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The Grinch is a character created by children's author and cartoonist Dr. Seuss. He is best known as the titular main protagonist of the 1957 children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! He has been portrayed and voiced by many actors, including Boris Karloff, Hans Conried, Bob Holt, Walter Matthau, Anthony Asbury, Jim Carrey, Rik Mayall, Benedict Cumberbatch, Matthew Morrison, David Howard Thornton, and James Austin Johnson.
In contrast to the cheerful Whos, the Grinch is Misanthropy, ill-natured, and mean-tempered. The reason for this is a source of speculation; the consensus among the Whos is that he was born with a heart that they say was "two sizes too small". Though always hateful, he especially hates the Christmas season, making particular note of how disturbing the various elements of Christmas time are to him, including the earsplitting noises of strangely-designed musical instruments, eating Christmas dinner, and singing . Unable to stand the holiday any longer, he enacts a dastardly plan to destroy it once and for all.
Aided by his pet dog, Max, he meticulously designs a red suit to disguise himself as Santa Claus and breaks into the Whos' homes on Christmas Eve while they sleep to steal everything they own, and dump it off from a nearby mountain. Although he pulls off the theft successfully, on Christmas morning he is shocked to hear the Whos still singing cheerfully, happy simply to have each other. He then realizes that the holiday has a deeper meaning that he never considered. Inspired, he stops the Whos' belongings from falling off the edge of the mountain, and in the process his heart grows "three sizes". He returns all the gifts he stole and gladly takes part in the Whos' Christmas celebration.
The Grinch is still portrayed as a bitter and ill-tempered character in artwork and other media. In both the animated TV special and the 2000 live-action film, he is shown to have superhuman strength when he stops an entire sleigh loaded with presents from going over a cliff and lifts it over his head, and he is also described as "finding the strength of ten Grinches plus two" during that moment of crisis. In the 2018 film, the Grinch has assistance saving all the Whos' stolen goods.
With the character's anti-Christmas spirit followed by the transformation on Christmas morning, scholars have noted similarity to Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens's 1843 novella A Christmas Carol. Cardiologist David Kass suggested that the rapid growth of the Grinch's heart at the end of the story indicates that the Grinch has the physiology of a Burmese python.
In Seuss's book, "no one quite knows the reason" for the Grinch's grudge. In contrast, the 2000 film adaptation provides a backstory in his upbringing: abandoned in infancy in Whoville and left in the cold, unnoticed by the revelers at a Christmas party, the Grinch is taken in by two Who women. He proves an unruly schoolboy and is bullied by a schoolmate, Augustus May Who (later Whoville's mayor), but falls for a Who girl named Martha May Whovier. Determined to impress her, he uses various family heirlooms to make an angel Christmas tree-topper for a Christmas gift exchange and vainly attempts to shave. He is mocked for his efforts by everyone at school except Martha and so conceives an abiding resentment. The TV special The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat lays much of the blame on the absence of the Grinch's mother, who had been a positive, nurturing influence on the Grinch in her lifetime but died some time prior; when the Grinch is finally provoked to grieve at the end of that special, he returns to being good.
The name later appeared in the May 1955 issue of Redbook in a 32-line poem called, "The Hoobub and the Grinch". This version bears virtually no resemblance to the later character other than name, instead being a fast-talking salesman in the vein of Sylvester McMonkey McBean from The Sneetches and the Once-ler from Seuss's later book The Lorax.Philip Nel (2025). 9780826417084, The Continuum International Publishing Group. . ISBN 9780826417084 "The Hoobub and the Grinch" would be republished as part of the posthumous anthology Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories in 2014, in which the illustration draws this Grinch far differently.
The Grinch, in his best known incarnation, made his book debut in the 1957 story How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss, published as both a Random House book and in an issue of Redbook magazine. In 1966, the story was adapted into an animated television featurette of the same name, which was directed by Chuck Jones and included the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch". Boris Karloff serves as both the story's narrator and the voice of the Grinch, but the song was sung by Thurl Ravenscroft, as Karloff could not sing. The Grinch's green color debuted in the television special as a consensus choice among Jones and Seuss, who agreed green was the only choice that made sense.
In 1977, Seuss responded to the fan request for more Grinch tales by writing the animated television special Halloween Is Grinch Night. The Grinch is voiced by Hans Conried. This was followed in 1982, when Marvel green-lit The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, a TV film co-starring the Cat in the Hat. The Grinch is voiced by Bob Holt. The special was produced by Dr. Seuss (though under his real name, Ted Geisel). Although not as successful as the original, the two films both received Emmy Awards.
Several episodes of the 1996 Nick Jr. Channel television show The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss feature the Grinch as the main antagonist, this time in puppet form. He was performed and voiced by Anthony Asbury from Season 1 (1996) to Season 2 (1998). "The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss." The Jim Henson Company. 22 December 2017.
A 2000 live-action feature musical comedy film based on the story, directed by Ron Howard and starring Jim Carrey as the Grinch, was a major success at the box office. A video game based on the film, simply entitled The Grinch, was released on several consoles and PC in the same year. It was followed in 2007 by the release of the Nintendo DS title .
The Grinch was portrayed on the stage when the story was turned into a 1994 musical by the Children's Theater Company out of Minneapolis. The show made it to Broadway theatre by way of a limited run in 2006. Icelandic actor Stefán Karl Stefánsson portrayed the Grinch in the touring production of the musical from 2008 to 2015. The Grinch is also a minor character in the 2000 musical Seussical, which is based on multiple Seuss works.
The Grinch's story was adapted for a 2018 animated film by Illumination Entertainment, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the title character.
On Wednesday, December 9, 2020, NBC aired the holiday live production, Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical Live! based on the Broadway stage musical. Booboo Stewart plays young Max, Amelia Minto plays Cindy Lou Who, Denis O'Hare plays old Max and Matthew Morrison stars as the Grinch. The musical includes songs from the original musical, such as "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch".
In 2022, XYZ Films produced a horror film interpretation, starring David Howard Thornton as the "Mean One", a Parody film of the Grinch character. In this adaption, the titled character became a literal monster that will kill anyone who celebrates Christmas. This leads to an adult, Cindy: who had met the Mean One a long time ago and witnessed him killing her mother, to try to stop his reign of terror and bringing the holiday spirit back to Newville.
In 2023, Outright Games and Casual Brothers Ltd. developed a videogame titled "The Grinch: Christmas Adventure" where you play as both the Grinch and his dog Max as they traverse through 18 levels in Whoville to steal Christmas presents from the Whos, including jigsaw puzzles in order to unlock upgrades.
In an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures, a parody of the Grinch was voiced by Homer Simpson's voice actor Dan Castellaneta. Castellaneta would later work on another Dr. Seuss project in 2003's The Cat in the Hat as the voice of Thing One and Two. Walter Matthau voiced the character in Random House Home Video. The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss also features the Grinch, where he was played by puppeteer Anthony Asbury. In Family Guy, the Grinch appeared as a cameo, being voiced by Wally Wingert.
The Grinch was voiced by Corey Burton in Seuss Landing and Sneech Beach Area. In Ron Howard's 2000 How the Grinch Stole Christmas film, the Grinch's first live-action feature, he was played by Jim Carrey. Despite the film having mixed reviews, Carrey's performance as the Grinch was praised by critics. In The Grinch video game, he was voiced by Peter Cugno (uncredited) and Josh Gerhardt. Stefán Karl Stefánsson played the character in Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical from 2008 until 2015. The Grinch also appeared as a cameo in Mad, voiced by Stephen Stanton.
The Grinch also appeared as a cameo in Robot Chicken, voiced by the series creator Seth Green. In Universal Pictures and Illumination's feature film The Grinch directed by Scott Mosier and Yarrow Cheney, he was voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. In the Grinch's third live-action feature, Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical Live!, he was played by Matthew Morrison. In the horror movie parody of the Grinch, The Mean One, the Grinch was played by David Howard Thornton. In some Capital One commercials, the Grinch was voiced by David Kaye, In some of the Walmart commercials, the Grinch was voiced by Darin De Paul.
He also made a brief appearance on the television in both Home Alone and .
The Grumple is a green monster featured in the Christmas special "Kill Gil, Volumes I & II" of The Simpsons. He is a parody of the Grinch and is voiced by Hank Azaria.
In The Fairly OddParents episode, "Merry Wishmas", Timmy Turner, Santa Claus, and the elves watch "How the Grump Stole Wishmas", a parody of the Grinch.
In the season 19 Christmas special of American Dad!, Roger turns into a Grinch-esque monster due to observing 1 year straight of celibacy and proceeds to steal the coital paraphernalia at a sex party. During his thieving rampage, a parody of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" plays acknowledging that this plot line is, in fact, a parody.
In the early hours of Christmas Eve 2018, a group of climbers put a giant Santa hat on Antony Gormley's colossal Angel of the North statue (20 metres; 66' high, wingspan 54 metres; 177') near Gateshead, north England. They had attempted to do this, unsuccessfully, for several Christmases. In the early hours of December 29, the pranksters returned, one of them dressed as the Grinch and the others as Santa Claus, and the Grinch "stole" Santa's hat.
Starting in 2021, a popular meme depicted a blue version of the Grinch (known as "The Blinch") smiling, with text stating that his smile was a result of having 'knee surgery tomorrow'. The meme gained increased popularity in 2024.
A creature based on The Grinch, known as "The Gooch", was added to Grand Theft Auto Online in the 2022 holiday update. The creature appears in green smoke, robbing players of money and any items in their inventories. Defeating the creature grants the player an outfit similar to that of the Grinch.
Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham described President of the United States Joe Biden as "the Grinch Who Stole Christmas" on Fox News in 2021, criticising him for delays in the supply chain for US imports.
Mick Lynch, head of the UK's National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, was compared to the Grinch from November to December 2022 in media coverage of the ongoing railway strikes by the union. Tabloid newspaper Metro as well as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak likened him to the Grinch and accused him of wanting to "steal Christmas". Lynch retorted that "I'm not the Grinch, I'm a trade union official and I'm determined to get a deal."
In December 2023, lawyers for Donald Trump called Special counsel Jack Smith a Grinch in a court filing in response to Smith's request for an expedited appeal on whether Trump could claim presidential immunity. The filing directly quoted How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, arguing that if the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit did not rule against Smith's request, it "would make President Trump’s opening brief due the day after Christmas. This proposed schedule would require attorneys and support staff to work round-the-clock through the holidays, inevitably disrupting family and travel plans. It is as if the Special Counsel ‘growled, with his Grinch fingers nervously drumming, “I must find some way to keep Christmas from coming. … But how?"'"
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