In this review, i'll give my thoughts on the Christmas TV special - How the Grinch stole Christmas 1966 in a non spoiler and spoiler review. I'll try not to give important details away in the non spoiler review.
Non spoiler review
Wow! Just wow! I'm blown away by how incredible this TV special is! The music, animation, storytelling, everything is so full of energy and life.
Story - The story is simple - the Grinch plans to ruin Christmas for whoville with his dog Max. Nevertheless, the way this TV special was relentless in delivering power, charm, and humor.
I loved how there are loads of small details that make the story more interesting. For example, when the narrator explains the story as the Grinch talks, you could interpret it as the Grinch's actual voice or the narrator's interpretation and impersonation of his voice.
There were many highlights of the special that stood out to me.
When the whos sing as one, it gets emotional.
Soundtrack - The beautiful opening song really warms you and instantly absorbs you into the story. The melody as well as the lyrics are joyful, catchy, and well-crafted. I loved the lyrics use of alliteration. The song is full of thanksgiving, purity, and hope for the Christmas spirit. Its deeply spiritual. I loved the rhymes.
The songs that follow are so energetic especially when the vocals emphasize some syllables more than others! They make you want to help the characters set up Christmas decorations!
I loved how the film does a splendid job in introducing you to a world where anything is possible with the lyrics, characters of different sizes and shapes, colors, clothes, etc.
The instrumental music makes you feel how sinister the Grinch is with its apparently random rhythm.
The song "you're a mean one, mr. Grinch!" is one of the highlights of the Christmas special! Its extremely catchy and full of style! The Broadway musical kind of rhythm and tone make you feel how shameful the Grinch is. At times, the singer seems to vent his anger and disgust with the Grinch while singing.
The music does a great job of expressing the chaos and sneakiness of the Grinch. I love how the songwriter exaggerates the Grinch's wickedness not only to add humor but also add style to the song.
Animation - I loved how colorful the animation was. It's bright. I loved how one character smoothly ran down the stairs! I loved the subtle reference to "the apple of your eye" idiom when Cindy holds an apple and it appears to shrink in the Grinch's eye.
Characters - The characters are full of charm and depth. They're interesting although they have no speaking roles. You learn alot from the characters' body language as well as their speech.
I loved how the different voices singing together sounded united despite being made up of different individuals. The whos are presented as innovators.
When we're introduced to Cindy lou, you can feel the glee and purity emanating from her! She's adorable to a point where you just want to care for her.
I loved how the Grinch's grin and hair changed. It really shows you how sinister he is!
I loved how the Grinch is bent out of shape, emphasizing his crooked morals. When he taps his finger, he's calculating how to cause mischief on whoville.
Cinematography - The cinematography is amazing. When the cam. takes shots of the Grinch from a lower angle, it makes you feel the Grinch is a tyrant looming over you along with whoville. When the cam. shifts down on whoville from a higher angle, it also makes the same effect.
I loved how the Grinch's home towers over whoville. Already, you get the sense the Grinch is a tyrant.
The seemingly random and unusual language as well as the culture of whoville gives you the impression the whos are unpredictable. They go with the flow.
I really loved how the characters faced the cam. when talking to you. It makes you feel you're part of the story!
Acting - The acting is outstanding! The narrator has such a strong but gentle and interesting presence! He had tons of energy! Without him, i don't think the Grinch would've been successful.
Dialogue - Even when narrating, every line feels poetic with rhymes.
Overall, How the Grinch stole Christmas 1966 is a timeless classic masterpiece. I highly recommend you buy it on DVD and rewatch it.
Spoiler review
Wow! Just wow! I'm blown away by how incredible this TV special is! The music, animation, storytelling, everything is so full of energy and life.
Story - The story is simple - the Grinch plans to ruin Christmas for whoville with his dog Max. Nevertheless, the way this TV special was relentless in delivering power, charm, and humor.
I loved how there are loads of small details that make the story more interesting. For example, when the narrator explains the story as the Grinch talks, you could interpret it as the Grinch's actual voice or the narrator's interpretation and impersonation of his voice.
There were many highlights of the special that stood out to me.
I love how the Grinch realizes what he's about to lose and saves his dog. When the Grinch's heart grew in response to what he saw, that was emotional.
When the whos sing as one, it gets emotional.
I loved how during the sleigh scene, the Grinch really shows you he needs to have his way when he forces Max in front of the sleigh even when he sees he can't carry such a massive sleigh.
When Cindy shows up and confronts the Grinch, that was dramatic. You really feel for Cindy. She's innocent and pure. She doesn't even know or suspect he could hurt her.
What made this very heart-warming was how the Grinch goes from being the villain to the hero. In a way, i feel he was secretly good from the beginning. He wanted to know if Christmas was really more than just about materialism.
Soundtrack - The beautiful opening song really warms you and instantly absorbs you into the story. The melody as well as the lyrics are joyful, catchy, and well-crafted. I loved the lyrics use of alliteration. The song is full of thanksgiving, purity, and hope for the Christmas spirit. Its deeply spiritual. I loved the rhymes.
The songs that follow are so energetic especially when the vocals emphasize some syllables more than others! They make you want to help the characters set up Christmas decorations!
I loved how the film does a splendid job in introducing you to a world where anything is possible with the lyrics, characters of different sizes and shapes, colors, clothes, etc.
When the Grinch complains about the whos, the music makes you feel the chaos with repetitious sounds.
The instrumental music makes you feel how sinister the Grinch is with its apparently random rhythm.
The song "you're a mean one, mr. Grinch!" is one of the highlights of the Christmas special! Its extremely catchy and full of style! The broadway musical kind of rhythm and tone makes you feel how shameful the Grinch is. At times, the singer seems to vent his anger and disgust with the Grinch while singing.
The music does a great job of expressing the chaos and sneakiness of the Grinch. I love how the songwriter exaggerates the Grinch's wickedness not only to add humor but also add style to the song.
Animation - I loved how colorful the animation was. It's bright. I loved how one character smoothly ran down the stairs! I loved the subtle reference to "the apple of your eye" idiom when Cindy holds an apple and it appears to shrink in the Grinch's eye. When the Grinch expects the whos to come out of their homes and find them walking out as if nothing happened, that is powerful. The driving force was the music and animation
The star in the center was a symbol of hope but could also be the Christmas spirit.
Characters - The characters are full of charm and depth. They're interesting although they have no speaking roles. You learn alot from the characters' body language as well as their speech.
I loved how the different voices singing together sounded united despite being made up of different individuals. The whos are presented as innovators.
When we're introduced to Cindy lou, you can feel the glee and purity emanating from her! She's adorable to the point where you just want to care for her.
When you see the drums play against the Grinch's head, you see and feel how tormented he is by the noise he perceives from whoville.
When you're introduced to the Grinch, you feel this character's unhappy and angry because of a past experience.
I loved how the Grinch's grin and hair changed. It really shows you how sinister he is!
I loved how the Grinch is bent out of shape, emphasizing his crooked morals. When he taps his finger, he's calculating how to cause mischief on whoville.
When you take a glimpse of the Grinch's home, its almost empty. The only things we find are the tools he uses to make his Santa suit and the red curtain. This tells you the Grinch only lives to make others suffer.
When the Grinch slithers like a snake, that really emphasizes his cunning and evil kind of personality.
I loved how the Christmas special introduced the dog. You feel he's a cheerful character who was enslaved to bad circumstances.
Cinematography - The cinematography is amazing. When the cam. takes shots of the Grinch from a lower angle, it makes you feel the Grinch is a tyrant looming over you along with whoville. When the cam. shifts down on whoville from a higher angle, it also makes the same effect.
I loved how the Grinch's home towers over whoville. Already, you get the sense the Grinch is a tyrant.
The seemingly random and unusual language as well as the culture of whoville gives you the impression the whos are unpredictable. They go with the flow.
I really loved how the characters faced the cam. when talking to you. It makes you feel you're part of the story!
Acting - The acting is outstanding! The narrator has such a strong but gentle and interesting presence! He had tons of energy! Without him, i don't think the Grinch would've been successful.
Dialogue - Even when narrating, every line feels poetic with rhymes.
Overall, How the Grinch stole Christmas 1966 is a timeless classic masterpiece. I highly recommend you buy it on DVD and rewatch it.
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