144 Fun Facts About Grinch

Since the 1957 book, 'grinch' has entered dictionaries as an informal noun meaning what?

Killjoy, or spoilsport, say the dictionaries. Seuss pinned the label on himself first: he said he wrote the story after noticing how 'Grinch-ish' he had become about Christmas.

According to the book's opening lines, the Grinch lives in which direction from Whoville?

North: he 'lived just north of Who-ville', close enough to glare down from his cave at the town's warm, lighted windows, which is how the story finds him on the night before Christmas.

What 'one thing' about the Who children's new toys does the book say the Grinch hated?

The noise: he pictures every Who girl and boy waking 'bright and early' to rush for their toys, and the book answers with the word four times over in capital letters.

Why does the book's Grinch have to turn his own dog into a reindeer?

He can't find a real one: 'since reindeer are scarce, there was none to be found', so he shrugs, 'I'll make one instead!' and calls for Max.

After one day in the Grinch makeup, Jim Carrey offered to give back what in order to quit?

His $20 million fee: director Ron Howard says the offer was sincere, and the producer had to talk his star into giving it one more weekend before walking away.

The artist who applied Jim Carrey's Grinch makeup each day later won an Oscar for turning Gary Oldman into whom?

Winston Churchill: Kazu Hiro found the Grinch shoot so punishing that he left it for a time, yet he went on to win Oscars for Darkest Hour and Bombshell.

Which actor lent his voice to the Grinch in the 2018 animated movie?

Benedict Cumberbatch: reviewers noticed that he made no attempt to out-growl Boris Karloff, voicing what one called a 'persnickety but more relatable' Grinch.

The Whos first appeared in a 1954 Dr. Seuss book as tiny people protected by which animal?

Elephant: Horton hears a faint cry from a speck of dust, finds the Whos' whole town living on it, and stands guard while a kangaroo leads the other animals in mocking him.

What is the very last thing the Grinch takes from the first Who house he robs?

The log for their fire: the book saves it for last, so that the old liar leaves the Whos a cold hearth to wake up to as well as an empty house.

Up which mountain does the Grinch haul the Whos' presents and feast, meaning to dump them?

Mount Crumpit: in the book he rides 'three thousand feet up' its side to the tiptop, then stops to listen for the Whos waking below, and that pause is where his plan starts to come apart.

By how much does the Grinch's heart grow once he understands Christmas?

Three sizes, or so 'in Who-ville they say': the narrator passes on the story's most famous measurement as town talk rather than vouching for it himself.

Boris Karloff often gets the credit, but who really sang 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch' in the 1966 special?

Thurl Ravenscroft: the closing credits name only the narrator, so the deep-voiced singer of the special's best-known song was left out and his performance was long put down to the wrong man.

Among the presents the book's Grinch bags are pop guns, roller skates, drums, popcorn and which fruit?

Plums: they are there for the rhyme, closing a breathless list of toys and treats in which the drums are made to chime with the plums.

What is the Grinch making off with when little Cindy-Lou Who wakes and catches him?

The Christmas tree: he has grabbed it and started to shove when he hears 'a small sound like the coo of a dove' behind him and has to think up a lie on the spot.

What does the Grinch use to turn his dog Max into a 'reindeer' for the raid?

A single tied-on horn: he fastens it to the top of Max's head with red thread, then hitches the dog, alone, to a ramshackle sleigh loaded with empty sacks.

With Max hitched to his sleigh, what does the book's Grinch say to set off down to Whoville?

Giddap!: a horse-driver's command, given here to a team of one small dog, and it works: he rides down to the first little house on the square and hisses, 'This is stop number one.'

The book's narrator guesses the Grinch may hate Christmas because what was too tight?

His shoes: it is one of the narrator's guesses, offered straight after he admits that 'no one quite knows the reason' for the feud the whole story turns on.

In How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, how do all the Whos, 'the tall and the small', stand together?

Hand in hand: they 'stand close together, with Christmas bells ringing', and of everything the Whos do at Christmas the book says this is what the Grinch 'liked least of all'.

What popular Christmas dish does the Grinch famously carve at the Whos' feast after his change of heart?

Roast beast: early in the book the Whos' 'rare Who-roast-beast' is something the Grinch 'couldn't stand in the least', and by the last page he himself is the one carving it.

On Christmas morning, hand cupped to his ear on the mountaintop, what did the Grinch expect to hear rising from Whoville?

Cries of despair: he predicts the Whos' mouths 'will hang open a minute or two' before they all cry 'BOO-HOO', a sound he says he simply must hear.

What sound did the Grinch actually hear from Whoville on Christmas morning?

Joyful singing: the sound 'started in low, then it started to grow', from Whos who had woken to find every present gone.

What does the Grinch conclude about Christmas after his morning of puzzling?

It means a little bit more: Christmas had come 'without ribbons', tags, 'packages, boxes or bags', so he reasons that perhaps it 'doesn't come from a store'.

Once his heart has grown, what does the Grinch do with his haul?

He returns everything he stole: 'He brought back the toys! And the food for the feast!', and the Whos he robbed hours earlier give the thief a seat at their own table.

After lying about fixing a light, what does the Grinch fetch for the little Who girl before bed?

A drink: his fib 'fooled the child', so he pats her on the head, fetches it and packs her off to bed, cup and all, before getting back to his thieving.

Boris Karloff's Grinch reading won a Grammy in which category?

Best Recording for Children: the Grammy came at the 1968 ceremony, when the veteran of so many horror films was 80, for nothing more frightening than reading Dr. Seuss aloud.

Which Full House star says he tested for the 2000 Grinch but dropped out, allergic to the prosthetics?

John Stamos: he told the story in 2024 on a Grinch-hosted holiday podcast, saying a reaction during a makeup test ended his run at the part Jim Carrey went on to play.

The 2018 film blames the Grinch's hatred of Christmas on a childhood spent where?

In an orphanage: flashbacks show him there alone while Whoville celebrates, and by the end he admits it was never Christmas he hated, only being left by himself.

The Grinch's 53 years of putting up with Christmas matched what in 1957?

Dr. Seuss's age: he was 53 when he wrote and published the book, and his stepdaughter later said the Grinch 'was Ted on his bad days'.

Jim Carrey's turn as the Grinch earned him a nomination for which award?

A Golden Globe: the prize went to George Clooney, while the makeup that hid Carrey's face won the film its only Oscar.

What was the Grinch's primary goal at the beginning of the story?

To stop Christmas from coming: by his logic, no presents, no feast and no trimmings must mean no Christmas at all, which is exactly the theory the Whos go on to disprove.

In the 2018 film, what does the Grinch name the fat reindeer he recruits?

Fred: the reindeer is only briefly drafted for sleigh duty, and by the night of the raid it is Max in the harness after all.

How does the Grinch get into the Whos' houses?

Down the chimney: 'a rather tight pinch', the book admits, and he gets stuck once on the way, but he reasons that 'if Santa could do it, then so could the Grinch'.

Dr. Seuss described How the Grinch Stole Christmas! as which kind of book in his career?

The easiest to write: he had most of it down within a few weeks of starting in early 1957, although one stubborn part then held him up for months.

What is the only food the Grinch leaves behind in the first Who house?

A tiny crumb: one 'that was even too small for a mouse', and he repeats the insult all over town, 'leaving crumbs much too small for the other Whos' mouses'.

After the Grinch strips the first Who house, what is all he leaves on its walls?

Hooks and some wire: it is the book's way of saying every last decoration has gone into his sacks, down to 'the tinsel, the trimmings, the trappings'.

In the 1966 special, the Grinch finds 'the strength of ten Grinches, plus two' to do what?

Lift the loaded sleigh overhead: as it slips over the edge with the Whos' Christmas aboard he hauls it back single-handed, a feat of strength the book never mentions.

Dr. Seuss wrote How the Grinch Stole Christmas! out of dismay at what?

Holiday commercialism is the target: Seuss said he wrote the story to rediscover something about Christmas that had gone missing for him.

The 2000 Grinch film's six Max dogs all came from where?

Animal shelters: all six were mixed-breed rescues, with a lead named Kelly doing most of the stunts, and every one of them was adopted into a home once filming ended.

In the 1966 special, the Whos' nonsense refrain 'Fahoo fores, dahoo dores' belongs to which song?

Welcome Christmas: the made-up carol outlived the cartoon, turning up again in both the 2000 live-action film and the 2018 animated one.

Which makeup artist designed Jim Carrey's Grinch after the studio first wanted the star simply painted green?

Rick Baker: he tried his furry design out on his own face, got a film website to champion it, and the studio gave way. He had earlier turned a man into An American Werewolf in London.

Like almost every Dr. Seuss book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is written in what form?

Rhymed verse: when a rhyme won't come, Seuss bends the language until it does, which is how the other Whos' houses come to have 'mouses'.

The Grinch's heart is initially described as being what size?

Two sizes too small: 'I think that the most likely reason of all', says the narrator, choosing it over his other theories about why the Grinch is so sour.

Which tinned food does the narration say the Grinch took the 'last can' of?

Who Hash: 'He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash', the book says, and even the Whos' last can went with the rest of their feast.

Which Arrested Development star plays Whoville's mayor, Augustus MayWho, in the 2000 Grinch film?

Jeffrey Tambor: his pompous mayor turns out to be the schoolboy who bullied the young Grinch, the film's answer to a grudge the book leaves unexplained.

Which voice actress played the little Who girl in the 1966 special?

June Foray: famous as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, she went unbilled here, because the special's closing credits name no voice but the narrator's.

Who narrates the 2018 animated film The Grinch?

Pharrell Williams: he had history with the film's makers, having written 'Happy' for their Despicable Me 2, and here he speaks the story's newly written rhyming couplets.

In 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch', which three words are said to 'best describe' the Grinch?

Stink, stank, stunk: the singer promises three words, 'and I quote', then delivers a single verb recited in its three forms, like a classroom grammar drill.

In 1957 Kirkus Reviews hailed the Grinch as 'easily the best Christmas-cad since' which character?

Ebenezer Scrooge: like Dickens's miser, the Grinch starts out despising Christmas and is won over on Christmas morning, a likeness scholars of the book still point to.

Seuss said he was moved to write the story after spotting 'a very Grinch-ish countenance' where?

His own bathroom mirror: he was brushing his teeth on the morning after Christmas 1956, decided 'It was Seuss!', and sat down to write about 'my sour friend, the Grinch'.

Which publisher released How the Grinch Stole Christmas! as a book in 1957?

Random House: Seuss published most of his books with the firm, and its name was still on the cover 66 years later, when an authorised sequel to the Grinch finally appeared.

Which magazine printed the Grinch story alongside the 1957 book release?

Redbook: two years earlier the magazine had printed a very different Grinch, a fast-talking salesman who cons a creature called the Hoobub into buying a piece of green string.

Which book had Dr. Seuss just finished before starting the Grinch in early 1957?

The Cat in the Hat: it was such a breakthrough that Seuss and his wife Helen helped launch Beginner Books, a whole imprint of easy readers modelled on it.

Which part of the Grinch book did Dr. Seuss say he struggled with for three months?

The ending: every version made him sound, he said, 'like a second-rate preacher', until he dropped the moral altogether and simply sat the Grinch down at the Whos' table.

In Horton Hears a Who!, on what does Horton place the speck of dust that holds Whoville?

A clover: the other animals, who cannot hear the Whos, jeer at him for fussing over a speck of dust, and he has to guard the flower from them.

The Grinch book's dedication reads 'For Teddy Owens': who was Teddy?

His niece's baby son: one-year-old Theodor Owens, the child of Seuss's niece Peggy, carried the same first name as his great-uncle, the Theodor behind the pen name Dr. Seuss.

Into which classical language was the Grinch book translated in 1998?

Latin: a small Illinois publisher of classics texts brought it out as Quomodo Invidiosulus Nomine Grinchus Christi Natalem Abrogaverit, with the villain renamed Grinchus.

By the book's clock, at what hour does the Grinch pack up his sled while the Whos sleep on?

Quarter past dawn: an hour found on no clock, and one the 1966 cartoon could not resist changing, to 'a quarter of dawn'.

A viral meme of a grinning blue Grinch reads 'That feeling when' which event 'is tomorrow'?

Knee surgery: the joke is that there is no joke, and the smiling blue 'Blinch' swept through group chats and meme accounts in late 2024 precisely because it makes no sense.

As the book's Grinch rides up the mountain with his loot, what is he 'grinch-ish-ly' doing?

Humming: his tune is 'Pooh-Pooh to the Whos!', and he is so sure of himself that he stops at the top to enjoy the sound of them waking.

In the 2018 Grinch film, the lonely Grinch plays which power ballad on his pipe organ?

All by Myself: the gag introduces a Grinch who is lonely rather than villainous, and his organ rendition made it onto the film's score album as a bonus track.

Which San Diego theatre launched its staging of the Grinch musical in 1998, hoping to start a holiday tradition?

Old Globe Theatre: it was the first holiday show the theatre had ever mounted, and the gamble paid off, with the Grinch back on its stage Christmas after Christmas for more than two decades.

The Grinch became a puppet villain in The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, a 1990s series made by whom?

The Jim Henson Company: its puppeteers took the Grinch and Max beyond their Christmas tale, giving them new stories in a world shared with characters from other Dr. Seuss books.

What is the title of the authorised 2023 sequel to How the Grinch Stole Christmas!?

How the Grinch Lost Christmas!: with Seuss dead since 1991, the sequel was written in his style by Alastair Heim and illustrated by Aristides Ruiz, both old hands at Seuss spin-off books.

Chuck Jones made the 1966 Grinch special at which studio, where he was also directing new Tom and Jerry cartoons?

MGM had signed up Jones's new studio to revive Tom and Jerry after Warner Bros. fired him for moonlighting on another studio's cartoon feature.

Two decades before the Grinch special, Dr. Seuss wrote and Chuck Jones directed Army cartoons about which bumbling soldier?

Private Snafu did nearly everything wrong so that troops learned what not to do; the wartime shorts were classified and shown only to servicemen.

In Dr. Seuss's book, the scheming Grinch 'got a wonderful, ____ idea'; which word fills the blank?

Awful: 'I know just what to do!' he laughs, and within two lines he has run up 'a quick Santy Claus hat and a coat' for his disguise.

To get Jim Carrey through the Grinch makeup on the 2000 film, the filmmakers brought in an expert in what?

Enduring torture: the trainer was Richard Marcinko, a former Navy SEAL commander, who taught Carrey tricks for coping whenever the costume made him panic.

In the 2000 film, the Grinch pleads a full diary to dodge the Whos' party; what has he booked for 5:30?

Jazzercise comes straight after 'solve world hunger, tell no one' on his list; he declares himself booked, then starts fretting about what he would wear.

In the song 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch', the Grinch is said to be as cuddly as what?

A cactus is the song's first simile, in lyrics Dr. Seuss wrote for the 1966 special; in the 2000 film the Grinch sings it about himself.

Taylor Momsen, Cindy Lou Who in the 2000 Grinch film, went on to play Jenny Humphrey in which teen drama?

Gossip Girl made Momsen a teen star, but she walked away: in 2011, at 18, she said she had quit acting to tour with her band.

Which rapper joined Jim Carrey on the hip-hop track 'Grinch 2000'?

Busta Rhymes leads the track, built on a sample of the 1966 song, while Carrey raps along in character; elsewhere on the album the star sings the original himself.

Which dancing violinist recorded 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch' with Sabrina Carpenter for a 2017 Christmas album?

Lindsey Stirling went out in the quarter-finals of America's Got Talent in 2010, then built a huge YouTube following with the same dancing-while-playing act.

Halloween Is Grinch Night songwriter Joe Raposo also wrote which children's show's theme?

Sesame Street's theme is Raposo's, and so is its song 'Sing', which the Carpenters took to number three on the US chart in 1973.

Which former Glee star played the Grinch in a 2020 television version of the stage musical?

Matthew Morrison headlined a two-hour version of the stage show, mounted at London's Troubadour Theatre in the middle of the pandemic.

In Dr. Seuss's book, which items does the Grinch grin 'are the first things to go' from the Whos' house?

The stockings, hung in a row, go into his bag first; only then does he slither and slink round the room, 'with a smile most unpleasant', taking every present.

In the 2018 film The Grinch, what does Cindy Lou want to ask Santa for?

Help for her mother, who works nights and raises three children alone: Cindy Lou rigs a trap to catch Santa and ask in person, and snares the Grinch instead.

Which network took over the annual holiday airings of the 1966 Grinch special in 2015?

NBC won the cartoon after its ten-year run on ABC, under a deal with Warner Bros. that allowed two airings every holiday season.

Reviewers complained that a 2000 DVD of the 1966 special made the Grinch look what colour?

Yellow: one review called it an odd mustard tone, and it took a 2006 'Deluxe Edition' with a cleaned-up picture to put the Grinch's colour right.

In the 2018 film, what forces the Grinch down into Whoville just before Christmas?

He runs out of food: the larder he stocked to last until January is bare, and he blames his own 'emotional eating'.

In the 2000 film, which gift from the mayor reminds the Grinch of his childhood humiliation?

An electric razor: as a hairy-faced schoolboy the Grinch cut himself trying to shave and the class laughed, and the bully who had mocked him grew up to be mayor.

In the 2000 film, the Grinch stands outside his cave hating the Whos in what order?

Alphabetically: he goes down the list of Whos name by name, handing out 'hate, hate, hate… double hate' until one name earns a 'loathe entirely'.

Stefán Karl Stefánsson, the stage musical's touring Grinch, was best known as villain Robbie Rotten in which children's show?

LazyTown's lazy villain made the Icelandic actor famous; he spoke no English when the series began, yet went on to lead the Grinch musical on tour for years.

Who narrates the 2000 live-action Grinch film?

Anthony Hopkins had only to lend his voice, while the film's star spent about 92 days of the shoot in the Grinch makeup.

Audrey Geisel, who controlled the Seuss rights, first wanted which star to play the Grinch in the 2000 film?

Jack Nicholson was her pick, but producer Brian Grazer argued that the Grinch needed an innocence that lets you forgive him, and held out for his own choice.

Universal's studio tour long passed the Grinch film's Whoville set, which stood beside which famous location?

The Bates Motel and the Psycho house were its neighbours: the cast waited in the old house between outdoor takes, and the surviving Whoville sets were pulled down in 2020.

Jim Carrey's furry Grinch suit in the 2000 film was made from what?

Yak hair, sewn onto a spandex suit, itched so much that Carrey said it drove him insane; he smoked through a long holder because the fur could catch fire.

To play acrobatic Whos, the 2000 Grinch film recruited performers from which famous circus?

Cirque du Soleil performers helped run a 'Who school' on a stage full of trampolines and unicycles, where the cast worked out how Whos walk, tumble and fall.

In the 2018 film, which animal answers the Grinch's reindeer-call horn and then will not stop following him?

A goat turns up instead of a reindeer, screams in his face and trails him and Max until the Grinch snaps, 'Go back to the goat farm!'

Which socialite is played by Christine Baranski in the 2000 Grinch film?

Martha May Whovier hands the mayor back his engagement ring at the end, telling him her heart belongs to someone else: the Grinch.

According to the 2000 film's opening narration, the story of the Grinch happens inside what?

A snowflake: the camera dives into one to find Whoville, to a new couplet about 'the one on your sleeve' and 'a story you must see to believe'.

Which title does Cindy nominate the Grinch for in the 2000 film?

Holiday Cheermeister goes to the Grinch on Cindy Lou's nomination, over the mayor's objections, and at the ceremony he surprises himself by starting to enjoy the Whos' company.

Which relative of the director plays the mayor's aide Whobris in the 2000 Grinch film?

Clint Howard is Whobris; their father Rance, cast as the Elderly Timekeeper, kept being handed extra lines so he could work almost every day, and Bryce Dallas Howard is a Surprised Who.

Which retailer turned its stores into 'Whobilation Headquarters' in 2000?

Toys 'R' Us promised the most aggressive in-store displays in its history, with re-created Whovilles in its shops to launch the holiday season.

Which annual Universal theme park event began with the release of the 2000 Grinch film?

Grinchmas opened at Universal Studios Hollywood with a sledding hill of real snow and a maze through a copy of the Grinch's cave, dressed with props from the film.

In Dr. Seuss's book, which sweet dish do the Whos feast on, to the Grinch's disgust?

Who-pudding is half of the Whos' Christmas menu, a feast the Grinch 'couldn't stand in the least'; on his raid he carries it off with the rest of their food.

Two writers of the Grinch ballad 'Where Are You Christmas?' also wrote which Celine Dion hit?

My Heart Will Go On was by James Horner and Will Jennings; for the Grinch they wrote with Mariah Carey, but her recording was blocked and Faith Hill sang the single.

Why couldn't Mariah Carey release her own recording of 'Where Are You Christmas?'?

A legal case with her ex-husband Tommy Mottola, who then ran Sony Music, kept Carey's version off the soundtrack, so Faith Hill recorded the song instead.

Which rock band did Cindy Lou actress Taylor Momsen go on to front?

The Pretty Reckless came full circle in 2025, when Momsen and the band released a rock version of the ballad she had sung as Cindy Lou in the film.

In 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch', the singer wouldn't touch the Grinch with a pole of what length?

39½ feet, almost four times the proverbial ten-foot pole; in the 2000 film the Grinch sings the line about himself.

Which actress voices Whoville's Mayor McGerkle in the 2018 film The Grinch?

Angela Lansbury's mayor decrees a Christmas 'three times bigger' than usual, crowned by a giant tree whose lighting the Grinch tries and fails to sabotage.

Who is Bricklebaum in the 2018 film The Grinch?

The Grinch's jolly neighbour, voiced by Kenan Thompson, is introduced as 'the happiest Who alive' and calls him 'Grinchy'; the Grinch groans, 'He thinks we're friends.'

Which Parks and Recreation star voices Cindy Lou's mother in the 2018 film The Grinch?

Rashida Jones plays Donna Who, bringing up Cindy Lou and twin baby boys on her own; the 2000 film had given Cindy Lou two parents, Lou and Betty Lou Who.

What did billboards for the 2018 film The Grinch do in Los Angeles and New York?

Insulted the locals: one told people to 'stop moving to Los Angeles' because 'it's full', and New Yorkers got taunts written just for them.

Three writers fresh from which sitcom did an uncredited rewrite of the 2000 Grinch film?

Seinfeld veterans Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer and David Mandel reworked the script without credit, adding gags such as the Grinch's packed day planner.

What original song did Tyler, the Creator write for the 2018 film The Grinch?

I Am the Grinch is his own song for the film; he also recorded a new version of the 1966 theme, which went out ahead of the film as the soundtrack's lead single.

The 2018 Grinch film was promoted with a giant balloon of the character at which annual event?

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade carried the studio's balloon through New York; the film itself had slipped a full year, from November 2017 to November 2018.

2018's The Grinch took the Christmas box-office record from which film?

Home Alone had held the record for 28 years, outlasting even Jim Carrey's Grinch in 2000, before the animated version passed it and went on to about $553 million worldwide.

In the 2018 film, relentless carolers pursue the Grinch through Whoville singing which carol?

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen booms from a choir that pops up wherever he turns and speeds up as he flees; the voices are a recording by the a cappella group Pentatonix.

Audrey Geisel, an executive producer of the 2018 film The Grinch who died weeks after its release, was who?

Dr. Seuss's widow guarded his work closely: when she put the Grinch film rights up for sale in 1998, studios had to audition for her in person, and she turned the first pitches down.

The Mean One, an unlicensed 2022 parody, retells the Grinch story as what?

Slasher horror: the killer is played by the actor behind Terrifier's Art the Clown, and since the film is unauthorised, the town he terrorises is called Newville.

In December 2006 the Grinch musical ended which show's 100-week run as Broadway's top earner?

Wicked had led the weekly box office for 100 weeks; the Grinch, a 90-minute show, overtook it while playing as many as twelve performances a week.

Patrick Page, Broadway's original Grinch, went on to create which Spider-Man villain in a Broadway musical?

The Green Goblin, in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, was the next villain Page created on Broadway; he had already played Scar in The Lion King and later originated Hades in Hadestown.

Which Minneapolis troupe first commissioned a Grinch stage musical in 1994?

Children's Theatre Company staged Timothy Mason's adaptation first; four years later the script opened in San Diego, and in 2006 it reached Broadway.

The bass who sang 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch' was also the voice of which cereal mascot?

Tony the Tiger was the same singer's part from 1952 until his death in 2005; his moustachioed face on a singing bust in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion is often mistaken for Walt Disney's.

Boris Karloff was the stage name of an English actor born under which name?

William Henry Pratt invented the name as a jobbing actor in Canada, saying Karloff came from his mother's family and that he plucked Boris 'from out of the cold, Canadian air'.

Dr. Seuss wrote which book to win a bet that he couldn't tell a story using only 50 different words?

Green Eggs and Ham won him the $50 bet, a dollar for every word in the book's vocabulary, though he cheerfully complained for the rest of his life that he was never paid.

In which Massachusetts city was Dr. Seuss born?

Springfield's real Mulberry Street, near his boyhood home, gave him the title of his first children's book, and the city now has a Dr. Seuss museum.

Dr. Seuss received which honour in 1984?

A Pulitzer special citation honoured his 'special contribution over nearly half a century to the education and enjoyment of America's children and their parents'.

Which characters made Chuck Jones famous before the Grinch?

Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote starred in his best-known Warner shorts; the Coyote and the Road Runner were his own creations, as were Pepé Le Pew and Marvin the Martian.

Which composer wrote the score for the 2018 film The Grinch?

Danny Elfman scored the film and reworked the 1966 theme song with Tyler, the Creator; he had earlier sung Jack Skellington's songs in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

In 2024 Jim Carrey said he would happily return as the Grinch on what condition?

Playing him via motion capture would spare him the prosthetics: he recalled the original makeup, under which he could hardly breathe, as 'an extremely excruciating process'.

The 2000 Grinch beat which earlier film as Jim Carrey's biggest opening weekend?

Batman Forever had opened to about $52.8 million in 1995; the Grinch's $55.1 million also stood as the best start for a Christmas film until the animated Grinch beat it in 2018.

The 2000 Grinch was the first non-Disney film to top the US Thanksgiving box office since which 1993 comedy?

Mrs. Doubtfire had been the last, seven years earlier; the Grinch won the holiday in its second weekend, when its takings dipped only about 5 percent.

Universal pulled the trailer for which coming film from Grinch screenings in 2000 as too intense for young children?

The Mummy Returns teaser, full of gun and sword battles, was dropped after cinema chains previewed it and warned the studio that very small children would be in the audience.

The opening narration of the 2000 live-action Grinch film places the town of Whoville inside what?

A snowflake holds the whole town, says the narrator, who goes on to place Whoville in the high range of Pontoos.

To help the star of the 2000 Grinch film cope with his makeup, a military expert taught him to endure what?

Torture resistance was the lesson: the producer hired a former SEAL Team Six officer for a star who likened wearing the suit to being buried alive.

The 2018 film The Grinch replaced which comedy as the highest-grossing Christmas movie of all time?

Home Alone lost the title after nearly three decades, and the same run made the 2018 film the highest-grossing Dr. Seuss adaptation too.

In the song 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch', the Grinch is said to be as cuddly as which plant?

A cactus comes in the song's opening verse, and the words are by Dr. Seuss himself, who wrote the lyrics to Albert Hague's music.

The actor who voiced the Grinch in the 1966 animated special found stardom playing which 1931 horror character?

Frankenstein's monster made him a horror icon; 35 years later the same voice both narrated the Grinch's story and spoke for the Grinch.

In the 2000 live-action film, the schoolboy Grinch is laughed at by his class after trying to do what?

Shave his face, that is: teased about his whiskers, he cut himself with the razor, and the laughter sent him off to live on the mountain.

In Dr. Seuss's story, the narrator wonders if the Grinch hates Christmas because what might be too tight?

His shoes are one guess, along with a head that may not be fitted on properly; the narrator admits that no one quite knows the reason.

Taylor Momsen, a child star of the 2000 Grinch film, later played Jenny Humphrey in which teen drama?

Gossip Girl kept her on screen from 2007, but in 2011 she told Elle magazine she had quit acting to concentrate on music.

At the end of the 2018 film The Grinch, the Grinch says it was never Christmas he hated but what?

Loneliness was the real trouble, he tells the Whos at the Christmas dinner a young Who has invited him to, just before leading a toast.

In 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch', the singer would not touch the Grinch with a pole of what length?

39½ feet is the pole in question, one in a long string of insults whose words Dr. Seuss wrote himself.

The opening narration of the 1966 animated special says the Grinch lives just which way from Whoville?

North of Whoville is where the first lines put him, and the 2000 film agrees, describing the town as lying south of his mountain.

Which actor plays Whoville's mayor, the Grinch's childhood bully, in the 2000 live-action film?

Jeffrey Tambor's mayor goes on to propose to the Grinch's old flame in front of the whole town, with a new car thrown in as an engagement gift.

Which country star sings the closing-credits ballad of the 2000 live-action Grinch film?

Faith Hill shot the song's video on a set of the Grinch's mountaintop lair, with the film's young co-star making a cameo.

Which composer of The Simpsons theme wrote the score for the 2018 animated film The Grinch?

Danny Elfman also reworked 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch' with rapper Tyler, the Creator, a version heard early in the film.

Cardiologist David Kass suggested the Grinch's suddenly enlarged heart shows the physiology of which snake?

Burmese python hearts really do grow on demand: after a big meal the ventricle gains about 40 per cent in mass to power digestion.

The 1966 animated Grinch special was first sponsored by a foundation representing which businesses?

Banks paid for the Grinch's television debut: the Foundation for Full Service Banks sponsored it until 1970, after which its plugs were cut from the special.

Albert Hague, who composed the 1966 Grinch special's songs, later played a music teacher in which film and series?

Fame cast him as Mr. Shorofsky, a part he originated in the film and kept for the TV series; he also turns up as a psychiatrist in Space Jam.

In December 2006 the Broadway Grinch musical ended which show's 100-week streak as the top-grossing production?

Wicked was knocked off the top of the Broadway box office in the first week of that month, during a Grinch run that lasted only two months.

Writers from which sitcom gave the script of the 2000 live-action Grinch film an uncredited rewrite?

Seinfeld alumni Alec Berg, David Mandel and Jeff Schaffer went uncredited; the screen credit stayed with the writers of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Which Saturday Night Live cast member voices Bricklebaum in the 2018 animated film The Grinch?

Kenan Thompson's Bricklebaum is convinced that he and the Grinch are best friends, a feeling the Grinch does not return.