HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS - Blu-ray review

Thanksgiving is upon us and the time has come to start watching Christmas specials. I've a few yuletide films that have piled up in time for the year's biggest holiday and decided to tackle "The Grinch" first as I've come to enjoy the film and feel it is a ‘modern' way of starting the holiday season a week early. I made the command decision to hold off on the Christmas titles until the week of Thanksgiving, but after a relatively rough week in the real world it felt like a good idea to slip into Whoville and watch Jim Carrey strut his stuff as Dr. Seuss's iconic green grouch, "The Grinch." Universal has released the film on Blu-ray after releasing it on HD-DVD a few years ago and with "The Grinch" they are improving upon the former version of the film. The year moves quick and Christmas is coming up soon.

I remember my excitement of hearing that "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" was being fashioned into a live action feature. My anticipation grew one or two sizes when it was announced that Jim Carrey was attached to star as my beloved green character. There are some who consider me to be somewhat of a Grinch, and I guess I've grown fond of the Grinchy one as I grew up watching the classic animated holiday special. About the only disappointment I had with the news about the film was that Ron Howard was attached to direct. Ron has become a very good director since his departure from acting. He did great with "Apollo 13," but I couldn't see Opie pulling off the visual feast that would be necessary to successfully bring "The Grinch" to life.

When the trailer was finally released, my leeriness of Howard helming this picture began to subside. The picture looked very good. The site of Carrey as the Grinch was awesome. Seeing him slither across the floor will forever be burned into my conscience. There was still some though that Burton would have done better, especially with a character as dark and twisted as the Grinch. Finally, the film was released and I was off to the local multiplex to see if the Ron Howard directed film was everything I had hoped it would be or if I was correct in thinking that Tim Burton was the only person who could have brought Dr. Seuss's story to life in a live action film. I wanted Tim Burton and it was going to take a good deal to have Ron Howard earn my trust.

After initially watching Howard's vision of "The Grinch," I realized how he may have been a better choice to direct the film. I had seen the film in a crowded theater with a number of young children. "The Grinch" was intended to appeal to everybody. Sure, Burton could have beaten him out in the visual sense, and the Grinch would not have been comic relief, but closer in character to the Grinch that was voiced by Boris Karloff so many years ago. However, Burton's Grinch would have frightened the pants off young viewers. It would have been frighteningly wonderful, but not a film for all to enjoy as I have enjoyed the classic animated "How The Grinch Stole Christmas." Adults would have preferred the Burton vision, but Universal wanted a family film and Ron Howard was a better director for this direction.

Almost everybody is familiar with the story of the Grinch. He is an outcast of Whoville, who looks over the town with hatred and disdain. The time of year that kinks the green fur of the Grinch the most is Christmas. The Whos sing, celebrate and reach their highest levels of happiness during this overly joyous holiday. One day, the Grinch decides that he has had enough of Christmas and he decides to steal Christmas from the Whos and do away with their biggest source of joy and happiness. On Christmas Eve, he sneaks down into Whoville and steals all of their presents, including the Who Beast. However, the next morning, he finds the Whos are still happy and joyous. His heart grows a few sizes and he learns to appreciate Christmas and happiness.

The mayor of Whoville is the main adversary of the Grinch. He will do anything to keep the Grinch out of Whoville and ridicule and slander the green one. A backstory of how the Grinch became disgruntled and miserable was added, and the character of Betty Lou Who receives some much needed fleshing out. After all, this is a feature length film and not a half hour holiday special. A potential love interest is poorly added to the story for the Grinch. Many other changes are made, such as the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who meet much earlier than Christmas Eve, as was depicted in the holiday special. Ron Howard worked with Seuss' widow to deliver a story that would be considered a legitimate extension of the holiday classic, though the feature-length film is definitely its own story.

The additions to the story are not all done badly, but some of them seem a bit out of place. The love interest for the Grinch is used to create tension between the Grinch (Jim Carrey) and the Mayor (Jeffrey Tambor). She is a Who named Martha May Whovier (Christine Baranski). Sure, some comedic moments are achieved with the inclusion of this character in the story, but it comes off as a poor attempt to add a romantic element to the film and a poor side explanation of why the Grinch's heart grew a few sizes. Christmas and the ideas behind it were responsible for the Grinch's change, not a scantily clad, sex pot of a Who.

One of the primary reasons I wanted to see "The Grinch" was for its visuals. The visuals did impress me and Ron Howard has done a great job of bringing the world of "The Grinch" to the big screen, though I would have still wanted to see what Tim Burton could have brought to the production. He did an amazing job with "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Dr. Seuss had an interesting visual sense. It was twisted and it was unique. Look at many of the imagery and shapes of the world of the original animated Whoville and then think of graveyard in "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas" and you can see some similarities. Part of the draw of Dr. Seuss was his unique and peculiar vision and I still believe that although Ron Howard did a pretty good job, he would be a student to Tim Burton's mastery.

Carrey is brilliant as the Grinch. The stories of the hours and hours he had to spend every day in the torturous makeup give appreciation to the job he has done here. Not many actors have the ability to physically act out the part of the slinky and mischievous Grinch. Carrey does utilize more modern humor that borders on bathroom humor and relies on some minor pop culture references. This is not bad, and for the most part, this new adaptation of the Grinch should hold its own for a good many more years to come and much of this is credited to Carrey's physical comedy and genius. More and more I feel Carrey is one of the best vocal talents in show business. Having watched his voice acting in the new "A Christmas Carol" animated film shows how talented Carrey is and how is just as rubbery with his voice as his limbs.

This is a film intended for family audiences. If I were to rate the film based entirely upon my tastes, I would have been a bit harsher towards it. When I saw this release theatrically, I had taken my nephew who was only six at the time. He loved it and really enjoyed himself. That alone reward the film with a point or two more. Jim Carrey carries the weight of the story on his shoulders and suffers through the ill-fated love story and a few other changes to the original formula that doesn't quite work as well as one would have hoped. This will never be as classic as the animated special, but all of the best Christmas specials and stories are from the late Sixties and early Seventies. Still, Ron Howard's "The Grinch" should find plenty of viewing in the next decade and one day, it may find itself a classic in its own right. Kids seem to dig it and isn't that what matters?

Video :

The Blu-ray release is essentially the same transfer that was seen for the HD-DVD release and the 1.85:1 framed film is still a slight disappointment as the film no longer seems as detailed as I recall it looking in the theater. "The Grinch" is soft looking as if a filter was used to give the film a ‘dreamy' appeal instead of grounding it in a three dimensional world. There are times when detail is above average, but the film never gets much better than how the DVD through an upconvert player can look. Colors are remarkable and I have no grievances with them. They are deep, rich and bright. Black levels and shadow detail are good. There is a little film grain, but nothing else stands out from the transfer or source materials. I had hoped for a better looking transfer with the Blu-ray release, but have been sadly disappointed again.

Audio:

While the packaging lists the usual English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix, "The Grinch" is extremely close in quality to the Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 mix from the previous HD-DVD release. There is a little more volume and perhaps just a little more ‘sharpness' to some of the bells and other yuletide sounds, but "The Grinch" is not noticeably superior to the former version. "The Grinch" is a very active listening experience and the disc sounds very good. All six channels are active and used nicely. Channel separation is splendid. The surround speakers are filled with effects and the .1 LFE subwoofer bounces heavily at times. Stereo imaging across the front channels is extremely good, with dialogue and narration effectively anchored in the center channel. Bass is low and deep and highs are piercing and sharp. The musical score by James Horner is rendered perfectly as are the original sounds recorded for the film by acts such as the Barenaked Ladies.

Extras :

Universal has corrected some of the wrongs from their previous high definition release of Ron Howard's "The Grinch." The HD-DVD was a ‘Combo Format' release that contained a disc that had the HD-DVD disc on one side and the DVD disc on a second side. The Blu-ray release cannot duplicate this due to the manufacturing process of the Blu-ray and this ‘Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack' includes a DVD disc in a paper sleeve that is housed inside the packaging. The only solid next generation support on this release is access to the BD-Live Center via the "What's New" menu for the disc. The disc includes My Scenes bookmarking and D-Box Motion Code for those with nifty home theater D-Box recliners.

The newly (re-)added features on the disc begin with Spotlight on Location (7:16). This promotional making-of feature does show some good pics from the production of the film and quality time with Jim Carrey, but its primary purpose is to sell the product. It, as well as most other supplements, is shown in standard definition. The Deleted Scenes (9:26)are lumped together and begins with the toxic Grinch burp that sets the tone that these are mostly bonus Carrey footage and isn't missed from the film. Some is alternate footage and extended scenes. Any Outtakes (3:17) from a Jim Carrey film are typically fun and the ones included here are no exception. Carrey is a fun guy and these clips show him unhinged at times.

The bonus features then move towards the production of the film. Who School (5:43) talks about the Whos in the film and how they were brought to a live-action film in a manner that was honest to the original children's book. It was short, but decent. Makeup Application and Design (6:57) focuses more on Carrey's makeup, but does extend the look at the Whos further. There are more clips and behind-the-scenes footage here. The next vignette is Seussian Set Decoration (5:16) and this looks at Whoville. The fourth and final part of the making of footage is Visual Effects (10:50) and this is the longest and most interesting of the thirty minute look at the making of the film. The Music Video: Faith Hill: Where Are You Christmas and the Theatrical Trailer for the film are also included.

The HD-DVD side of the former release had only the Feature Commentary with Director Ron Howard and this is carried over with the Blu-ray release. This is an audio commentary track that is probably entertaining if you are a die-hard fan of the film, but not necessarily that interesting for anybody else. While I loved Howard as Richie Cunningham, he just isn't that overly interesting to listen to for two hours as he talks with good detail about this expensive and fun undertaking. There is a lot of information mentioned during his commentary, but it is a rather dry listen. I would have liked to have seen the video commentary portion included for Profile 1.1 use, but that and a number of other ‘fun' items that were included on the DVD are not ported to the Blu-ray platter.

The standard definition DVD contains a few uninteresting and small supplemental features. There is a Whobilation 1000 Games menu-based game that is uninspired, but perhaps more entertaining for the kids. A few Wholiday Recipes are also found in the menu system and I admit to not trying to make anything from the menus, but if you feel inspired, they might actually be yummy. Finally, a Special Announcement: Wendy's PSA is a somewhat cute public service announcement. The Enhanced Feature Commentary with Director Ron Howard is included on the DVD and this is the preferred way of watching the film. To enjoy all of the bonus items, you need to play both the Blu-ray and DVD that are included in this combo pack.

Closing Comments:

"The Grinch" has grown on me more over the years and I'm far more accepting that Ron Howard directed the film. I still feel that Tim Burton could have made an amazing adaptation of the story and considering he is doing a modern adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland," I imagine he would have been up for this. His version would have been darker and more foreboding, while Howard has created a fun family film for everybody. Carrey would have been great in either version and this kid-friendly performance suits the rubbery voiced actor well. Universal includes the DVD and everything from the previous HD-DVD release, but picture quality remains somewhat disappointing with no noticeable improvement. I still feel a better release of this film is out there, but this is the best "The Grinch" release we've seen yet.