Both 2018’s The Grinch and 2000's How The Grinch Stole Christmas were huge box office hits, but which version of the classic Yuletide Dr. Seuss story has the best Grinch? Both versions of the Grinch movies received reasonably solid critical receptions, and each was a huge hit with audiences. The 2000 live-action Jim Carrey Grinch movie made over $345 million at the box office. For almost two decades, How The Grinch Stole Christmas was the second-biggest Christmas movie in cinema history. However, 2018's animated Grinch Benedict Cumberbatch movie, The Grinch, surpassed it with a whopping $511 million box office take. Box office isn’t everything, however, and fans remain split over which is the best Grinch movie.
There are a lot of criteria to take into account when deciding the definitive movie version of Seuss’s anti-Christmas antihero. Worth noting too is that having a better version of the Grinch doesn’t necessarily make for the best Grinch movie — much like how the Aardman Animation classic Arthur Christmas isn't considered the best Santa movie despite arguably having the funniest Father Christmas. To get to the bottom of the Best Grinch debate everything from the Grinch’s appearance, to the quality of the movie he’s in, to his faithfulness to the Dr. Seuss story must be considered. So, is Jim Carrey's live-action Grinch the best, or does the animated Benedict Cumberbatch Grinch steal the show?
Which Grinch Looks Better?
For many viewers of a certain vintage, the original animated Grinch drawn by Jones is the best Grinch movie and definitive version of the character’s design, meaning both the Grinch live-action version and the 3D animated 2018 reboot pale in comparison. However, when the 2000 and 2018 versions of the Grinch are the only ones taken into consideration, it’s hard to argue that the animated incarnation is superior to Carrey’s hairy iteration. As Carrey himself has proved elsewhere with movies like The Mask, practical makeup effects can make all the difference to an adaptation's success, and Carrey went through hell to play the character, enduring hours in a makeup chair every day as well as a torturously itchy yak hair costume. However, the transformation was worth it and remains a classic achievement in the annals of onscreen VFX.
2018’s animated Grinch Benedict Cumberbatch movie has a couple of cute moments and is a fittingly elastic, cartoony tribute to Jones’ design, but the character looks as smooth and glossy as everything from the film’s parent studio, Illumination, and lacks a personality. Carrey’s Grinch, in comparison, is instantly recognizable, benefits from the actor’s acrobatic, limb-swinging commitment to the role, and has genuine grossness that the milder 2018 reboot shies away from. Point one goes to Carrey’s Grinch.
Which Grinch Stars In The Better Movie?
While the issue of which Grinch looks better is a solid win for Carrey, the issue of which movie is better is a harder argument for Howard’s live-action film to win. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a needlessly lengthy movie upon a rewatch, and its drawn-out runtime suffers in comparison to the tight 86 minute 2018 version of The Grinch. The 2000 live-action movie dwells on the Grinch’s surprisingly sad backstory, and even hilarious turns from Jeffrey Tambor and Christine Baranski can’t keep the heavier material from bogging down Howard’s film.
Not only is the 2018’s animated The Grinch faster-paced and blessed with a simpler story, but the glossier look of the movie also doesn’t fall into the unfortunate uncanny valley trap of Howard’s live-action movie. While Carrey may look great, the rest of Whoville is populated by creepy creations whose prosthetics are far from makeup mastermind Rick Baker’s best work. As a result, the Jim Carrey Grinch movie occasionally has the appearance of a cheap Tim Burton/Terry Gilliam/Jean-Pierre Jeunet rip-off, with the characters looking odd enough to be unsettling but not surreal enough to be impressive. With a tighter runtime and more pleasing visual aesthetic, the better movie is comfortably won by Cumberbatch’s version of The Grinch.
Carrey vs Cumberbatch: The Performances
Here, there is no comparison. To be fair to Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, the actor doesn’t try to match Carrey’s zany performance as the Grinch, opting instead for a dry deadpan iteration of the title character. It’s a canny decision, as Cumberbatch is known for playing steadfast and affectless characters and his take on the part is the exact opposite of Carrey’s. That being said, Cumberbatch taking on the Grinch is the equivalent of Tom Hardy or Dan Stephens offering a brooding version of an Austin Powers movie. It’s funny, sure, and an inspired riff, but the definitive screen portrayal undeniably belongs to Carrey.
Buoyed by the actor’s talent for improv, Carrey’s Grinch is an inspired comic creation whose fourth-wall-breaking and zany asides are as memorably surreal as anything from the actor’s earlier hits Ace Ventura: Pet Detective or The Mask. Carrey plays the character with demented zeal, and despite the film’s uneven tone, manages to wring a layered, complex character out of the potentially one-note Grinch. There are shades of Carrey’s more serious roles in his darker moments as the Grinch and endlessly quotable one-liners in his manic comic moments, meaning this one is comfortably won by Carrey.
Jim Carrey Is The Better Grinch
Thanks to the lush, clean animation style of 2018's The Grinch and its tight, funny story, this is a relatively close contest. But despite actor Benedict Cumberbatch opting for a different take on the eponymous character, the actor didn't take the Best Grinch title belt from Carrey. Sure, Howard’s live-action movie may be the lesser of two Grinch adaptations, but its version of the Grinch is easily the best to ever grace cinema screens. Anarchic, silly, and occasionally surprisingly human, Carrey’s Grinch is a perfect character trapped in an imperfect movie. The film's flaws are very real, and it's hard to know whether Carrey would have been able to pull off such a memorable version of the part if he were limited to voiceover work (although the actor would have been saved a lot of time spent agonizing in the hair and makeup department). But master impressionist Jim Carrey did have the advantage of a live-action adaptation in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. In comparison, Cumberbatch’s animated effort is fine, but not quite an iconic enough take on the part. That said, despite his flaws Cumberbatch's Grinch does have the benefit of starring in an altogether tighter, better movie than Carrey's Grinch did.
The Boris Karloff Grinch Deserves More Recognition
When it comes down to which is the best Grinch movie, the Boris Karloff-led 1966 animated feature How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is often overlooked — but it deserves much more recognition. For 34 years the animated Dr. Seuss tale was the authority on everything Grinch, right up until Ron Howard's the Grinch live-action version was released in 2000. It's odd that when the debate surrounding what is the best Grinch movie comes to a head, Frankenstein actor Boris Karloff's version is left out even though it was the first adaptation. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! sticks much closer to the book than either of the modern interpretations, basically mimicking the book itself but with voiceover narration and moving images. The 1966 animated classic still has the heart of the book, yet doesn't add any extra fluff about the Grinch's backstory or the politics of Whoville. In addition, it spawned one of the most iconic Christmas songs of all time, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is still watched in households every Christmas over 50 years later, proving that the animated short has more than withstood the test of time. So, while the debate rages on over whether Benedict Cumberbatch or Jim Carrey in How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a better Grinch, Boris Karloff's hat should be thrown in the ring.