The movies “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” 2000 live version and “The Grinch” 2018 animated version, are two of my favorite movies, and I think other people can agree with me. The Grinch is a popular Christmas story created by Dr. Seuss that was eventually turned into a live action movie and now most recently has been turned into an animated movie. “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, directed by Ron Howard, has been around since the year 2000. The directors and actors spent 92 days working on this film. I’ve grown up watching this movie, along with other people around my age. In this article, I will outline the strengths and weaknesses of each movie.

The live-action Grinch has a much darker and more negative story, but through the darkness, it’s able to communicate the message of the story. The message of the Grinch, no matter which version, is that Christmas isn’t only about getting or giving presents, it’s about the love and kindness you share with your family and friends during the holidays. When Cindy- Lou first met the Grinch she was shocked at how he looked and how he reacted seeing her, but even when he tried to scare her away, she didn’t go away. Cindy- Lou had hope for the Grinch, she wanted him to have a good, happy Christmas like the rest of the people in Whoville. The Grinch hasn’t been friendly since he was a little boy. The Grinch decides to take out his pain and anger on everyone else, creating fear for the people in Whoville. “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is much darker and creepier than the animated Grinch movie.  Most kids watch these movies and most kids are scared of the live action Grinch, with his wrinkled face, balding head, and creepy face. Also, life in Whoville doesn’t seem exciting and happy; in fact, the Christmas rush at the beginning of the movie feels almost cynical. However, in the movie you learn about being open minded; because Cindy-Lou tried to look past the Grinch’s looks and tried to learn more about his personality, she was able to bring out the Grinch’s true character.

   “The Grinch” directed by Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier, was created in 2018. This movie version of the Grinch is a brighter, happier Grinch. The colors are bright, creating happiness for the people that live in Whoville. In terms of a general Christmas vibe, this animated movie brings more colors and happiness to the movie. This version of the Grinch looks more friendly and not so scarful, not creating fear for kids who watch the movie. In the animated “Grinch,” Cindy-Lou has a gift she wants to ask Santa for. It’s not a normal gift people would ask for, especially kids. She wants to ask for happiness for her mother, who works so hard and doesn’t get enough appreciation. Doing something for someone you love has a big role in this movie. The animated Grinch is different from the Grinch in the live-action movie; he isn’t as rude and mean, and while he’s definitely not a happy character, he has a softer side throughout the movie. However, even with all the good things about the movie, there is a negative. The movie has a slow start, in the beginning of the movie it’s more about how the Grinch goes down to Whoville to originally just get food, when he gets down there he realizes how much he hates Christmas and everything about it. When he gets back to the mountain he lives in he decides that he is sick of how happy people are about Christmas, and how he isn’t that happy about Christmas. It takes the Grinch awhile to come up with a plan to steal Christmas, which means that the movie starts out very slow, making us wait for the “stealing Christmas” part of the movie to start.

When watching both movies, you get a different feel from the characters, setting. For me and many others The Grinch animated version is more popular than the live -action film. The live-action Grinch made 345.1 million dollars throughout the 21 years since it came out. The animated Grinch made 511.8 million dollars within the last 3 years. All in all, I believe that the animated Grinch is better than the live-action one.