Spartan Expressions

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Spartan Expressions

Spartan Expressions

Holiday Mean One. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000).

Credit: SmoovArt on DeviantArt CC 3.0
Credit: SmoovArt on DeviantArt CC 3.0

In my opinion the Jim Carrey adaptation of the Grinch stands out for me as my favorite version of the story because of its loyalty to the source material. To me the purpose of a remake is to remain loyal to the source material so that old fans can enjoy it while also changing something big that the original doesn’t do making it worth being remade in the first place, and this remake does both of those justice with the changes they make. For example, giving the Grinch a backstory this time, having Cindy Lou play a much bigger role in the story and serving as the one confidante for the Grinch are positive interpretations of the book. I like how the film presents  the Whos fascination with  the commercialism side of Christmas and then eventually shows how they learn what the true meaning of Christmas is through Cindy Lou in the same way she was for the Grinch. In my opinion these changes add emotion or character development to the characters or movie while also remaining loyal to the source material and combines the both of these in clever and logical ways.

Mrs. Tina Piazza, a school teacher, said”,” “I like this version better than the cartoon. I think they did a good job at bringing the characters to life and I saw it when it first came out in theaters and I’ve seen it a couple times on TV after that.”

Wikipedia contains interesting information about the Jim Carrey Grinch and shares”,”  “Upon release, critics praised Carrey’s performance and the film’s visual prosthetics but criticized its dark tone and humor; it has since gained a strong cult following. The film spent four weeks as the number one film in the United States and grossed $346 million worldwide, making it the sixth-highest grossing film of 2000. At the time, it also became the second-highest-grossing holiday film of all time behind the 1990 film Home Alone, until both films were surpassed by the 2018 animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The film won the Academy Award for Best Makeup; it also received nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design.

The movie has been praised for its casting choice of famous actors and actresses that have appeared in the movie. As stated by Wikipedia, “Narrated by Anthony Hopkins, it stars Jim Carrey as the eponymous character, with Taylor Momsen, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Bill Irwin and Molly Shannon in supporting roles.”

In my opinion the Jim Carrey Grinch should be seen or at least given a chance because while not everybody loves it, a lot of people (myself included), have said that they’ve enjoyed it and consider it a classic that retells the book in a positive and caring way. As stated by Google “The Grinch” is a respectable, if safe, retelling of Dr. Seuss’ holiday classic. This computer animated fable – which follows the televised 1966 cartoon special and 2000’s Jim Carrey-starring live action version – honors the original “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” and preserves Seuss’ wonky visual style.” So even if people don’t like remakes of classic stuff from their childhoods, I recommend this one because it might surprise them and be good to them.

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About the Contributor
Jozef Oles
  Jozef Oles by Mark Radel Jozef Oles is taking Journalism because he says “it sounds the most interesting based on my interests in life and I am a good writer.” His hobbies are relaxing, watching YouTube, and typing and he likes to critique. When asked what his favorite video game was he responded “Currently it is Mario Kart on the Nintendo Wii.” I also asked if he liked sports games and he said, “Yes, he likes to play Wii sports.” Then I asked him about school. When asked what class he likes the best in school he said English. When asked why that was his favorite class he said it has a lot of interests that he likes and it makes him feel calm and passionate about himself.  I asked Jozef what his favorite Christmas movie is and he said “The Grinch with Jim Carrey”.  Jozef does not watch football so he does not have a favorite NFL team.  Jozef’s plans after high school are to become a teacher or a writer. His bucket list contains graduating high school and doing the best he can. His favorite restaurant is Taco Bell.

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