The Grinch is one of the most classic Christmas characters of all time. Originating from Dr. Seuss’s bookHow The Grinch Stole Christmas!, it’s a story that has endured through generations, and gets new adaptations every once in a while. Every adaptation does something slightly different with the story and how they bring it to life, and this includes how they go about bringing the character of the Grinch himself to the screen. Who played the Grinch in each version of the story, and how did they manage to make it different?
Many actors have played the Grinch over the years, and each has a very distinct interpretation of the character, which makes each adaptation interesting and fresh. Of course, some of these adaptations are more well-known, which means that a lot of people are probably more familiar withone version of the Grinchthan the others. The medium dictates the difference too; obviously, a character is going to act differently in an animated movie versus live action. Here’s a look at what makes each version of the Grinch distinct.
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Who Played the Grinch In The Animated Special?
The first adaptation ofHow The Grinch Stole Christmas!was done in 1966 as a26-minute TV specialand brought the story to life through animation. The animation style itself, while slightly different from Seuss’s, evokes the feeling of the particular art style of Seuss’s books more than the other adaptations do. This version is also the straightest adaptation of the book, and doesn’t add in the extra plot details that the other versions do to pad out the run time. It’s short, sweet, and to the point, which makes it a classic for a reason.
The voice of the Grinch in this first adaptation was done by Boris Karloff. Technically, Karloff was also the voice of the narrator, and is credited in the opening credits as doing “the sounds of the Grinch”. Karloff was well-known in the entertainment industry for playing another green monster. He was actually an icon of the horror genre, and was probably most known forplaying Frankenstein’s monsterinFrankenstein(1931) and its sequelsBride of FrankensteinandSon of Frankenstein. His version of the character (green skin and neck bolts) is the one most closely identified with the story in pop culture. He was also inThe Mummy(1932) and played Imhotep, aka the titular Mummy, which makes him a true staple in the Universal Classic Monsters franchise.
Who Played the Grinch In Live-Action?
The live-actionGrinchmovie,How The Grinch Stole Christmas(2000), directed by Ron Howard,took the story in a whole new direction. This version added a lot of new plot elements and fleshed out more of the Grinch’s backstory. This film is wacky in the best kind of way, and features a plethora of memorable lines and characters, as well as set, makeup, and costumes that look like they came straight out of one of Dr. Seuss’s books. Of course, a lot of the praise around this movie also comes down to Jim Carrey’s performance as the Grinch.
Jim Carrey is kind of the perfect castingfor a character who needs to look animated, and he absolutely nails the Grinch’s mannerisms and facial expressions, especially the famous Grinch smile that mirrors the animated version in a way that’s almost uncanny. Carrey had so much makeup put on him and for so long (two hours to put it on and an hour to take it off every day) that he said he felt confined and claustrophobic in the latex skin, which led him to seek out torture-resistance techniques from the CIA in order to withstand it on a daily basis. His discomfort is unfortunate, but despite that, he still managed to pull off one of the most iconic adaptations of an illustrated character of all time.
Who Played The Grinch In The 2018 Animated Movie?
Since it had been nearly 20 years sincethe lastGrinchadaptation, Illumination Studios clearly decided that the world needed another one, animated once again. This time around, the animation was in their signature 3D style rather than the 2D of the original, now that CGI animation had been invented. This version of the Grinch takes the most liberties with the story and is a looser adaptation than the two that preceded it. Like the Jim Carrey version, it aims to bring more light to the Grinch’s motivations, but it does so in a very different way.
InThe Grinch(2018), the titular grumpy green holiday hater wasvoiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. His vocal performance choices had mixed reviews; some thought he did great while others really disliked the voice he used for the Grinch, feeling like it didn’t fit the character. The studio originally wanted Cumberbatch to use his normal voice for the Grinch, as it has a very particular and recognizable cadence that would work for the character, but Cumberbatch felt that it would be strange for the Grinch to be British when the rest of the cast was American, hence his choice to use an American accent. His delivery differentiates him from the Grinches that came before, so love it or hate it, he definitely made it his own.
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