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animated, animated special, animation, benedict cumberbatch, boris karloff, Christmas, Christmas cartoon, christmas special, chuck jones, cindy lou who, dr. seuss, fahoo fores, grinch, holiday special, holiday tradition, how the grinch stole christmas, jim carrey, june foray, max the dog, mount crumpit, mt. crumpit, rhyme, rhyming, roast beast, the grinch, thurl ravenscroft, trim up the tree, tv review, tv special, welcome christmas, who hash, whoville, you're a mean one mr. grinch
Ah, the holiday season, the start of winter’s deep freeze…
…Though from where I’m typing it’s 70 degrees (damn you, global warming!!)
It’s now that I’m thankful of everything I’ve got
(And I ask Santa for everything else I have not)
And for you, fellow reader, I have a small gift,
A review that’s humorous, tidy, and swift.
So what can I review in a cinch or a pinch? How about…
I was gonna say Charlie Brown, but meh, he’ll do.
The Grinch hates Christmas
The whole holiday season
(Please disregard the movie
It gives him a dumb reason).
The Grinch glowers from his cave
At all of the Whos
Whom every Christmas
They bother to choose
To fill the air with joyous noise
Of singing and laughter from
The girls and the boys
The presents, the laughter,
The singing too
Makes a Christmas like theirs
Seem too good to be true.
I admit I don’t blame the Grinch on hating the toys
As he emphasizes and we see all the noise, noise, noise, NOISE…
…they make.
(Hey, doing a whole review in rhyme ain’t easy.)
Still, these are some creative play things,
Requiring skill and imagination to make them all sing.
Be honest, even you wanted at least one of these as a kid, whatever they are.
His dog Max pops up
With a beard made of snow
And in the Grinch’s head
An idea starts to grow.
In a Santa disguise
And a reindeer-dog sleigh,
He sneaks down to Whoville
To steal Christmas away!
To the mellifluous tones of Ravenscroft-Thurl,
The Grinch snatches treats from each Who boy and girl.
And am I the only one who was curious about what Who-Hash tastes like?
He finds himself spotted by one Cindy-Lou
(Who I wanted to be ever since I was two).
Cindy-Lou is adorable, and June Foray sounds so sweet…
…but where the hell are both her feet?!
The Grinch fools Cindy into going back to bed
And when all is done and said,
He finishes his rounds
Stealing Christmas all ’round town
The houses and square
Are empty and bare.
He rides to the tip of his mountain top
To let go of Christmas and watch it all drop
But over the snow comes the sound of the Whos
And they aren’t wailing or sobbing boo-hoos
They’re singing, though the Grinch doesn’t know why
And their song makes a star raise up to the sky.
The Grinch is quite sore that his plan didn’t work
But here’s where Chuck’s animation really gets to work.
In just a few seconds, it’s not at all strange
We see the Grinch undergo a three-size heart change.
Awwwwwww. No seriously, awwwwwwwwwww.
With the spirit of Christmas at last understood,
The Grinch uses his super-Grinch strength for good.
Or maybe he finally achieved godhood.
He’s welcomed into town where he brings back the feast,
The decorations, the toys, and he carves the roast beast.
Nearly fifty years later this short is still great
Its music and message still resonate.
And here’s a fun fact (or a funny ordeal)
Though this 30-minute animation won Seuss’ appeal,
He had one small complaint –
“Chuck Jones, you schnook!
The Grinch looks like YOU instead of like in the book!”
Separated at birth?
Still, Jones’ animation and Seuss’ wordplay
Make this a must-see every holiday.
How much appeal has the Grinch?
This isn’t false or true-ish
My friend Brian loves it –
And he’s freaking Jewish!
Merry Christmas, my readers, or whatever you celebrate
I hope your holidays are heartwarming and great
May your days be filled with comfort and cheer
And I’ll be seeing you in the New Year!
