Watching The Grinch by the animation studio behind the Despicable Me trilogy, Illumination, reminded me of a touring production of Scrooge: The Musical in which Tommy Steele with his smile as wide and red as the Forth Bridge was the happiest miser in town for screenwriters Tommy Swerdlow (Cool Runnings) and Michael LeSieur (Keeping Up With The Joneses), together with directors Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier, have taken a glass half-full approach to Dr Seuss’s festive tale of redemption about a cave-dwelling loner with a heart two sizes two small who attempts to steal Christmas from the ever-cheery residents of Whoville.

Sure, there are references to an unhappy childhood in an orphanage and how that experience fostered feelings of hatred towards all things festive, but the tone is much more upbeat and comical than Ron Howard’s 2000 take How The Grinch Stole Christmas, shaped by a series of goofy set-pieces and silly slapstick routines in which The Grinch (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) and his faithful dog Max grow more wiser and kinder following a heart-to-heart with Cindy Lou (Cameron Seely) who just wants her hardworking mom Donna (Rashida Jones) to be happy.

With a U certificate, it’s certainly geared towards younger children unfamiliar with the tale. Though its snappy pace and jaunty score, garlanded with a number of tracks from the American rapper Tyler, the Creator, together with its colourful visuals and short running time, widens its appeal to older children and parents (though it’s perhaps too simple and sweet for teens). The prime message of which being that Christmas is not about “trimmings and trappings” and “meaningless stuff” that we don’t need or want and struggle to pay for, but about community and kindness, family and friendship. Or as Dr Seuss put it in his original short poem: “Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. / Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!”

Directors: Yarrow Cheney, Scott Mosier
Writers: Michael LeSieur (screenplay by), Tommy Swerdlow (screenplay by) 
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Cameron Seely, Rashida Jones
Peter Callaghan
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