MovieChat Forums > How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) Discussion > WHY exactly do people dislike the movie?

WHY exactly do people dislike the movie?


I don't get it. Yeah, it's not the cartoon, okay, the whole backstory, well they needed SOME way to fill up 1 1/2 hours instead of 25 minutes, but what's people's REAL problem with it?

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I love this movie & have watched it ever since u was young. My favorite Christmas movie to watch

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People hate this movie because A: It's was such a blatant cash grab. B. It features Jim Carrey at his absolute worst, and C: It misses the point of the ENTIRE story. While the original story's moral was that Christmas doesn't come from a store and so can't be stolen (which is beautifully conveyed as the Grinch listens to the Whos singing and realizes the previous nights felonies were for nothing because Christmas can't be stopped), the movie eschews this moral entirely for an ending where even after the shallow, consumerist douchebags welcome him and decide not to press charges, the Grinch steals the mayor's girlfriend right in front of him. Merry Christmas....except for you, Mayor Who. You suck, even though you weren't the one fresh off a massive burglary spree.

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Ugly garish colors.
Unpleasant looking Who makeup that makes the characters off putting instead of sympathetic
Very bad performance by Jim Carrey
Frantic camera is too hyperactive and seems to be compensating for the lack of interesting story development
It feels VERY set bound and small. You can practically here the 405 freeway whizzing by the universal lot
Loud, busy, mean spirited, and completely NOT made with an ounce of Christmas spirit

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It also misses the point of the original Dr. Seuss story. The Whos were supposed to be so pure, their inherent goodness taught the Grinch a lesson and reformed him. The movie flipped that on its head: The Whos had become so crass and commercialized, and the Grinch was given such a Hollywood-tragic back story, that the Grinch basically ended up teaching the Whos the lesson.

https://film.avclub.com/1845765417

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Ron Howard botched this movie. Visually it is a mess. Speed Racer looked like it would be a visual mess, but they somehow got it done right. Here, the color scheme used was not a sfe one, but it just looked ugly to me and kind of tiring to watch for more than 5 minutes. Carrey was doing Carrey more than the Grinch. The acting by the supporting actors was worse.

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Reading comments on AVClub, there are people who wonder how much differently or better the movie could've turned out had Tim Burton directed it instead of Ron Howard? Making quirky, eccentric live-action cartoons is more up Tim Burton's wheelhouse than Ron Howard. Plus, based on Batman Returns and The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton knows Christmas like the back of his hand.

https://film.avclub.com/you-re-an-abomination-of-an-adaptation-mr-grinch-1845716044

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It exists. That's my main problem with this movie.

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Hatred for this movie is unjustified but I can see how someone could dislike it speaking as someone who enjoys it. There are parts where it lags such as the caper scene and when he builds the sleigh, Cindy Lu's song (the version that is sung in the film by the child actor) is meaningless and awkward, you could eliminate most of the movies content and lose nothing, pop culture references always intrude upon the fantasy of a fairy tale diminishing the illusion of a self-isolated world which is important to maintain and some of the crude, gross-out humor comes off as nothing more than that. Albeit, the argument that Seuss would have hated that aspect of the film I find hard to believe. Seuss was very subversive in his writing and there was a big difference between himself and Walt Disney. I have a feeling if Seuss would have done a bulk of his writing after the counter-culture he would have employed such as humor. However, I have never been a fan of Seuss and he was always a pop culture phenomenon I never quite understood, so I could be entirely wrong in my assertion.

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How is hating this movie injustified?

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Unjustified might be over the top language but I meant labeling it as one of the worst films ever made is far from accurate. I can definitely understand disliking or thinking poorly of it but there are far worse movies than this that save it from the worst ever category.

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I don't hate this movie, but it is certainly something I don't particularly care for. I liked the look of the characters and the town, but I think what really turns me off is Jim Carrey. I think he is a good actor, but his sense of humor is over the top. His jokes are like putting sugar on a piece of cake. It wasn't needed. I think I would have liked this movie better if the Grinch was more serious like he was in the cartoon.

He>i

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I love this movie but I can see why some don't. It has a very specific style and sense of humor that will either crack you up or get on your nerves. I remember having a great time watching this in theaters and enjoy revisiting it every Christmas. Jim Carrey will always be my favorite Grinch.

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I just think it's hilarious.
"Don't touch that! Don't you know you're not supposed to take things that don't belong to you? What's the matter with you? You're some kind of wild animal?"
"Mistletoe. Now puckerb up and kiss it, Whoville!"

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I think what bothers some people is some of the low-brow humor included in the film. That, and the Chair of Cheer scene is gross (I always cover my eyes when it comes up). Some people think it's too intense for a Christmas story, others just have no sense of humor. I don't have issues with it beyond those two things, but some people just can't handle it.

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