Theodor Seuss Geisel

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You’re a Mean One…….

Posted by James on December 9, 2013
Posted in: Books, Christmas, New Home. Tagged: , , , , , , . 4 Comments

There are some Christmas traditions that instantly restore all the childhood wonder of the season.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is one of those traditions.

how-the-grinch-stole-christmas-review

On December 18, 1966, CBS broadcast How the Grinch Stole Christmas! to an enthusiastic 38 million people, making it one of the most watched holiday specials in the history of television. CBS continued to broadcast it until 1987 when Turner Broadcasting System purchased it (along with the entire MGM film library). TBS now shows the special several times during the holiday season and on several different channels. It’s probably being broadcast right now.
Adapted from the 1957 book by the same name, it is a simple story of faith vs consumerisim.  Although, the book is rumored to be inspired by how German immigrants in Dr. Seuss’s native Springfield, Massachusetts were mistreated by the owners of the factories where they worked. In the book, the furry Whos live in structures that look like haystacks, and spend their days almost naked. They don’t even have shoes, though some of the lady Whos have high-heeled feet.

Chuck Jones, the genius animator behind Warner Brothers cartoons, he directed What’s Opera Doc?, produced and directed the special. But Seuss (Who’s real name is Theodor Seuss Geisel) remained heavily involved in its creation adding two verse passages to the story and writing the lyrics for the 3 songs; Welcome Christmas, Trim Up the Tree, and You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch. Jones and Geisel had been friends since 1943 when they first worked together on animation for U.S. Army training films made by Warner Brothers.

The Grinch Trying on his Santa Hat

It was Jones who suggested that they make the Grinch green. Like everything in the original book, he was drawn simply black and white with occasional splotches of red. Jones said that the green color was inspired by several ugly rental cars he had driven. Although Max the dog was minor in the book, Jones made him a major character in the feature, in part because “he represented the audience, including me…. He was the one you wanted to rescue.”

The music was composed by Albert Hague, and Boris Karloff, the original movie Frankenstein, was the voice for both the narrator and the Grinch himself. It was an uncredited Thurl Ravenscroft who sang You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch. Thurl was an accomplished singer and voice over artist, voicing characters in over a dozen Disney movies and even a handful of rides at the Disney theme parks. The Haunted Mansion, The Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Tiki Room……just to name a few.

At the time, Variety magazine said it was the most expensive animation ever made for TV, but its immediate and continuing success more than justified the cost.

Today, almost 50 years after its debut, the 26 minute cartoon is still on the Internet Movie Database’s list of the top 250 films.

We couldn’t imagine a holiday season without it.