97 Fun Facts About The Grinch

The 1966 special's theme song says the Grinch is as cuddly as a what?

A cactus, the song says, and as charming as an eel. Its bass singer was left off the credits, so the insults are often credited by mistake to the special's narrator.

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

Random House published it. Seuss called it the easiest book of his career, written in a few weeks, except for the ending, which took him three months to crack.

In the 2000 film, where does Cindy Lou first come face to face with the Grinch?

The post office, where her father is postmaster: the Grinch has slipped into the back room to shuffle the Whos' Christmas mail into the wrong boxes.

In which direction from Whoville does the Grinch live?

North: the story opens with the Grinch 'just north of Who-ville', glaring down from his cave on Christmas Eve at the warm lighted windows of the town below.

A cardiologist joked that the Grinch's fast-growing heart gives him the physiology of which animal?

A Burmese python, said Dr David Kass: the snake's heart swells quickly after a big meal. He admitted the theory has a hole, since a freshly fed python lies still rather than lifting sleds.

What does the Grinch dress up as to sneak into Whoville?

Santa Claus: the Grinch sews 'a quick Santy Claus hat and a coat', and the disguise is good enough to fool the one small Who who wakes and catches him in the act.

Who played the Grinch in the 2000 live-action movie?

Jim Carrey found the daily makeup so punishing that he tried to quit early in the shoot, yet the performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination.

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

Wicked was up against a heavier schedule: the Grinch musical played 12 performances a week, with matinees every day during the holiday weeks.

In 1998 How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was translated into which ancient language?

Latin: two University of Kentucky classicists turned it into 'Quomodo Invidiosulus Nomine Grinchus Christi Natalem Abrogaverit', printed with Seuss's original drawings.

In the first Who house, what does the Grinch call 'the first things to go'?

The stockings, hung in a row, go first. Then he slinks round the room taking every present, from pop guns and bicycles to popcorn and plums.

In Dr. Seuss's book, what is the last thing the Grinch takes from the first Who house?

The log for the fire goes last, so the family would wake to a cold hearth as well as bare walls: he leaves nothing on them 'but hooks and some wire'.

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

Rashida Jones voices Donna Who, a single mother run ragged by work and infant twins, and it is her exhaustion that sets her daughter's whole Christmas plan in motion.

Dr. Seuss's widow first wanted which actor to play the Grinch in the 2000 live-action film?

Jack Nicholson was the widow's pick. Producer Brian Grazer argued that the Grinch is mean but has to be forgivable and innocent, and won her round to his own choice.

In Dr. Seuss's book, what does the Grinch stuff the Whos' presents into?

Bags: he arrives with them empty in his fist, and by a quarter past dawn his sled is packed with every present, ribbon, wrapping and tag in town.

What excuse does the Grinch give Cindy Lou Who for taking the Christmas tree?

A light on it won't work, he tells her: one side won't light, so he is taking the tree home to his workshop to fix it and will bring it straight back.

What was the real surname of the author who wrote as Dr. Seuss?

Geisel was his surname; Seuss was his middle name and his mother's maiden name. The 'Dr.' was self-awarded, since he left Oxford without ever finishing a doctorate.

Who narrated and voiced the Grinch in the 1966 animated TV special?

Boris Karloff, cinema's Frankenstein monster, gave the Grinch his speaking voice but not his singing one: the theme song's deep bass belongs to another performer, who was left off the credits.

Who directed the 2000 live-action Grinch movie?

Ron Howard at first had no interest in a live-action Grinch. His producing partner Brian Grazer talked him into pitching Seuss's widow, who had turned every studio down.

In the 2000 film, Cindy Lou nominates the Grinch for which honorary title?

Holiday Cheermeister is the honour at the town's thousandth Whobilation. He turns up and even starts to have fun, until the mayor humiliates him and he wrecks the party.

Which bass singer performed 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch' in the 1966 special without a screen credit?

Thurl Ravenscroft was left off the closing credits by mistake, so for decades the song was widely assumed to be the work of the special's narrator.

Which city's Old Globe Theatre has made the Grinch musical its Christmas tradition since 1998?

San Diego was Dr. Seuss's adopted home: he lived and worked in its La Jolla district until his death in 1991, and the Old Globe's Grinch opened seven years later.

Who plays Cindy Lou Who in the 2000 live-action Grinch movie?

Taylor Momsen swapped Whoville for hard rock: after Gossip Girl she quit acting altogether to front her band, The Pretty Reckless.

What animation studio produced the 2018 'The Grinch' film?

Illumination gave its Grinch a backstory to explain the grudge: he grew up unloved in an orphanage and was never adopted.

When the Who children rush for their toys on Christmas morning, what is the 'one thing' the Grinch says he hates?

The noise: he pictures every Who girl and boy waking 'bright and early' to try out new toys, and the thought sets his Grinch fingers 'nervously drumming'.

In 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch', the singer says the Grinch has garlic in his what?

Soul. Dr. Seuss wrote every insult in the song, piling on a brain full of spiders and a heart that is 'an empty hole' before reaching for the garlic.

Who directed the 1966 animated TV special of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'?

Chuck Jones, the Looney Tunes director, had worked with Seuss on Army training cartoons during the war, and that old friendship won over an author who distrusted Hollywood.

In the 2000 film's flashback, what does the schoolboy Grinch try in order to impress his classmates?

Shave: he cuts his face badly, the class laughs at him, and he storms out of town for good. The classmate who had mocked his beard grows up to be mayor.

The 1966 Grinch special was made at which studio, where its director was also making Tom and Jerry cartoons?

MGM had taken the director in after his long run on Looney Tunes at Warner Bros. ended, and its studio chorus sings the Whos' carols in the special.

In the 2000 film, which actress plays the socialite the Grinch has loved since his schooldays?

Christine Baranski's socialite is courted by the mayor all film long, then hands back his engagement ring in front of the town and declares her love for the Grinch.

The Grinch suit worn in the 2000 film was covered in the dyed hair of which animal?

Yak hair, dyed green and sewn onto a spandex suit. The star called it unnervingly itchy, and it kept him in the makeup chair for hours on each of 92 shooting days.

The uncredited singer of the 1966 Grinch theme song voiced which famous character for decades in commercials?

Tony the Tiger: he took over the cereal mascot from its first voice, Dallas McKennon, and kept the job for five decades. McKennon, by coincidence, voiced the dog in the same Grinch special.

What other Dr. Seuss book was published in the same year as 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'?

The Cat in the Hat came first, that spring: Seuss built it from a short list of simple words a textbook publisher gave him, to prove that first readers need not be dull.

In which version of the story did the Grinch first appear in green?

The 1966 TV special had to pick a colour, because the book is printed only in black, white and red. Its director and Seuss agreed green was the one choice that made sense.

Which blockbuster did the 2000 Grinch film overtake to become that year's top earner at the US box office?

Mission: Impossible 2 lost the American title to the Grinch but kept the bigger one: with far stronger sales abroad, the spy sequel finished 2000 as the top-grossing film worldwide.

Who plays the Mayor of Whoville in the 2000 live-action Grinch movie?

Jeffrey Tambor's pompous mayor is the Grinch's old school bully and now his rival in love: he proposes to the Grinch's childhood sweetheart in front of the whole town, offering a new car.

Which magazine printed How the Grinch Stole Christmas! in full in late 1957?

Redbook already knew the name: in 1955 it had run a short Seuss poem, 'The Hoobub and the Grinch', whose Grinch was a fast-talking salesman.

To show sympathy for his star, how did the 2000 Grinch film's director spend one whole day on set?

In full Grinch makeup: he turned up hours early to be suited up, then directed the whole day in it. His star laughed his head off and thanked him for the empathy.

In the song 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,' the Grinch's heart is described as being full of what?

Unwashed socks: Dr. Seuss, who wrote the lyrics, then sums up his own creation in 'the three words that best describe you': 'Stink, stank, stunk!'

Which composer, later the music teacher in TV's Fame, wrote the songs for the 1966 Grinch special?

Albert Hague arrived in America as a refugee from Nazi Germany and became a Tony-winning Broadway composer before setting Dr. Seuss's lyrics to music.

How did the makeup designer stop Universal from simply painting its Grinch actor green?

He leaked his own test video: he put the Grinch makeup on his own face, taped it, and had a film website report that the studio was making a big mistake. The studio came round.

In the 2018 animated film, what is the name of the Grinch's pet reindeer?

Fred is a fat reindeer the Grinch recruits for his raid. When it turns out that Fred has a family, the Grinch gives in and lets him go home with them.

In the 1990s the Grinch returned as a puppet in a Nickelodeon series from which producer?

The Jim Henson Company's Grinch, in The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, no longer waits for Christmas: he schemes to spoil fun all year round, with a long-suffering Max dragged along to help.

The 1966 Grinch special's director first worked with Dr. Seuss on wartime Army cartoons starring which character?

Private Snafu was a bungling soldier whose blunders showed troops what not to do. Two decades later that wartime partnership persuaded a wary Seuss to hand over the Grinch.

Which rapper recorded the updated 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch' for the 2018 film?

Tyler, the Creator went further than a cover: he also wrote and performed a brand-new song for the film, 'I Am the Grinch'.

The 2000 Grinch film's star said which band's entire catalogue got him through the makeup sessions?

The Bee Gees: he played their whole catalogue in the makeup chair because, he said, their music is so joyful, and he still wants to thank Barry Gibb.

According to the narration, the Grinch even took the Whos' last can of what?

Who Hash is the last tin in an icebox the Grinch cleans out 'as quick as a flash', and the Whos' whole feast follows the toys out of the house.

In 2018 the animated Grinch replaced which film as the highest-grossing Christmas movie worldwide?

Home Alone had stayed on top for 28 years, seeing off even the live-action Grinch of 2000, before the animated version finally out-earned it.

Grinchmas launched in 2000 at Universal Studios Hollywood and which Florida park, home of Seuss Landing?

Islands of Adventure had opened only the year before with a whole Seuss Landing built from the books, so the film's release handed it a ready-made Whoville Christmas.

In 2018's The Grinch, which relentlessly jolly Who insists that the Grinch is his best friend?

Bricklebaum wrongly believes the two are close all film long, and when the reformed Grinch makes his speech at Christmas dinner he sighs, 'That's my best friend.'

In the 2000 movie, what is the name of the Grinch's love interest from his childhood?

Martha May Whovier was the one classmate who never laughed at him. Grown up, she is a wealthy socialite who still carries a torch for the Grinch.

Since Dr. Seuss's book, 'grinch' has entered dictionaries as an informal noun meaning what kind of person?

Killjoy, or spoilsport: the dictionaries kept the Grinch of the opening pages, though Seuss's own Grinch ends the story reformed and welcome at the Whos' table.

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

Benedict Cumberbatch was asked to keep his natural English accent but insisted on an American one, reasoning that the rest of the cast sounded American.

The townsfolk the Grinch robs first appeared in which earlier Dr. Seuss book?

Horton Hears a Who! put their whole town on a speck of dust, which an elephant guards on a clover while the other jungle animals try to boil it in oil.

The name 'Grinch' first appeared in which earlier Dr. Seuss book, attached to a bird?

Scrambled Eggs Super! features a bad-tempered bird called the Beagle-Beaked-Bald-Headed Grinch. In 2021 it became one of six Seuss books withdrawn from sale over their imagery.

On which mountain does the Grinch have his cave, high above Whoville?

Mount Crumpit is also where the loot is meant to end up: once his sled is full he rides the whole load up its side 'to the tiptop to dump it'.

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

Three sizes, 'that day', they say in Whoville. In the 1966 special he instantly finds 'the strength of ten Grinches, plus two' and hauls the sliding sleigh back from the edge.

A 2022 unlicensed parody, The Mean One, retold the Grinch story in which film genre?

Horror: the green hermit becomes a Christmas-hating killer, and a grown-up Cindy returns to the town of Newville to hunt him down.

In the 2023 sequel How the Grinch Lost Christmas!, what does the Grinch set out to win?

A Christmas tree contest: a year after his change of heart he wants the town's Christmas Crown for the best tree, and turns cold again when the plan goes wrong.

How does the Grinch turn his dog Max into a 'reindeer' for the Christmas Eve raid on Whoville?

A single tied-on horn: finding that 'reindeer are scarce', the Grinch decides 'I'll make one instead' and fastens the horn to Max's head with red thread.

NBC's 2020 television production of the Grinch stage musical was performed in which city?

London: unlike the network's earlier TV musicals, this one was not broadcast live. It was taped in advance over two days on the stage of the Troubadour Theatre.

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

Roast beast: Seuss said the pun rescued him from an ending that kept sounding like 'a second-rate preacher', by simply seating the Grinch at the Whos' table.

After stealing everything from Whoville, what does the Grinch expect to hear from the Whos on Christmas morning?

Cries of despair: he pauses at the top with a hand to his ear, sure that every Who will wail 'Boo-hoo', a sound he says he simply must hear.

On Christmas morning, what sound rises from Whoville and stops the Grinch in his tracks?

Joyful singing: every Who, 'the tall and the small', is singing without any presents at all, and the Grinch stands in the snow puzzling over it until his 'puzzler was sore'.

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

It means a little bit more: 'Maybe Christmas', he thinks, 'doesn't come from a store', a conclusion the book says took him three hours of puzzling.

What does the Grinch do right after his change of heart?

He returns everything he stole, toys and feast alike. In the 1966 special he rides back down into Whoville cheerily blowing a trumpet.

In Dr. Seuss's book, what does the Grinch fetch for Cindy-Lou Who before sending her back to bed?

A drink: she had got out of bed 'for a cup of cold water', so the Grinch pats her head, hands her a cup and packs her off before finishing the job.

Which award did the 1966 Grinch special's narrator win for telling the story?

A Grammy, for Best Recording for Children: a voice that had frightened filmgoers for decades won its prize for telling a children's story on record.

Which actor auditioned for the Grinch in the 2000 film but withdrew over a prosthetics allergy?

John Stamos broke the news to the Grinch himself: as a guest on the character's podcast in 2024, he said trying the makeup on had shown he was allergic to the prosthetics.

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

To stop Christmas from coming, he reasons, he need only carry off the presents, the feast and the trimmings before the Whos wake, since a holiday with nothing in it cannot arrive.

How does the Grinch get into the Whos' houses?

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

Which network first aired the Grinch special in 1966, a year after launching A Charlie Brown Christmas?

CBS repeated the special every Christmas season until 1988, when a sale of its studio's film library carried it off to cable television.

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

A tiny crumb, 'even too small for a mouse'. He then does the same in every other house, leaving crumbs 'much too small for the other Whos' mouses'.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is usually read as Dr. Seuss's critique of what?

Holiday commercialism was Seuss's own complaint: he said something had gone wrong with Christmas, 'or more likely with me', and wrote the story to find what he had lost.

Where did the makers of the 2000 Grinch film find the dogs that played Max?

Animal shelters supplied all six mixed-breed dogs who shared the part, led by Kelly and Chip, and every one of them was adopted once filming wrapped.

Which of these Grinch songs was written for the 2000 live-action film?

"Where Are You, Christmas?" was co-written by Mariah Carey for the film: Cindy Lou sings a short version on screen, and country star Faith Hill recorded the full song as a single.

Which makeup artist designed the Grinch and the Whos for the 2000 live-action film?

Rick Baker had to fight for his design: the studio's first idea was simply to paint its star green, with no prosthetics at all.

What literary device is Dr. Seuss primarily known for using in his books, including the Grinch story?

Rhymed verse: Seuss wrote most of his books in the same galloping metre, and in the 2000 film the Grinch catches the habit and wails, 'I'm speaking in rhyme!'

At the start of Dr. Seuss's book, how does the narrator measure the Grinch's heart?

Two sizes too small is 'the most likely reason of all' for his hatred of Christmas, the narrator says, ahead of tight shoes.

In the 2000 film, what is the name of Whoville's mayor, the Grinch's old school bully?

Augustus MayWho tormented the young Grinch at school and never stopped: as mayor he fights the plan to honour him, then humiliates him in front of the whole town.

Which voice actress, famous as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, played the little Who girl in the 1966 Grinch special?

June Foray went uncredited for her few lines. Decades later she came back to the special to record a commentary track for its DVD release.

Who narrates the 2018 animated film The Grinch?

Pharrell Williams was an old friend of the studio: his song 'Happy' had helped turn its Despicable Me 2 into a monster hit five years earlier.

A 1957 review hailed the Grinch as 'easily the best Christmas-cad since' which character?

Ebenezer Scrooge: Kirkus Reviews made the comparison first, and scholars still pair the two, each a Christmas-hater transformed in a single Christmas morning.

Which actor, the voice of Disney's Captain Hook, played the Grinch in 1977's Halloween Is Grinch Night?

Hans Conried had history with Seuss: he starred as the tyrannical piano teacher in the author's 1953 film flop The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, and Seuss kept on hiring him.

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. 'It was Seuss!' he said, so he wrote about his 'sour friend' to find what he had lost.

Which veteran actress voices Mayor McGerkle in the 2018 animated Grinch film?

Angela Lansbury, television's Jessica Fletcher, plays a mayor whose grand tree-lighting ceremony the Grinch tries, and fails, to sabotage.

Which Glee star was the Grinch in 2020's The Grinch Musical Live!?

Matthew Morrison's Grinch kept breaking the fourth wall, turning to the camera in close-up to taunt the audience watching at home.

Which comics company's animation arm made the 1982 TV special The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat?

Marvel had just bought the cartoon studio behind the Pink Panther shorts and the earlier Seuss specials, so its name landed on a Grinch cartoon that went on to win an Emmy.

Which actor narrates the 2000 live-action Grinch film?

Anthony Hopkins speaks lines Seuss never wrote: the film's rewrite team added fresh narration in the book's style to stretch a very short story into a feature.

Who composed the score for the 2000 live-action Grinch film?

James Horner, a double Oscar winner for Titanic, did more than score it: he co-wrote the film's big ballad with Mariah Carey and lyricist Will Jennings.

Which Saturday Night Live alum plays Betty Lou Who in the 2000 Grinch film?

Molly Shannon's Betty Lou is bent on having the best-lit house in Whoville, a yearly battle with a rival neighbour that she is sure will go her way this time.

The 2000 Grinch film's outdoor Whoville set stood beside which famous set on Universal's backlot?

The Psycho house and Bates Motel had Whoville for a neighbour for twenty years: studio-tour trams kept passing the leftover Who houses until they were demolished in 2020.

The trainer hired to help the 2000 Grinch film's star endure the makeup had founded which elite unit?

SEAL Team Six's first commander, Richard Marcinko, taught him to ride out the panic with distractions, from punching his own leg to smoking as much as he could.

According to the opening narration of the 2000 Grinch film, Whoville lies inside what?

A snowflake, 'like the one on your sleeve'. The line is not Seuss's: the film's writers composed new narration to link the scenes they had added to his short book.

Who composed the score for the 2018 animated Grinch film?

Danny Elfman also teamed up with the film's rapper to rework the 1966 theme song, supplying the orchestral arrangement behind the new verses.

In the 2018 film, what is the only reason the Grinch ever goes into Whoville?

To buy groceries: he lives shut away in his cave with only his dog for company, and running out of food is the one thing that drags him down among the cheerful Whos.

Which rapper teamed up with the 2000 Grinch film's star on the soundtrack track 'Grinch 2000'?

Busta Rhymes trades verses with the film's star, who raps in character as the Grinch, while a choir sings the chorus of the 1966 theme song.

In 2018's The Grinch, what does Cindy-Lou scheme to do with her friends on Christmas Eve?

Trap Santa Claus: she wants to ask him face to face to make life easier for her overworked mother, and the trap she builds catches the Grinch instead.