Where To Watch Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas This Holiday Season
One cannot understate the popularity of Ron Howard's over-designed 2000 winter holiday film "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Although made for an exorbitant budget of $123 million, "Grinch" would earn over $345 million worldwide and become a Christmastime staple in many a home. This despite being a bloated, 105-minute expansion of a 1957 Dr. Seuss picture book that was only 64 pages.
Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" was previously adapted into a 25-minute TV special in 1966, which itself garnered animated follow-ups in 1977 and 1982. Since 2000, the book was also made into a 2007 stage musical, a 2018 animated film called merely "The Grinch," and a 2020 filmed version of the stage production. 2022 also saw the release of a horror spoof of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" called "The Mean One."
This is all in addition to an unending deluge of Grinch-themed merchandise that floods malls every winter holiday season. The merch, some might say, is a curious wrinkle, given that the message of Seuss' original book was that Christmas comes from joy and togetherness, and not gifts.
Howard's 2000 film starred Jim Carrey as the titular green fur goblin, and he notoriously hated the extensive makeup he had to wear for the part. Howard's movie follows the plot of the book closely, only adding a backstory for the Grinch, populating Whoville with its own retinue of characters, and adding several songs. The production design is wild and Burtoneqsue, looking like a theme park ride. Indeed, one can visit Universal Studios Hollywood and witness a Grinch musical number on the park's famed tram ride tour.
It's now November, and it's the time of year to revisit all the traditional Christmas classics. Here's where you can see Howard's film and all the other Grinch flicks.
Where to Grinch it up
If you're not in one of the cities that is hosting a repertory screening of Ron Howard's "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," you can watch it at home as part of your DirecTV subscription. One can also rent "Grinch" on Amazon, YouTube, the Google Play Store, AppleTV, Vudu, the Microsoft Store, and Spectrum for $3.99. All of those same services offer "Grinch" for purchase for $14.99 (except for Amazon, which knocks a whopping 30 cents off the price). The AMC On Demand website is selling the film for a mere $11.99.
The 2018 animated film "The Grinch," directed by Scott Mosier and Yarrow Cheney, will also likely be re-released in some theaters, so one might be wise to keep an eye on their local listings. It is also available to stream via Peacock, FXNow, Fubo, and DirecTV. The exact same services that offer the Howard film also offer "The Grinch" at the same price points for both rent and sale. Curiously, the AMC website is the more expensive option this time, selling "The Grinch" for $19.99.
If one is in more of a classical mood, the original 1966 TV special — which also is broadcast freely throughout various networks and streaming services throughout the year — can also be rented and purchased. The TV special is available through Peacock's premium subscription as well as TruTV. Amazon, YouTube, the Google Play Store, AppleTV, Vudu, DirecTV, and Cineverse also rent it for $3.49 or $3.99. The rental version of the "Grinch" TV special is an expanded special edition that contains additional making-of documentaries. That version may be the superior version, merely for the amazing "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" song sung by the inimitable Thurl Ravenscroft.
More Grinchy goodness
And that's not where the Grinch media ends. The villainous furry Scrooge also had a few ancillary pieces.
Steve LaMorte's horror film "The Mean One" isn't on streaming, but can be rented for $3.99 or bought for $14.99 through Amazon, YouTube, the Google Play Store, AppleTV, and Vudu. That film isn't so much a riff on Seuss' 1957 book, however, as it is a sendup of Ron Howard's 2000 film. The monster looks a lot like Carrey's version of the character. David Howard Thornton, also known to horror fans as Art the Clown from the "Terrifier" movies, plays the Grinch. LaMorte also directed the curious fan short "Powerpuff Girls: The Long Way Back" in 2018.
The 2020 filmed musical, usually just called "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical," is available on Peacock Premium. That version starred Matthew Morrison, from "Glee" as the Grinch, and Booboo Stewart as Max the dog. The music, like the stage production, was written by Mel Marvin with lyrics and book by Timothy Mason.
The holiday-flipped 1977 special "Halloween is Grinch Night" is not available through any official channels, but resourceful internet snoops might easily find an unauthorized copy somewhere. If you are keen to have months and months of deeply terrifying nightmares, definitely check out "Halloween is Grinch Night." Even less well-known is the obscure 1982 special "The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat," wherein our furry green antihero makes life incredibly difficult for Dr. Seuss' famously chapeaued feline. That, too, can be found through unofficial channels only.