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Movie:		7.0
Picture:		9.0
Sound:		4.0
Extras:		7.0
Score:		7.0

Director(s):	Chuck Jones • Ben Washam
Writer(s):	Dr. Seuss, Bob Ogle, Irv Spector
Starring:	Boris Karloff • June Foray • Thurl Ravenscroft
Genre:	Animation • Children & Family
Release Date:	December 01, 2009

List Price:	Blu-ray - $18.99
Amazon:

Thanksgiving is widely considered the marker for the acceptable time for families to start dragging their worn boxes marked “X-mas” in faded black ink down from the attic or up from the basement. Mom or dad tests the strands of colored lights in a wall socket before hanging them because. without fail, you have to buy another each year to replace a dead one. Then after you light up the tree, the family carefully unwraps the ornaments, each with a story to tell.

When I was a kid, it was somewhere in between testing for reusable twinkle light strands and unwrapping glass ornaments from 1978 when I would run to find our copy of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” by Dr. Seuss. The thin pages between the hardback binding were crinkled and folded because of the love given this story. I’d bring it downstairs and sit on the sofa next to the tree that my parents were decorating, pitching it every so often myself, to read “Grinch” for the first of many times that year.

The story, published in the 50s and adapted into an animated film, or cartoon, in the 60s is an American classic and stands amongst Seuss’ many children stories written in rhyme. It has also been adapted into theater pieces and also into a full-length feature film starring Jim Carrey as the green Scrooge. The movie with Carrey took a few liberties of course, adding depth to the characters and the town of Whoville in order to stretch the 26-minute cartoon into a 104-minute feature. For instance The Grinch is funny—no surprise there being that Jim Carrey is known for his comedic roles. Had it been played by say Pierce Brosnan, the Grinch would’ve been too dashing. Or say by Colin Farrel, he’d have been too brooding. Or by someone like Scarlett Johansson and the dynamic character would’ve been reduced to a bland, boring mistake. (Any excuse to pick on her.)

And of course with new technology revolutionizing the clarity of our film watching at home, the animated cartoon version was released on Blu-ray, narrated by the spooky Boris Karloff. His memorable voice sounds exactly the same as the DVD version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, as they’ve done nothing for sound enhancement. That said, to complement the white glitter Blu-ray DVD cover, the animation has been jazzed up quite a lot. The Blu-ray is really sharp visually—the colors are more vivid and the lines more distinct, adding an extra helping of Grinch into your living room.

While this 26-minute film might not hold a candle to the Jim Carrey version, what with it having real humans and an entire back story and all, this Blu-ray of the classic story looks great and really reminded me of my days by the Christmas tree with a cup of hot cocoa and Dr. Seuss’ book. His rhymes tell the story of the Grinch who lived on a mountain above a small town called Whoville, and who hated Christmas so much he attempted to stop the holiday from coming by removing the presents and decorations from their homes. Of course you all know this story, but in case you forgot, it ends well for the Whos and their old neighbor up on Mt. Crumpit. I personally love this story and if you don’t feel the urge to buy this particular version, treat yourself and your families by snatching up another version before the Grinch slithers into stores and steals them all away.

Blu-ray Bonus Features

The extra features on this Grinch are pretty good for a short film, although I’d expect nothing less from anything Grinch-related. There’s a segment on the animation and “Bringing it to Life,” which was my favorite on the disc. There are a few about the music in the film, which is as you know, quite wonderful. Additionally there’s a featurette called: “Dr. Seuss and the Grinch: From Whoville to Hollywood.” This extra was also pretty enjoyable for someone who appreciates the story and the path it took over the past 50 years.