When Illumination Entertainment first burst onto the animation scene with Despicable Me in 2010, Chris Meladandri's young production company was faced with two possible paths. In one direction, they were set to become the heir apparent to Pixar, balancing kid-friendly gags with strong adult storytelling. If the original Despicable Me is symbolic of the company's fundamental divide, this path represents the appeal of the relationship between Steve Carell's Gru and his adopted children, which was the unmistakable emotional core of that instant classic. The other direction presented a polar opposite approach, one that focused solely on entertaining the youngest of kids and avoiding more sophisticated aims. Of course, this is where those pesky Minions come in. Considering the enduring popularity of the supporting characters (their spin-off made $1 billion worldwide), you could argue that Illumination has given into its goofier aims.
So where does Dr. Seuss' The Grinch, the studio's second take on a classic by the famous author (the first being 2012's The Lorax), fit into the equation? Would the company's more frustrating impulses somehow fall to the wayside? Well, if I had to quickly sum up this new Grinch, I would point to the very last scene. After he sees the good of Whoville, mean old Mr. Grinch (now voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) attends a Christmas feast, where he carves the roast beef, gives a toast, etc., etc. For the first time in the film, we see the Grinch truly happy and enjoying the company of others. His heart has grown, and his bitterness and resentment have washed away. The camera tracks outside snowy Whoville, zooming all the way out until we see a goat. By now, we've seen the goat before. Many times. We know he's going to scream.
And that's exactly what he does. And it sums up this movie perfectly- it's a heart-warming tale punctuated by a screaming goat.
This is Illumination's MO by now. Take amiable, unoffensive children's fare and make it really stupid. Here, the stupidity is as inescapable as the sheer pointlessness of the entire endeavor. Whether you're a fan of the Jim Carrey version, the hand-drawn animated classic, or the original book, you've definitely seen pretty much every aspect of this story before. The Grinch is a curmudgeon who lives in a desolate castle above Whoville, sneering down at the happy go-lucky citizens of town. He lives alone, only keeping the energetic Max around for company. Down in Whoville, we meet Cindy-Lou Who (Cameron Seely), a young kid who just wants her overworked mother (Rashida Jones) to catch a break. Along with a group of friends, Cindy-Lou plans to stay up late and trap Santa Claus- all so she can ask for a favor for her mom.
At the same time, the Grinch's frustrations boil over, leading him to hatch a new plot. He'll steal Whoville's Christmas, and he'll ruin their happiness once and for all. And you basically know what happens from here. Partially because I told you in the second paragraph.
Anyways, The Grinch officially has a running time of 86 minutes, but it's probably a good five or six minutes shorter when you take credits into account. All things considered, that's a very efficient runtime- and it's pretty much the only thing this movie has going for it. There's only so much you can do with the story of The Grinch, and directors Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier aren't too keen on elaborating on the foundation in any compelling way. With its extensive use of sweeping landscapes and POV shots, this often feels more like a roller-coaster than a film, made even worse by the ever-present musical score and its attempt at generating some forced sense of awe. And when you take into consideration that Universal is the distributor, the roller-coaster feel of the project almost seems like a test run for a future theme park ride. It's a cash grab, meant to re-enforce the existence of the IP.
When Cheney and Mosier aren't dashing around Whoville, they're filling in the gaps in the story with a whole lot of slapstick. There's little else you can do, save for adding in a half dozen unnecessary subplots. And there's nothing inherently wrong with some slapstick-y comedy, except when it comprises your entire second act. And much of your first act. And even a little bit of the finale. Seriously, once the Grinch's plan is established, he just runs around Whoville aimlessly: dancing, skiing into trees, failing to attract reindeer with mating calls, the list goes on. There's so much wheel-spinning that it's almost hilarious. Yet nothing here feels particularly inspired, especially when Cheney and Mosier go for the cheap laugh. It's very dull, very repetitive, and as cookie-cutter as this stuff gets.
And for the love of all that is good and holy, can Illumination please stop revealing every setpiece in the trailers? They make a lot of money on these movies, so the trailers are obviously doing something right. But have mercy on those of us who see 100+ movies every year. This happened with Minions back in 2015, and it happened again this time. Every single joke, every single story beat, every action scene- it's all packed into the billions of trailers that hit the web over the past year. I had seen basically the whole movie already, and that made the viewing experience just a bit more excruciating.
Still, I can't pretend that excessive marketing suddenly made The Grinch a bad movie- a whole lot of problems brought us to that point. It's a dreadful affair, dragged down by its cheap gags, middling animation, and a failed attempt to stretch this story to its absolute limits. There are hints of a heartfelt journey deep inside this shell of silliness, but the film's heart is two sizes too small.
Nearly a decade after Despicable Me, Illumination has firmly chosen their path. They've embraced the kid-friendly hijinks, and they're being rewarded handsomely. I hope their next movie changes course, but I'm not counting on it. Maybe it's time for me to just start avoiding these movies entirely.
THE FINAL GRADE: D+ (4.2/10)
Image: Universal/IMDb
Poster courtesy of Universal
So where does Dr. Seuss' The Grinch, the studio's second take on a classic by the famous author (the first being 2012's The Lorax), fit into the equation? Would the company's more frustrating impulses somehow fall to the wayside? Well, if I had to quickly sum up this new Grinch, I would point to the very last scene. After he sees the good of Whoville, mean old Mr. Grinch (now voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) attends a Christmas feast, where he carves the roast beef, gives a toast, etc., etc. For the first time in the film, we see the Grinch truly happy and enjoying the company of others. His heart has grown, and his bitterness and resentment have washed away. The camera tracks outside snowy Whoville, zooming all the way out until we see a goat. By now, we've seen the goat before. Many times. We know he's going to scream.
And that's exactly what he does. And it sums up this movie perfectly- it's a heart-warming tale punctuated by a screaming goat.
This is Illumination's MO by now. Take amiable, unoffensive children's fare and make it really stupid. Here, the stupidity is as inescapable as the sheer pointlessness of the entire endeavor. Whether you're a fan of the Jim Carrey version, the hand-drawn animated classic, or the original book, you've definitely seen pretty much every aspect of this story before. The Grinch is a curmudgeon who lives in a desolate castle above Whoville, sneering down at the happy go-lucky citizens of town. He lives alone, only keeping the energetic Max around for company. Down in Whoville, we meet Cindy-Lou Who (Cameron Seely), a young kid who just wants her overworked mother (Rashida Jones) to catch a break. Along with a group of friends, Cindy-Lou plans to stay up late and trap Santa Claus- all so she can ask for a favor for her mom.
At the same time, the Grinch's frustrations boil over, leading him to hatch a new plot. He'll steal Whoville's Christmas, and he'll ruin their happiness once and for all. And you basically know what happens from here. Partially because I told you in the second paragraph.
Anyways, The Grinch officially has a running time of 86 minutes, but it's probably a good five or six minutes shorter when you take credits into account. All things considered, that's a very efficient runtime- and it's pretty much the only thing this movie has going for it. There's only so much you can do with the story of The Grinch, and directors Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier aren't too keen on elaborating on the foundation in any compelling way. With its extensive use of sweeping landscapes and POV shots, this often feels more like a roller-coaster than a film, made even worse by the ever-present musical score and its attempt at generating some forced sense of awe. And when you take into consideration that Universal is the distributor, the roller-coaster feel of the project almost seems like a test run for a future theme park ride. It's a cash grab, meant to re-enforce the existence of the IP.
When Cheney and Mosier aren't dashing around Whoville, they're filling in the gaps in the story with a whole lot of slapstick. There's little else you can do, save for adding in a half dozen unnecessary subplots. And there's nothing inherently wrong with some slapstick-y comedy, except when it comprises your entire second act. And much of your first act. And even a little bit of the finale. Seriously, once the Grinch's plan is established, he just runs around Whoville aimlessly: dancing, skiing into trees, failing to attract reindeer with mating calls, the list goes on. There's so much wheel-spinning that it's almost hilarious. Yet nothing here feels particularly inspired, especially when Cheney and Mosier go for the cheap laugh. It's very dull, very repetitive, and as cookie-cutter as this stuff gets.
And for the love of all that is good and holy, can Illumination please stop revealing every setpiece in the trailers? They make a lot of money on these movies, so the trailers are obviously doing something right. But have mercy on those of us who see 100+ movies every year. This happened with Minions back in 2015, and it happened again this time. Every single joke, every single story beat, every action scene- it's all packed into the billions of trailers that hit the web over the past year. I had seen basically the whole movie already, and that made the viewing experience just a bit more excruciating.
Still, I can't pretend that excessive marketing suddenly made The Grinch a bad movie- a whole lot of problems brought us to that point. It's a dreadful affair, dragged down by its cheap gags, middling animation, and a failed attempt to stretch this story to its absolute limits. There are hints of a heartfelt journey deep inside this shell of silliness, but the film's heart is two sizes too small.
Nearly a decade after Despicable Me, Illumination has firmly chosen their path. They've embraced the kid-friendly hijinks, and they're being rewarded handsomely. I hope their next movie changes course, but I'm not counting on it. Maybe it's time for me to just start avoiding these movies entirely.
THE FINAL GRADE: D+ (4.2/10)
Image: Universal/IMDb
Poster courtesy of Universal
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