Advent day 13 ... How the Grinch stole Christmas!
See day 12 here
How the Grinch stole Christmas! was published in 1957, by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel)
The story written in rhymed verse with illustrations, follows the Grinch who wants to destroy Christmas for the town of Whoville by stealing Christmas items from their home on Christmas Eve. The Grinch eventually realises that Christmas isn't really about the presents or money and that it's about much more than that. It was based on a 33 line poem that Seuss produced called the 'Hoobub and The Grinch' which was published in May 1955 in Redbook magazine.
Seuss' wife Helen acted as the unofficial book editor despite having a stroke in April 1957. Seuss claimed this was the easiest book he wrote in his career writing it in a matter of weeks, but he struggled with the conclusion. Seuss said; "I got hung up getting the Grinch out of the mess. I got into a situation where I sounded like a second-rate preacher or some biblical truism... Finally in desperation... without making any statement whatever, I showed the Grinch and the Whos together at the table, and made a pun of the Grinch carving the 'roast beast.' ... I had gone through thousands of religious choices, and then after three months it came out like that." By May 1957 the book was finished and sent to Random House publishers, when it was then published in December 1957.
The Grinch received rave reviews and is now considered a holiday classic, the word Grinch has also became a mainstream word to describe a killjoy or spoil sport. The Grinch was actually the first adult and the first villain to be a main character in a Dr Seuss book!
In The Grinch he notes that he has had to put up with the Whoville's celebration of Christmas for 53 years. At the time of publication Dr Seuss was 53 years old and he himself admits the Grinch was based on himself. Seuss said "I wrote about my sour friend the Grinch to see if I could rediscover something about Christmas that obviously I'd lost." Dr Seuss also apparently had the license plate which read GRINCH ... so he was obviously trying to tell the world. Seuss's step-daughter, Lark Dimond Cates, stated in a 2003 speech, "I always thought the Cat (in the Hat) was Ted on his good days, and the Grinch was Ted on his bad days."
In 1966 How the Grinch stole Christmas was turned into an animated special for CBS. Chuck Jones was one of the creators of this and he gave The Grinch his iconic green colour. Apparently inspired by Chuck renting cars, which always happened to be Grinch-green. Chuck also made The Grinch's eyes red, and then turn blue to indicate his change of heart.
Originally Dr Seuss didn't want any of his books to be animated but he was allowed to have a main role in the production, including creating all the songs for the 1966 special. Thurl Ravenscroft (who was the voice of Tony the Tiger in the Kellogg's ads at the time) sang all the songs for the production, he wasn't credited in the film and Seuss called him personally to apologise for the oversight. The 1966 animated film was so successful it was replayed every year and the sale of The Grinch book and merchandise increased year on year.
Since its publication in 1957 it has been published in nine different languages and continues to sell thousands of copies each year. In 2000 a live-action film was created by Ron Howard starring Jim Carrey as The Grinch. This was the first Dr Seuss book to be turned into a full length feature film.
Although additional details had to be added to make it in to a longer film.
Since 2000, a new animated version of How the Grinch stole Christmas named The Grinch was released in 2018. It grossed $511 million worldwide, becoming the best selling holiday film of all time and the best selling Dr Seuss film adaptation. Seuss' widow Audrey Geisel who was executive producer for the film, died 5 and a half weeks after the release of the film. Benedict Cumberbatch voiced The Grinch in the film and received praise for his performance. Although the film in general received mixed reviews.
How the Grinch stole Christmas! has become a Christmas family favourite and will forever be a classic.
Did you know the history of The Grinch? What's your favourite film adaptation?
Comment below!
Rosie x
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