The Grinch

The Grinch (also known as Dr. Seuss' The Grinch) is a 2018 American 3D computer-animated Christmas comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment. Based on the 1957 Dr. Seuss book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, it is the third screen adaptation of the story, following the television special from 1966 and the live-action feature-length film from 2000. It also marks Illumination's second Dr. Seuss film adaptation, following The Lorax (2012). The plot follows the Grinch as he plans to stop Christmas from being celebrated in Whoville by stealing all the town's decorations and gifts.

The Grinch is directed by Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier, and written by Michael LeSieur and Tommy Swerdlow. The film stars the voices of Benedict Cumberbatch, Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson, Cameron Seely and Angela Lansbury, and is narrated by Pharrell Williams. It was released by Universal Pictures in the United States on November 9, 2018, in RealD 3D and select IMAX theaters. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the animation but said the film added nothing new to the story.

Premise
The Grinch hatches a scheme with his trusted canine Max and fat reindeer Fred to ruin Christmas when the residents of Whoville plan to make their annual holiday three times bigger that year: steal all the Christmas gifts from Whosville's inhabitants disguised as Santa Claus. Meanwhile, Cindy Lou Who plans to seek out Santa Claus to thank him for helping her widowed mother every Christmas, but little does she know she is trying to blow the Grinch's cover.

Voice cast

 * Benedict Cumberbatch as The Grinch, a grumpy, green creature who dislikes Christmas.
 * Cameron Seely as Cindy Lou Who, a young resident of Whoville.
 * Rashida Jones as Donna Lou Who, Cindy's overworked widowed mother.
 * Kenan Thompson as Bricklebaum, a jolly citizen of Whoville.
 * Angela Lansbury as the Mayor of Whoville
 * Pharrell Williams as The Narrator
 * Tristan O'Hare as Groopert, one of Cindy Lou's friends.
 * Ramone Hamilton as Axl, one of Cindy Lou's friends.
 * Sam Lavagnino as Ozzy, one of Cindy Lou's friends.
 * Scarlett Estevez as Izzy, one of Cindy Lou's friends.
 * Michael Beattie as Store Clerk

Additional Voices

 * Lori Alan
 * Carlos Alazraqui
 * Doug Burch
 * Catherine Cavadini
 * Tucker Chandler
 * Townsend Coleman
 * Meilee Condron
 * Abby Craden
 * Brian T. Delaney
 * John DeMita
 * Bill Farmer
 * Aaron Fors
 * Willow Geer
 * Jess Harnell
 * Barbara Harris
 * Carter Hastings
 * John Kassir
 * Evan Kishiyama
 * Danny Mann
 * Jeremy Maxwell
 * Scott Mosier
 * Laraine Newman
 * Dashiell Priestley
 * Alex Puccinelli
 * Emma Elizabeth Shannon
 * Mindy Sterling
 * Tara Strong
 * Joel Swetow
 * Regina Taufen
 * Jim Ward

Development
In February 2013, it was announced that Illumination Entertainment was developing a 3D animated feature film based on the Dr. Seuss book with the working title "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", with Peter Candeland and Yarrow Cheney set to direct it. In 2018 producer Scott Mosier took over from Peter Candeland as director.

Casting
Benedict Cumberbatch had been cast as the titular character in April 2016. By September 2018, Angela Lansbury had been cast as the Mayor of Whoville. Rashida Jones, Cameron Seely, and Kenan Thompson had also been cast in the film, while Pharrell Williams, who previously worked on Illumination's Despicable Me films, was revealed to be narrating the film.

Animation
Like almost all of Illumination's other films, the animation was created entirely in France by Illumination Mac Guff. The movie's animation was made using Autodesk Maya.

Music
In November 20, 2017, Danny Elfman was revealed to be composing the film's score. Tyler, the Creator wrote a new song for the film titled "I Am the Grinch", which as featured in the final trailer. Tyler and Elfman collaborated on a new version of the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" for the film.

Track listing
All tracks composed by Danny Elfman
 * 1) You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch – Tyler, the Creator
 * 2) I Am the Grinch – Tyler, the Creator
 * 3) Christmas Is – Run-D.M.C.
 * 4) Deck the Halls – Jackie Wilson
 * 5) Run Rudolph Run – The Brian Setzer Orchestra
 * 6) Favorite Thing – The Supremes
 * 7) Zat You Santa Claus? – Buster Poindexter and His Banshees of Blue
 * 8) Christmas in Hollis – Run-D.M.C.
 * 9) Jingle Bells – The Brian Setzer Orchestra
 * 10) The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You) – Nat King Cole
 * 11) God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – Pentatonix
 * 12) A Wonderful Awful Idea – Danny Elfman
 * 13) Stealing Christmas – Danny Elfman

Release
The film was originally scheduled to be released on November 10, 2017, but on June 7, 2016, it was pushed back to November 9, 2018.

Marketing
The first official trailer was released on March 8, 2018. The second trailer was released on June 14, 2018. The third and final trailer was released online on September 18, 2018, along with a new poster. On October, various billboards appeared for the film, each featuring an image of the Grinch, accompanied by a mean quote and message. Universal and Illumination partnered with several companies to promote the film, including Wonderful Pistachios, Ebates and IHOP, for about $80 million worth of advertising.

Box office projections
In the United States and Canada, The Grinch was released alongside The Girl in the Spider's Web and Overlord, and is projected to gross $55–65 million from 4,140 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $2.2 million from Thursday night previews, more than the $1.7 million made by Illumination's Sing in 2016.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 57% based on 90 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Grinch gives the classic Seuss source material a brightly animated update that's solidly suitable for younger viewers without adding substantially to the story's legacy." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".