Review By JESSICA ALMY
The 1966 Dr. Seuss classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is a holiday tradition for my family. Kiddo, being 4, didn’t remember the movie from last year, so it was fun to watch her experience it as if for the first time this morning as snow fell outside.
What piqued my interest this time around was the Grinch’s relationship with his dog Max. Dr. Seuss tells us that the Grinch’s heart was probably two sizes too small, but you can tell he’s a meany before he ever steals the Whos’ Christmas presents just by watching how he treats Max. He bullies him, pulls him by the tail, works him to exhaustion, and whips him — horrible stuff! Happily, we see that the Grinch’s change of heart transforms his relationship with Max too. At the end of the short film, Max is eating Christmas dinner with the family.
This movie does portray meat consumption — the Whos eat “roast beast” — but kiddo thought it was “maybe a loaf of bread.”
Ages 4-adult.
Heather // Jan 4, 2010 at 10:08 pm
This is another one that I remembered fondly from when I was a kid, yet when I watched it with my son recently I found myself cringing!! I noticed the same issues with the Grinch/Max relationship.
Also, the Grinch had a rack of horns hung up on his wall that he used to make Max into a reindeer, which instantly made me think hunting trophy. This is not something our son would have understood yet though.
Jenn Kali // Jan 5, 2012 at 2:43 pm
We couldn’t even get past the first 30 seconds. This one is too scary!
Jessica // Dec 15, 2012 at 8:43 am
Kiddo, now 7, does not think the roast beast is a loaf of bread any more. When we watched the movie last night, she said “EWWWW!” at the sight of the dead animal.