is spectacular in its visuals. There are colorful scenes and excellent structures, making Whoville really magnificent. But the story is watered down and using Cindy Lou Who as an active character didn't work for me.

Beautiful looking and charming animated feature.

[cinephile-27690 · 10/10 · 11 November 2018]

I'm going to keep this review short since you know the story most likely.

I was enchanted by this movie from the moment it started. It was a fun animated movie, with gorgeous animation, a lot of heart, and even some humor. The 90 minute run-time makes the movie fly by.

And the Grinch is evil but not scary. This has been ridiculed, but I like that the movie was trying to make it more comfortable for the little ones.

The ending, even though I knew it was coming, was very uplifting. The Grinch's heart grew 3 times bigger, but guess what? So did mine!

This is one of my favorite animated movies now, and my #1 Dr. Suess adaptation. This is the movie to see this holiday season!

Note: If you found this review helpful, please click on cinephile-27690 to read my other reviews!

Don't listen to the grinches reviewing this movie!

[benribble · 9/10 · 9 November 2018]

Anyone who gave this a bad rating clearly is just upset because, they don't like a modern Grinch because they grew up with the original classic Grinch cartoon. This movie was one of the most adorable and fun feel-good animated movies I've seen in a long time. Benedict Cumberbatch killed it as the Grinch and, all the gadgets and grandeur of the grinches holiday heist scene is so creative and colourful and fantastical! This is one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time up there with Nightmare before Christmas. This movie was a joy to watch and if you couldn't find joy in this movie maybe, you're the Grinch.

The Grinch: All Rapped Up

[TheTruthofItIs · 3/10 · 13 December 2019]

The technicals of this version are outstanding, great, bright animation, very Pixar-ish. However, it fails in its heart which is always driven by actors' voicing and what a BIG FAIL this was - as many others have noted, so you know it's not just a few of us. First, WTH is Pharrell narrating?! Weakest voicing ever! NOTHING even approaching the dramatic storytelling of the classic's Karloff. And his hip-hop, rap interludes were simply wrong for this feature - maybe if you're setting the story in a rundown urban environment, maybe then it'd have fit, but it was totally out of place here. Then Benedict Cucumber-patch's voicing of our main Grinch character was way off base, nowhere up to the task, it was a pathetic reading of the script, the biggest letdown you could imagine. Finally, the naive, demure Cindy Lou Who from the classic is re-imagined as a hyper-active grrl power character which is also annoying and out of place. We can only hope this version is relegated to the dust bin of some Hollywood warehouse, never to be seen again.

The Grinch

[Prismark10 · 4/10 · 7 December 2019]

Dr Seuss short story of The Grinch gets a second big screen treatment.

There was a very good short animated cartoon made in 1966 where the Grinch was voiced by Boris Karloff.

This CGI animated version is colourful but bland. The songs have been updated by they come across as mediocre. The voice acting is below par. Benedict Cumberbatch does not come anywhere near Jim Carrey never mind Karloff.

Here the Grinch hates Christmas because as a child he was always lonely at Christmas. Forced to go into Whoville during the run up to Christmas to stock up on food. The Grinch sees consumerism gone rampant over the festive period. Everything is bigger including the Christmas tree and there is forced jollity.

The Grinch has a twisted idea to ruin everyone's Christmas. One girl Cindy-Lou wants to speak to Santa as she has a special wish. Maybe she can make the Grinch's heart two sizes bigger.

Obviously the kids will enjoy this overlong movie. It lacks the wicked fun and zest of the 1966 cartoon.

Did they even sing the song?

[JosiReviews · 2/10 · 11 November 2018]

When the movie ended, I looked over at my family and asked "did they even sing the grinch song?" which I was highly anticipating with a fun, new modern edge. my nephew responded with "it was a remix and not the whole song" what?! Jim Carey made an entire scene out of it! This movie was a let down. Can they stop remaking movies if they're going to be lazy and unoriginal about it? The Jim Carey one and the original Grinch are way better than this

One word, LAME

[irishboy141 · 1/10 · 9 November 2018]

This is another film by illumination animation, a company known for their very cheap animation, generic cookie cutter plots, low brow humor, Pop music, and those annoying minions. Yet despite this list of grievances they are highly successful, because they make lowest common denominator movies anyone between 1 month and 100 years old could watch.

This brings us to the Grinch, a needless remake that no one asked for or wanted. After the Lorax's dreadful adaptation, the quality of this trash should come as no surprise. Yet it represents almost everything wrong with entertainment; it doesn't exist because an artist was inspired to craft a loving adaptation telling a story he/she wanted to tell. It exists because it's a Dr. Seuss property and a Dr. Seuss movie prints the money itself.

Anyway this movie is as lame and as generic as you could possibly imagine. The Grinch is comically sympathetic, but isn't likeable. I'm stunned that the filmmakers managed to suck out all character, nuance, and personality of the Grinch and leave him as a hollow shell who acts like an A**hole. Also the Grinch who should be a foul/gross weirdo looks too clean and basic thanks to the simplicity of the cheap animation.

The townsfolk are either comically evil, ignorant, or innocent. The setting is awful and feels empty, the music sucks, and the pop music REALLY makes your ears bleed in this one folks!

One positive is the color pallet, very Christmas-y and very easy on the eyes. But again the animation is so basic and simplistic that each character looks so bland and unmemorable I can't even remember more than 4 character designs.

Ultimately the quality doesn't matter (the studio knows this, which is why they sold this movie out to any company that would advertise it), people will see this and it'll make over $500 million at least. If somehow you like illumination animation movies, you'll like this one. if you don't then you'll hate this.

Beautiful Christmas movie

[bigbro-73816 · 10/10 · 12 November 2018]

Look I'm probably not the target audience for this movie but I gotta say I smiled I. Laughed I felt flat out joy one of the best of the year simple sweet and fall down funny for once instead of a movie being about war it was about peice and love and joy nothing I regret about seeing this movie

A kinder gentler Grinch?

[AlsExGal · 2/10 · 26 January 2021]

Boris Karloff was the voice of the original animated Grinch of 1966, and although he wasn't scary even when I was eight, the Karloff voice brought gravity to the proceedings. The Grinch in this film has the harmless sounding voice of Benedict Cumberbatch. And although the original Grinch was a grouch, this Grinch is nothing more than dissatisfied. I realize that the Grinch can't go around abusing his dog Max like he did in the original - times have changed. But here he is practically the dog's life coach, telling Max that he can do things if only he believes in himself.

But one thing that didn't NEED to change was having Cindy Lou Who be the oldest child of an overworked single mother, Betty Lou Who. How can Cindy Lou be the smallest who in Whoville if she is an older sister? But I digress. Cindy Lou Who has just one wish - for her mother to have it easier and not be so overworked. As for the technical details, the art design tries to be too CGI. I liked the basic Chuck Jones illustrations in the 1966 version that were not meant to look the least bit real. So like most modern films, this one makes the art design photorealistic and completely misses the point of the original tale or at least throws in so many modern subplots that there is no nostalgia or charm for fans of the original.

I didn't like this movie. That means I'm wrong for not liking it???

[CriticalOfEverything · 5/10 · 9 November 2018]

I honestly do not get the impressionable casuals who say that any critic who dislikes a movie they like is wrong. Using that logic, YOU'RE wrong for liking it. But that's not true, because it's all subjective. With that out of the way, allow me to explain why I didn't like this movie:

It's dull and boring. It's not interesting, it's only funny in certain places and even then it only resulted in a small smile. If what's advertised to me as a comedy movie isn't that funny to me, I think it's failed as a movie. This could've had the potential to be a pretty decent movie and it's not the first time Illumination has done a Dr Seuss movie. Expectations weren't exactly through the roof, but I expected them to do so much better than this. The animation is pretty good, as expected for Illumination, but it can only dazzle me for about 5 minutes before I realise how dull and uninteresting this movie is.

Again, if you liked this then good for you, but I just can't enjoy this movie.

The Grinch

[DylanAnglin · 7/10 · 11 November 2018]

I rarely watch animated movies, so I didn't expect much going into this one. I have to say I like the original and Jim Carrey ones better, but this is still fun. For a family movie, or just a movie to go see with a friend or girlfriend, I think this is a good flick to see going into the holidays! 7/10

My favorite version!!

[rudypen1216 · 10/10 · 9 November 2018]

No matter how much worse the IMDb rating gets, watch the movie for yourself. I love the music, the animation, the voice talents and the storyline! Aside from from having a few goofy moments, the movie was a lot more dramatic and touching.

Don't waste your time on this one, just watch the original

[Jared_Andrews · 3/10 · 10 November 2018]

The thing about a remake is that there needs to be a reason to make it. When remakes have no reason to exist (other than to make a quick buck or millions of them), they fall flat, usually due to a lack effort. And therein lies the issue plaguing this 2018 version of Dr. Seuss' holiday classic about the mean-green-grumpy Grinch-it's a dull final product that likely resulting from a lack of effort. We know the Grinch stole Christmas, but who stole this movie's creativity?

Just about everyone knows the classic Grinch story, but this one is a little bit different, so let's run through it. There's cheery, wintery town called Whoville filled with many delightful people called Whos. The Whos love Christmas, and they know how to celebrate the holiday right. They don't just deck the halls, they deck out the entire town with decorations, lights and a mountain-sized tree. It's all glorious.

One young Who named Cindy-Lou (Cameron Seely) has an adventurous spirit and a kind heart, as central figures tend to have in these sorts of movies. She feels for her exhausted single mom who struggles to balance her time at work and at home taking care of Cindy-Lou and the twin boys. So, Cindy-Lou decides to ask Santa to help her mom by doing... something. Exactly what help Santa would provide is unclear, which makes any resolution problematic because we can't recognize the help if it arrives. If you think I'm overanalyzing this movie aimed at children, you're probably right.

Any Who... living in the giant mountain adjacent to Whoville is The Grinch (Benedict Cumberbatch). The Grinch I remember as a child was a ruthless and nasty figure. Establishing him this way early on is crucial because it sets up a redemption story. This new Grinch starts off mildly rude at his worst and genuinely considerate at his best. A few half-hearted attempts to display his wickedness that fail and instead make him appear funny. The rest of the time, The Grinch is mostly pleasant. This robs viewers of the need to root for him to change because he's a decent guy the entire time. He politely interacts with an overly-jolly old friend, Mr. Bricklebaum, voiced by Kenan Thompson, who is doing some variation of his SNL character, neighbor Willie. Thompson's jubilance is good for a few laughs, the only ones you'll find in the movie. Despite his best efforts, his limited screen time doesn't afford him enough opportunity to earn this movie an overall label of "funny."

The rest of the attempts at humor are comprised mostly of cutaways that play like watered down versions of ones you'd see on Family Guy. There's also a dusting of lazy Who-based puns, like the inclusion a place called Who Foods, a play on Whole Foods. Like the rest of the movie, the jokes clearly were made with little effort.

There isn't much else to say. This is a pointless remake that doesn't need to exist. A remake that has a reason to exist should provide a fresh voice while simultaneously honoring the past creation. This film does neither. If you want to watch a story about The Grinch, you'd be much better off revisiting the original cartoon classic or the more recent live-action iteration starring Jim Carrey.

Christmas fun for the whole family!

[MsMovie · 10/10 · 9 November 2018]

If you don't like Illumination movies, or Minion type movies, you probably won't like this version of The Grinch. Personally, I am not a fan of the original TV special, so I was dreading being dragged along to see this with the family, but I really liked it.

It's a very modern take on the classic Dr. Seuss story. The plot line is basically the same, but the humor is a little different and it does play more for laughs.

Personally, I prefer this one - my kids said they liked it equally with the original Grinch special.

Unlike another reviewer who gave this a 1/10 and said Illumination animation was basic, I don't think it is at all. I think it is crisp and modern, and in comparison to the original, much softer and more likeable, but that's just me.

I thought Benedict Cumberbatch was a weird choice for the main character's voice, but on seeing the movie, he was perfect of it.

Go into this without any pre-judgment, unlike me, and you're sure to be highly entertained for around 90 minutes.

I expected it to be terrible, but it will be a future Christmas favorite for our family!

Wrong voice, the most friendly Grinch I have ever seen

[longstock60 · 1/10 · 10 November 2018]

They picked the absolute worst voice for the Grinch. Also the Grinch didn't even seem bad. In fact, its like a five year old would have considered this movie less than a G rating. The Grinch is known to have a hard stare and grin with a rough voice. They ruined this version.

Not Grinchy enough, just depressed

[vandrist · 4/10 · 9 November 2018]

Please don't see this movie in theatres, if you liked the prior Grinch movies, then you won't like this one. It's not mean, it's not funny, it's not accurate to the storyline. It also ruins the iconic grinch song. This isn't a very good movie and you shouldn't waste your money seeing this. Rewatch the Ron Howard and Jim Carey version over and over again to get your fix this year. I know that's what I'm going to do. So many better songs in that version as well.

Very disappointed

[moezya-35681 · 1/10 · 13 November 2018]

Worst adaptation of the grinch ever made. Stick to what you know and what people love....the original cartoon. Too much overacting.

Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more. Lost it's message!

[donna-marie-wilson · 2/10 · 18 November 2018]

I just didn't like it. I love the book I read it from November onwards every year to my kids. I love both the older versions but this just got diluted down until it was a poor version of a Christmas movie. The odd funny moments but nothing else. There was nothing mean or awful about the grinch at all he was quite nice to begin with just a lonely sad man who needed friends

Holiday movie

[ilovefoodcoma · 5/10 · 31 December 2018]

The Story: Very festive holiday movie. Heartfelt & warm. Definitely bring up the Christmas spirit. However, maybe because I had watched the play & musical of the story. When I watched this movie, it seems flat. Didn't really get me the "awwwww" moment.

The Animation: Since there are more & more animation movies out there. Compared to others, the animation in this movie is just a so-so to me. Didn't really "wow" me.

Fabulous Movie (10/10).

[rylandixon07 · 10/10 · 21 December 2023]

Well, I Figured I'd Do This Movie At This Time Of Month. Get Y'all's Snacks, Food, & Drinks, & Enjoy This Review.

Well, After That Abysmal 2000 Live-Action Version, We Get This 1ne. Let Me Tell You, This Was Fabulous. Definitely An Improvement To That 2000 Version. Now If You Ask Me If I Like The 1966 Classic Or This Version, I'd Say Both. Now Let's Go For Characters & Songs.

Grinch Was A Cool Character Just Like 1966 Version, Max Was At His Best Like Always (Including The Bad 2000 Version), Cindy-Lou Who Was Very Sweet Character Like In 1966 Version, Groopert Was Charming, Fred The Fat Reindeer Is Funny, & Every Other Character Were Fun, Cute, Amazing, & Hilarious.

As For The Songs & OST's, The Songs From The 1966 Classic Definitely Deserved A Remastered. The OST Are Great.

Well, That's My Review. Be Prepared For The Other 2.

RATING: Fabulous Movie (100/100).