How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A cranky green creature attempts to sabotage the holiday celebrations of a nearby town.
The story
The Grinch is a cranky, surly, and antisocial green creature who lives alone in a snowbound cave on the side of Mt. Crumpit, overlooking the town of Whoville. He especially hates Christmas and has always been annoyed by the town's noisy celebrations. On Christmas Eve, he finally decides to stop Christmas from coming to Whoville by disguising himself as Santa Claus, his dog Max as a reindeer, and stealing all presents, decorations, and symbols of Christmas from the Whos. Once loaded, he plans on dumping the bags of stolen goods, though he is noticed by a girl named Cindy Lou Who.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The Grinch is a cranky, surly, and antisocial green creature who lives alone in a snowbound cave on the side of Mt. Crumpit, overlooking the town of Whoville. He especially hates Christmas and has always been annoyed by the town's noisy celebrations. On Christmas Eve, he finally decides to stop Christmas from coming to Whoville by disguising himself as Santa Claus, his dog Max as a reindeer, and stealing all presents, decorations, and symbols of Christmas from the Whos. Once loaded, he plans on dumping the bags of stolen goods, though he is noticed by a girl named Cindy Lou Who. As the Grinch reaches the icy summit of Mt. Crumpit, ready to dump the bags, he discovers that the Whos, despite having no gifts or decorations, have gathered in the middle of town to sing as Christmas Day dawns. Realizing that Christmas means more than just material possessions, the Grinch has a change of heart. As the sleigh begins to slip, he and Max attempt to grab it; the Grinch's heart grows three sizes and he saves the sleigh, returns the presents and decorations to the Whos, and joins in the town's Christmas celebration by carving the roast beast, with Cindy Lou Who giving Max the first slice.
- Original title
- Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
- First release year
- 1966
- Runtime (minutes)
- 24
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Chuck Jones; Ben Washam
- Writers
- Dr. Seuss · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Boris Karloff · the Grinch / Narrator; June Foray · Cindy Lou Who (uncredited); Dallas McKennon · Max (uncredited); Thurl Ravenscroft · Vocalist ("You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch") (uncredited); MGM Studio Chorus · Citizens of Whoville (uncredited)
- Genres
- Christmas; Family; Comedy; Slapstick
- Themes
- The meaning of Christmas; Materialism vs. Spirit; Redemption
- Tone and mood
- Sentimental; Whimsical; Holiday
- Setting
- Whoville and Mt. Crumpit during Christmas
- Premise and plot tags
- Animated Special; Holiday; Fantasy
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1957 children's book by Dr. Seuss
- Franchise connections
- The Grinch
- Reception
- The special received generally positive but muted reviews upon its initial broadcast and has since been regarded as a Christmas classic. It was praised for its faithfulness to Dr. Seuss's artistry and its sentimental climax, though some critics found it too mild or a disappointment compared to the book.
- Production trivia
- The special was produced with a record-breaking budget for a cartoon at the time.; The Grinch's heart grew three sizes after his change of heart.; The Grinch's color was mutually agreed upon by Jones and Geisel as green.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…