Back to 2D animation, folks. After two-straight live-action entries, we go back to what most people would call a “cartoon.” For some reason, in recent years folks have decided that it would be a good idea to reimagine this classic. I have no idea why. This stands up after all these years and the story is simple. You don’t have to expand the narrative or give the main character a backstory.
5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas – 1966
Chuck Jones of Warner Bros. and Bugs Bunny fame animated this fantastic tale of Christmas redemption. Thurl Ravenscroft, the original voice of Tony the Tiger (and totally uncredited for years), performed the theme song, You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch, and one of my favorite actors of all time, horror master Boris Karloff (Frankenstein), narrated Dr. Seuss’ loose version of A Christmas Carol.
The Whos of Whoville love Christmas and the Grinch, a vile, furry green creature whose heart was two sizes too small, hated it. He hated everything to do with it. One year, he gets the awful idea to try to keep Christmas from coming. How does he attempt to do this? By stealing it of course. And he steals everything, I mean everything, even the last can of Who Hash. He even convinces Cindy Lou Who (our dog is named Misty Lou in honor of Cindy Lou Who) that he is Santa Claus and that he has to take her Christmas tree to the North Pole for repairs.
Come morning the Whos don’t need trees, decorations or presents, Christmas comes anyway, the Whos start singing, and the Grinch realizes the true meaning of Christmas. He decides to return everything, and I mean everything. And the Whos even let the Grinch carve the roast beast at the annual feast.
I don’t have any real personal attachment to this other than the fact that I just love all things Dr. Seuss, I love books and I love stories. I just like this. The music is fun, Karloff is great as the narrator, and Ravenscroft’s rendition of the theme has become synonymous with the Grinch character. For the record, I can’t stand the Jim Carrey live-action film. Carrey is more Jim Carrey than he is the Grinch and a 30-minute cartoon was unnecessarily stretched out to a two-hour feature. A new animated program with Benedict Cumberbatch as the Grinch was released not that long ago and I have yet to make it through.
Wood figures of the Grinch and his dog Max have become a usual part of our annual outdoor Christmas display in front of the house. Maybe I do have a personal attachment to the Grinch. This year, it was the first Christmas special I watched.
12 Days of Knaak Christmas
On the 12th Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me A Twilight Zone Episode
On the 11th Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me An Animated Classic
On the 10th Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me An Incandescent Nose
On the 9th Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me A Sweet Backstory
On the 8th Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me A Dose of Christmas Spirit
On the 7th Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me A Modern Interpretation of A Classic Tale
On the 6th Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me A Special Entertainer
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