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“Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch, who lived just up north of Whoville, did not.”

It all began in 1957 when the famed author Dr. Seuss published a children’s book called, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” The story was about a Christmas-hating, grumpy, green, Grinch who had a heart that was “two sizes too small.” The Grinch eventually realized Christmas is about more than just presents. This book became an animated television movie in 1966, followed in 2000 by a live-action version directed by Ron Howard. Now another animated movie has been released.

The 1966 rendition painted the Grinch as a grumpy, cave-dwelling creature, whose only friend was a little dog named Max. Little backstory is given as to why the Grinch is the way he is. The movie is mostly about the Whos down in Whoville, a community situated in a valley next to Mount Crumpit. Whoville is populated by joyful, colorful beings who tend to have interesting hair styles and enjoy singing. The movie shows what the Whos do to get ready for Christmas and how the Grinch views it all.

As the Grinch is attempting to steal their Christmas joy, we are introduced to a little Who named Cindy Lou. She innocently catches the Grinch dressed as Santa, stealing her family’s Christmas tree. This is all we see of Cindy Lou until the end when she is briefly shown singing with the other Whos despite Christmas being stolen. There is very little character development or backstory of the Grinch, Cindy Lou or any other Whos. However, the film has just enough rhyming, color and imaginative tools and toys that the lack of backstory can be excused.

Ron Howard’s version of the Grinch (played by Jim Carrey) decided to focused on the story of how the Grinch became his grinchy self. Additionally, the film plainly points out the message that Christmas is more than just presents. This Grinch had more sarcasm than the original, animated Grinch. He takes time out of his day to yell from his mountain individual names of Whos that he “hate-hate-hates…double hates… and loathes entirely.” He is intentionally nasty.

Through the investigation of a young Christmas-doubting Cindy Lou Who, the audience finds out that the Grinch had a traumatic childhood filled with bullying and rejection. Ultimately, being rejected during Christmas by his one true love led him to a life of isolation from the Whos. Cindy Lou attempts to bring Christmas cheer to the Grinch, but the attempt prompts the Grinch to steal their Christmas.

A major difference between this and the original is that viewers have a backstory for the Grinch. Also, the Who’s attitudes towards Christmas are different. Although the first one depicts Whoville as an innocent, Christmas-loving community, Ron Howard shows Whoville as a bullying, competitive and self-absorbed community that has thoroughly forgotten the meaning of Christmas. The film is hilarious and packed with iconic one-liners. However, the focus on the Grinch’s backstory and the alteration to the Whos, identities causes some of the rhyming and whimsical feel of the original to get lost.

One would think that after two movies with the same story, there couldn’t be much more added. Putting together a new version of the classic tale, the creators of “Despicable Me” and “Secret Life of Pets” thought that they could take a shot at it. “The Grinch” is a mix of the two movies. It keeps the emphasis of rhyming and color first found in the 1966 version but incorporates the idea of the backstory that is introduced in the 2000 version.

The Whos are back to their Christmas-loving selves from the 1966 version with some modern twists, like modern clothing. Instead of being shown as overly commercialized, they are simply going about the normal Christmas hubbub.

The Grinch is not as sarcastic and is more relatable. The film includes scenes that portray him stress eating mountains and working out. They also added an awkward deameanor to his character. This awkwardness seems to come from his isolation, unlike the previous Grinch who was just awkward because he wanted to make everyone miserable. The idea of the Grinch having a traumatic childhood is still very prevalent but is only portrayed in simple flashback scenes. It is definitely not the main focus of the movie.

Another new aspect that this movie adds is the relationship between the Grinch and his faithful dog, Max. Max is mentioned in the other two movies, but the Grinch does not have nearly as much interaction; the dog is more of a silent servant. In this new rendition, Max is still the servant but is shown as much more of a friend to the Grinch.

One thing that never changes is the message communicated in the end. Christmas is more than just the tree, presents and lights. Although each version of the film changes, whether its commercialized Whos or a historyless Grinch. The message communicated still stays the same.  Maybe retelling a tale enough times actually does make it better and causes its message to stick.