It’s nearly Christmas time, Mr. Grinch’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) least favorite time of the year. He can’t stand watching everyone be so happy and joyful, and prefers living a solitary, miserable life. Mr. Grinch had planned to spend the entire holiday season locked up in his cave on Mount Crumpit, but he soon realizes that his recent emotional eating has depleted his food supplies. Now he must begrudgingly head down into Who-ville to stock up before the festivities begin. While in town, Mr. Grinch discovers that the mayor (Angela Lansbury) has arranged for the annual Who-ville Christmas celebration to be three times bigger this year—a notion that sends shivers down Mr. Grinch’s spine. As he is leaving town, Mr. Grinch crosses paths with the unflappable Cindy-Lou Who (Cameron Seely), who is desperately trying to get her letter to Santa in time, to let him know that her wish this year is to bring mother Donna (Rashida Jones) happiness and joy. This gives Mr, Grinch an idea, and with the help of his trusty sidekick, his dog Max, they begin to plot an elaborate plan to ruin Christmas for Who-ville—he will pose as Santa Claus, and steal all of the gifts and decorations in town.

The Grinch is not Illumination’s first foray into adapting the work of Dr. Seuss—they turned The Lorax into a fun animated feature a number of years ago. The Grinch does an excellent job of not only capturing the aesthetics of the original Dr. Seuss drawings, but also blending in the fun 3D animation style and humor that has made Illumination’s movies so popular. This adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ “How The Grinch Stole Christmas!” is easily my favorite. I grew up watching the 60s animated special every year around Christmas time, but this one takes the original story and expands on it. It fills in a lot of the gaps, and also explores how the Grinch got to be the way he is. This version of the tale makes the Grinch a lot more lovable and affable. He may be doing some nasty things, but you always get this sense that there is a person who can really experience love underneath, especially when it comes to his best/only friend Max. There is a lot more humor in this version as well, such as seeing some of Mr. Grinch’s mundane and relatable home life, or when he and Max are coming up with these crazy gadgets to help them wreck Christmas for the Who’s, or just having an awkward meal in the giant, empty dining room of their cave.

The Grinch modernizes the original story a bit. Donna Who is a single mother who is making things work the best way she knows how—even if that means working nights in order to provide for her children. And like everyone else in Who-ville, she always remains cheerful. Pharrell Williams provides the rhyming narration, and Tyler, The Creator provides brand-new hip-hop version of the classic “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch” song for the soundtrack. This version of the story also introduces some fun new characters to the world, such as Fred the fat reindeer, who turns the Grinch’s mischievous duo into a trio. There’s also Mr. Grinch’s annoying (to him) ever-happy neighbor Mr. Bricklebaum (Kenan Thompson) who seems unfazed by the Grinch’s nastiness, and believes the grumpiness is just Mr. Grinch’s way of joking around. Cindy-Lou also has her own little posse of friends who help her plot to catch Santa Claus.

Universal’s 4K Ultra HD release looks and sounds excellent. This is a beautifully animated film, and the picture really shows off the colorful world of Who-ville. Details such as the Grinch’s fur, or textures on clothing, blankets, and cave walls and buildings look fantastic. I first saw this film in the theater, and was blown away by its wonderful use of 3D, which provides many fun pop-out moments. While I only received the 4K release for review, I’m really happy that Universal has decided to also release this on 3D Blu-ray as well, for those who have the ability to watch 3D at home. ​The Dolby Atmos soundtrack provides an immersive experience, as well as clear dialogue and excellent musical soundtrack.

The 4K Ultra HD release comes packed in standard UHD keepcase with a slipcover, and contains an insert with a code to redeem for a 4K Movies Anywhere digital copy of the film as well as a code for a bonus free digital movie. Both the 4K and the Blu-ray discs contain the same solid selection of bonus material—three new animated mini-movies, a pair of lyric videos, and over 40 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast and filmmakers.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:25:49)

4K Ultra HD:
• 2160p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Dolby Vision / HDR10
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos, Spanish Dolby 5.1, French Dolby 7.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Blu-ray:

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Video Service, Spanish Dolby 5.1, French Dolby 7.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital (for redemption deadline, see NBCUcodes.com):

• 4K Digital copy redeemable via Movies Anywhere
• Bonus Digital Movie (Redemption Deadline 8/14/2019)
  Additional bonus digital movie redeemable at www.upherewards.com. At the time of this review, the list of available titles includes Hanna, R.L. Stine’s Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend?, Little Fockers, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Fast Five and The Danish Girl, but these change every 4 months or so.

Extras:

All bonus material can be found on both the 4K Ultra HD disc and the Blu-ray disc.

• From Green to Screen (6:19)
  The cast and filmmakers give viewers an inside look into the making of the film. They talk about going back to the original source material by Dr. Seuss to get inspiration for the look of the film, expanding the story and fleshing out The Grinch’s backstory and motivation. They also discuss Benedict Cumberbatch’s vocal performance, and the uplifting message of the film. Participants include Illumination founder/CEO Chris Meledandri, directors Yarrow Cheney & Scott Mosier, art director Colin Stimpson, set modeling supervisor Ludovic Ramière, editor Chris Cartagena, and stars Rashida Jones (“Donna Who”) & Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Grinch”).
• Illuminating The Grinch (4:55)
  The filmmakers talk about translating the original 2D drawings to a 3D world while maintaining the aesthetic of the original artwork. They also discuss some of the other challenges they dealt with bringing these characters to life, along with adding new characters like Fred the fat reindeer. Includes concept artwork, animatics, and interviews with Illumination founder/CEO Chris Meledandri, director Yarrow Cheney, computer graphics supervisors Laurent de la Chapelle & Fabien Polack, character effects artist Richard Adenot, animation directors Pierre Leduc & Christophe Delisle, layout cinematography supervisor Guy-Laurent Homsy.
• Who’s Who in Who-ville
  This interactive virtual storybook lets viewers learn about the various residents of Who-ville. For each character, there a mix of things to explore—Character Profiles where the cast and filmmakers talk about that character in depth, Animation Tests that give a look at how the character models are brought to life, Photo Galleries, Progression Reels that use a split screen to show a scene in various stages of animation—sketches, animatics, rough animation, and the final composition— and more. Participants include Illumination founder/CEO Chris Meledandri, directors Yarrow Cheney & Scott Mosier, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Estevez (“Izzy”), Cameron Seely (“Cindy-Lou Who”), Rashida Jones & Ramone Hamilton (“Axl”). Unfortunately fast-forward and rewind are disabled during the Character Profile featurettes. Select from:
  • Chapter 1: The Grinch
    Select from Character Profile, Animation Tests, Progression Reel and Photo Gallery.
  • Chapter 2: Cindy-Lou
    Select from Character Profile, Walk Cycle (an Animation Test that shows Cindy-Lou walking in her snowsuit), Animation Test, and Photo Gallery.
  • Chapter 3: Max & Fred
    Select from Character Profile, Animation Tests, Progression Reel, and Photo Gallery.
  • Chapter 3: Head Whos
    A look at Mr. Bricklebaum. Select from Character Profile, Animation Tests, Progression Reel, and Photo Gallery.
  • Chapter 4: Cindy-Lou’s Crew
    A look at Donna Who, Groopert, Izzy, & Axl. Select from Character Profile, Walk Cycle (an Animation Test that shows Groopert walking), Animation Tests, and Photo Gallery.
• My Earliest Grinch Memories (3:10)
  The cast and filmmakers share their earliest memories of The Grinch. Participants include art director Colin Stimpson, directors Yarrow Cheney & Scott Mosier, Illumination founder/CEO Chris Meledandri, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch & Rashida Jones.
• Grinchy Gadgets (3:21)
  The cast and filmmakers discuss their favorite gadgets used by The Grinch. Participants include Illumination founder/CEO Chris Meledandri, directors Yarrow Cheney & Scott Mosier, and stars Cameron Seely, Benedict Cumberbatch & Ramone Hamilton.
• “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” Lyric Video (1:55)
  Stylized lyrics appear on screen while Tyler, The Creator’s modern spin on the classic Grinch tune plays.
• “I Am The Grinch” Lyric Video (2:48)
  Stylized lyrics appear on screen while Tyler, The Creator’s original song plays.
• Songs From His Little Heart (3:25)
  The filmmakers talk about creating the film’s unique musical landscape. Includes behind-the-scenes footage with the orchestra, and interviews with Illumination founder/CEO Chris Meledandri, director Scott Mosier, editor Chris Cartagena, and composer Danny Elfman.
• Any Who Can Draw (7:09)
  Illumination artist/head of story Mark O’Hare gives viewers a step-by-step demonstration on how to draw some of their favorite characters from the film. Play All, or select from The Grinch (3:05), Max (2:04) and Fred (2:11).
  
• X-mas Around the World (2:20)
  A look at some of the more unusual Christmas traditions from around the globe.
• Cindy-Lou’s Yule Log (8:02)
  Animated fireplace from Cindy-Lou’s living room on Christmas Eve, with The Grinch occasionally popping in to steal some of the decorations and gifts from around the fireplace.
• Production Babies (1:16)
  Illumination artist/head of story Mark O’Hare provides a short introduction to this list of the names of the babies that were born to the filmmakers during the production of the film.
• Mini-Movies
  Collection of three animated shorts. Select from:
  • Yellow is the New Black (4:17)
    Set before their big escape in Despicable Me 3, the Minions are still in prison. While on a chain gang, two of the Minions manage to break free, thanks to one of their fellow human inmates, and run off to the circus.
  • The Dog Days of Winter (4:04)
    The Grinch is sick in bed, but has run out of tea, so Max braves the elements, heading into Who-ville to try to fetch some more, but he faces an uncooperative shop owner.
  • Santa’s Little Helpers (3:52)
    The Minions are hiding in a Miami bound crate, but find themselves accidentally dropped off at the North Pole, so they make their way to Santa’s Workshop and enroll in Elf Training where they drive the head elf crazy.
• The Making of the Mini-Movies (5:53)
  A behind-the-scenes look at each of the three shorts with the filmmakers who created them. Includes interviews with Illumination founder/CEO Chris Meledandri, “Yellow is the New Back” co-directors Fabien Polack & Serguei Kouchnerov, “Santa’s Little Helpers” co-directors Derek Drymon & Bruno Chauffard, and “The Dog Days of Winter” co-directors Habib Louati & Thierry Noblet.

Final Thoughts:

The Grinch is a really fun an entertaining new version of the classic story. It modernizes things and adds some humor and new characters, but still maintains the core story and look and feel of the original. It is easily my new favorite version of this classic Christmas tale. Universal’s 4K release looks and sounds excellent, and for those who have the ability to watch 3D at home, Universal has also released this title on 3D Blu-ray! After seeing this in 3D in the theater, I will definitely be picking up that version as well! This is a must own for anyone looking for a fun holiday film the whole family can watch together.