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With this coat and this hat, I'll look just like Saint Nick! Ho, ho, ho!
The Grinch dresses as Santa Claus, and his most famous quote.
You got me, Officer! I did it! I'm the Grinch that stole Christmas. And I'm... sorry.The Grinch confesses about his crimes.
The Grinch, real name is Ethan Toothstain Grinch, is the titular main protagonist of the 2000 live-action adaptation of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
He was portrayed by Jim Carrey, who also played Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber, Tom Popper in Mr. Popper's Penguins, The Mask in the 1994 film of the same name, Horton in Horton Hears a Who and Colonel Stars and Stripes in Kick-Ass 2. The late Josh Ryan Evans (in his final theatrical role) played an 8-year-old Grinch when he was a child.
Personality
Similar to his original counterpart, the Grinch is shown to be very grouchy, selfish, and wrathful in nature. To that end, he would play harmful pranks on the citizens of Whoville, such as tampering with their mail, making crank calls, and scaring intruders from entering into his lair.
However, the true reason behind his wrathful and sadistic nature was due to being bullied by other kids for his appearance. As a child, he was an outcast at school and was bullied by his classmates, especially by Augustus May Who and that the horrible treatment is what drove him off the edge to become the Christmas-hating person he was known.
Despite his flaws, the Grinch is somewhat insecure as he thinks of himself nothing but a monster to be hated because of his appearance and nature.
He's also insightful as he saw the Whos as commercialized, materialistic and wasteful beings because they take their holiday for granted by asking for gifts before disposing of them in favor for more to satisfy their greed, to which he's correct about. Surprisingly, in the end, the Whos finally learned from their mistake for commercializing the holiday, which was the main reason why they decided to forgive the Grinch after he apologized for stealing their gifts and decorations.
Compared to any other Grinch incarnation, this Grinch is noticeably more unhinged, eccentric and deranged than any other version of The Grinch. In the similar veins of Robbie Rotten, he's remarkably aloof and clown-like in his voice and movements in an incredibly cartoonish, energetic and exaggerated way, he also tends to be rather jocular and over-the-top, as well as throwing child-like tantrums at the drop of a hat. Despite all of his silliness, exuberance and antics, he also exhibits remarkable engineering skills as his sleigh actually flies and even as a child, he manufactured a rather beautiful angel tree topper.
However, it wasn't until the intervention of Cindy Lou Who and the epiphany of the true meaning of Christmas is what made him learn the error of his ways, even willing to return the gifts and decorations that he stole from the Whos.
Biography
His past
The Grinch arrived in Whoville by mistake when he was a baby and was adopted by two women. Although he showed some sadistic tendencies as a child, the Grinch was raised in a nice childhood by the women.
Despite having a good childhood, the Grinch was an outcast at school and was bullied by classmates (mainly by Augustus May Who) because of his green and hairy appearance. The only classmate to show him any compassion was Martha May Whovier, whom he had a crush on.
One Christmas season when he was eight, the Grinch made a gift for Martha, but he attempted to shave his face after remembering what all the kids said, cutting himself in the process. He would attempt to hide it by using a bag over his head a book and his own foot (when he took off the bag, he would use a book, and then when he took down the book he would use his foot) to avoid being teased.
When everyone saw the Grinch's face covered with shaving tape the next morning, they (with the exception of Martha) laughed at him for this, the teacher included. Fed up with the teasing, the Grinch went on a rampage and began hating Christmas and the Whos as he declared that he hated Christmas, scaring everyone out of his way as he ran off to live on Mt. Crumpit.
Over the years, the Grinch remained in hiding in a huge cave and became an urban legend due to brief sightings, developing a hatred for Christmas and the Whos for their mockery against him, even pulling dangerous and harmful practical jokes on them.
The Present
It wasn't until an 8-year-old girl named Cindy Lou Who believes that everyone is missing the point about Christmas by being more concerned about the gifts and festivities. After having a face-to-face encounter with the Grinch at the post office which he saves her being crushed by a sorting machine, Cindy Lou becomes interested in his history.
The next day, she asks everyone what they know about him and learns about his tragic past. Touched by this story, Cindy decides to make the Grinch the main participant of the Whobilation, to the great displeasure of Augustus (who is currently the Mayor of Whoville), who reluctantly agrees after pressure from the townspeople who have been warmed by Cindy Lou's generous spirit.
When Cindy Lou goes to Mt. Crumpit and offers an invitation to the Grinch, he initially refuses but gradually changes his mind, however, because of the promise of an award, the presence of Martha at the celebration, and the chance to humiliate the Mayor. Just as the Grinch is enjoying himself and almost won over by attending all of the Whobilation's contests and games, the Mayor gives him an electric shaver as a present, reminding him of his awful humiliation at school as a child. The Mayor even tops it off by asking Martha to marry him in front of him, promising her a new car in return. This causes the Grinch to lose his temper again and berate the Whos for thinking that Christmas is about gifts that they'll just dispose of later in the hopes of making them too ashamed to celebrate the holiday. The Grinch then goes on to ruin the party by burning the Christmas tree with a makeshift flamethrower (although his actions prove fruitless as the Whos have a spare tree, which the Grinch sees them erect before he leaves).
Returning back to Mt. Crumpit, the Grinch instead concocts a plan to steal all of their presents while they are sleeping. Creating a Santa suit and sleigh with his own dog, Max as a "deer", the Grinch flies around Whoville, stealing all of the Whos' Christmas gifts. He is almost discovered by Cindy Lou but lies to her in order to get away. The next day, the Grinch manages to get Max ride the sleigh up into the top of Mt. Crumpit, happily declaring the success of his plan.
At that time, the Whos discover the Grinch's scheme and Augustus denounces Cindy Lou as the root of this catastrophic disaster. However, Lou Lou Who (the Whoville postmaster) finally stands up to him by saying that he doesn't care if the Grinch stole away all their presents. Lou then reminds everyone that they still have Christmas spirit and that the true meaning of Christmas is to spend time with your family and friends, and that the Grinch wouldn't have hated Christmas if the Mayor never teased him in the first place. With this revelation, all the Whos agreed with Lou and decided to enjoy the holiday without their gifts by singing together.
Hoping that the change of mood would inspire the Grinch, Cindy Lou goes to Mt. Crumpit to find him. Upon hearing the Whos joyfully singing, the Grinch became furious over the failure of his plan but has an epiphany about what Christmas is really about: not material gifts, but spending time with your loved ones, an insight that profoundly touches him and causes his heart to grow to three times its original size.
When the sleigh full of stolen gifts begins to go over the edge of the cliff, the Grinch desperately tries to save them to no avail. However, he spots Cindy Lou wanting to wish him a merry Christmas and is in danger of falling off the cliff with the sleigh. The Grinch finds enough strength to lift the sleigh, the gifts and Cindy Lou to safety. After a long descent down Mt. Crumpit, the Grinch returns to Whoville with Cindy, Max and the gifts. He confesses to the burglary and apologizes for his actions before surrendering to the police, willing to accept his punishment for his crimes. However, the police and the Whos agreed to forgive the Grinch as they apologized to the Grinch in return, even Martha refuses Augustus' proposal and decides that she would rather stay with the Grinch instead due to his meanness to the Grinch when she was a kid which makes the Grinch very happy and (along with Max) starts a new life with the Whos, commemorating the Christmas feast with them in his cave. Also, he and Martha start a romantic relationship after they both smiled at the end, including becoming Cindy's best friend.
Videogame appearance
The Grinch appears as the playable character in the 2000 video game tie-in of the movie (which is very loosely based off the film as well as the book).
The Grinch decides to destroy the Whos' Christmas, however when he loses his blue prints to his gadgets which end up scattering around the place, he is forced to go on a journey to collect them.
The player is given tasks to do, such as smashing presents and other mischievous things to torment the Whos. Max the Dog is also a playable character which the Grinch can use to gain access to areas to help him progress further.
Along the way, the player collects parts for the Grinch's sleigh, and once completed, they are involved in a boss mission which they chase down Santa Claus in his sleigh and shoot him down.
But like the film and book, the Grinch realizes the Whos are still happy. Once his heart grows, he returns to Whoville and apologizes for his actions.
Relationship
Cindy Lou Who
When he first met Cindy Lou Who at the post office, they did not get along since the Grinch was bad and thought that Cindy is just like the other Whos who only care about presents. Even though he did save her from the stamping machine, he did not want to admit that he only did that because he cared. Later, he met Cindy again after she found that the only reason he hates Christmas is because he had a tragic past and Cindy thinks that he's funny and not afraid of him, which upset him, but decided to go to the celebration after failing to make her leave or shutting her up (including the promise of an award, the presence of Martha at the celebration and the chance to humiliate the Mayor).
As the movie continues, the Grinch went bad again after the Mayor gives him an electric shaver as a present, reminding him of his humiliation at school and asks Martha to marry him, promising her a new car in return. In response, the Grinch berates the Whos and criticizes Christmas, claiming that the holiday is only about gifts that they will just dispose of later, in the hopes of making them too ashamed to celebrate the holiday. Then, he goes on to ruin the party by burning the Christmas tree and causing chaos throughout Whoville, but his actions prove to be fruitless as the Whos have a spare tree which the Grinch sees them erect before he leaves.
The Grinch, knowing that his attack has failed to remove the Whos' Christmas spirit, instead concocts a plan to steal all of their presents while they are sleeping. Creating a Santa suit and sleigh with his own dog Max as a "reindeer", the Grinch travels to Whoville and steals all of the Whos' Christmas gifts. He is almost discovered by Cindy Lou but lies to her in order to escape.
On Christmas morning, the Whos discover the Grinch's scheme and May Who blames the whole disaster on Cindy Lou. However, her father, Lou Lou Who, the Whoville postmaster, finally stands up to him and reminds everyone that they still have Christmas spirit and that the true meaning of Christmas is to spend time with your family and friends. The people agree and begin to sing. Hoping that the change of mood would inspire the Grinch, Cindy Lou goes to Mount Crumpit to find him.
The Grinch intends to push the stolen gifts off the top of the mountain. However, he hears the joyful singing of the Whos and knows he has failed again. Infuriated, the Grinch finally realizes what he has done after realizing that Christmas is not about presents, but rather spending time with your loved ones which makes his heart grew three sizes.
When the sleigh full of stolen gifts begins to go over the edge of the cliff, the Grinch desperately tries to save them to no avail. However, when he realizes that Cindy Lou has come to wish him a merry Christmas and is in danger of falling off the cliff with the sleigh, the Grinch finds enough strength to lift the sleigh, the gifts and Cindy Lou to safety. The Grinch returns to Whoville with Max, Cindy and the gifts. He confesses to the burglary, tearfully apologizes for his actions towards the Whos, and surrenders himself to the police as they arrive, but the Whos reconcile with him, much to May Who's dismay.
Martha turns down May Who's proposal and decides that she would rather stay with the Grinch instead. Then, he later got a friendly and thank you kiss from Cindy who cared about him (include saving her from the sleigh). Then, they become best friends as the movie ends.
Martha May Whovier
When he was 8 years old, he was in love with Martha when she looked at him while licking her lollipop at school.
He always had a crush on Martha ever since childhood and would do anything to win her heart until he made a gift for Martha, but attempted to shave his face after being teased for having a "beard", accidentally cutting himself in the process. He would use a bag and a book to attempt to cover it up to avoid further teasing.
When his classmates and teacher saw his face covered with shaving tape the next morning, they laughed at him, except Martha, which he lost his temper, went on a rampage and ran away to live on a mountain to the north of Whoville, Mount Crumpit.
As years passed, he later met her again when they are both adults and he was flirting with her during the competition until his rival Augustus proposed to her by making him jealous and angry too.
At the end, after the Grinch reformed and loved Christmas and the Whos again, Martha called off the engagement and decided to be with him since Martha always loved the Grinch, which makes the Grinch really happy.
Later, they started to have a relationship after they sing and celebrate Christmas at the Grinch's home.
Max the Dog
Max is the dog and companion of the Grinch. We don't know how or when the Grinch got him, but we think that the Grinch found him during his childhood.
Max was first seen when he scared the Whos with the huge monster with a growl. His master was proud of him for scaring them, but upset that those Whos would not leave him alone.
So he got a plan to prank those Whos at Whoville. Their plan worked until they met Cindy Lou Who at the post office and when Cindy was in trouble, Max ordered his master to save her which the Grinch did.
After saving Cindy, they left and make prank calls until they decide to go home where they live at Mt. Crumpit.
He wasn't seen again until Cindy came to Mt. Crumpit to invite his master to join the party and later on, the Grinch decided to go.
After the Grinch was having a bad time (thanks to the Mayor), he came home and realized that Max was having a party by himself including having a great time.
Then his master threw him out and told Max that if he's not gonna help, he'll do something bad to him until somehow Max gave him an idea: to dress as Santa Claus, so he can steal Christmas.
Before they head to Whoville, the Grinch realized that he forgot the reindeer and noticed that if he can't find one, he'll use Max as one instead.
His master made Max a reindeer and they headed to Whoville to steal presents from every single house. After he got every single present, they were heading home until the sled was out of gas.
So the Grinch made Max pull the sleigh all the way home and Max was tired after they both got home.
While his master was about to push the sleigh, he and Max realize that the Whos are singing without any presents. At first, the Grinch was mad about it, then confused and suddenly realized that Christmas isn't about presents, it's about spending time with the people you love.
After the Grinch realized what he had done, he told Max that he loved him and Max gave him a happy lick until his master told him to give him some space. Then, Max realized that the sleigh is about to fall and warned his master.
After his master saved the sleigh, including Cindy Lou Who, they head back to Whoville to return the presents.
At the end, we see Max was sitting next to Cindy when she served him a feast and started to eat.
Augustus May Who
He and Augustus know each other since childhood, but he always hated Augustus after he and the classmates laugh at him for being a freak, which it upset him and hate Christmas ever since.
As years passed, they both had a crush on Martha and they'd do anything to win Martha's heart. At the celebration, Augustus decided to make the Grinch remember his past by giving him an electric shaver and proposed to Martha right in front of him to intentionally make the other citizens laugh (though some of the others probably thought it was a funny joke), which made the Grinch hurt, jealous and angry by destroying the celebration.
At the end, Augustus is still upset that the Grinch ruined Christmas and wants him arrested until the Grinch reformed and returned the gifts by saying that he was sorry, which upset him more and Martha called off the engagement by being with the Grinch.
The Whos
Back then, he was being bullied by Augustus and the classmates by calling him a freak. Ever since, he hated the Whos and Christmas. That all changed when he met Cindy Lou and saved her from the stamping machine at the post office.
At the celebration, he was enjoying himself and almost won over, but Augustus gives him an electric shaver as a present, reminding him of his awful humiliation at school (and cause them to laugh at him again likely cause some of them think it is a good joke, while others may have done it to humiliate him) and asks Martha to marry him, promising her a new car in return.
This causes the Grinch to openly berate the Whos for thinking that Christmas is about gifts that they will just dispose of later, in the hopes of making them too ashamed to celebrate the holiday. He then goes on to ruin the party by burning the Christmas tree with a makeshift flamethrower.
At the end, he reformed after realizing he was wrong about Christmas and returned the gifts by telling the Whos that he was sorry for being cruel in the past which the Whos forgave him and let him commemorate the Christmas feast with them in his cave.
Quotes
Well done, Max! Serves them right, those Yuletide-loving sickly-sweet, nog-sucking cheer mongers. I really don't like them. No, I don't. Max! Get my cloak! I've been much too tolerant of these Whovenile delinquents... and their innocent, victimless pranks. So, they want to get to know me, do they? They want to spend a little quality time with the Grinch. I guess I could use a little... social interaction.The Grinch's introduction after Max scares away the intruders
Those Whos are hard to frazzle, Max. But we did our worst, and that's all that matters.The Grinch
Of course, they are. That's what it's all about, isn't it? That's what it's always been about! Gifts, gifts... Gifts gifts gifts gifts gifts gifts! You wanna know what happens to your gifts? They all come to me. In your garbage. You see what I'm saying? In your garbage! I could hang myself with all the bad Christmas neckties I found at the dump. And the avarice. The avarice never ends! "I want golf clubs!" "I want diamonds!" "I want a pony so I can ride it twice, get bored and sell it to make glue!" Look, I don't wanna make waves, but this whole Christmas season is stupid stupid stupid! There is, however, one teeny-tiny Christmas tradition that I find quite... meaningful. Mistletoe. Now pucker up and kiss it, Whoville!The Grinch's speech to Whoville for taking their holiday for granted with materialism
Cindy Lou Who: You're the, the, the-
Grinch: The, the, the...THE GRINCH! [Cindy falls into the pile of presents] Well, that worked out nicely.The Grinch meeting Cindy Lou Who for the first time
The Grinch reluctantly rescuing Cindy from being crushed by the post machineBleeding hearts of the world UNITE!!!
Saving you, is that what you think I was doing? (Cindy Lou nods) Wrong-o. I just noticed that you were improperly packaged, my dear. (wraps up wrapping paper around Cindy Lou) Hold still! (to Max) Max, pick out a bow! (to Cindy Lou) Can I use your finger for just a second?The Grinch mischievously, yet harmlessly, wrapping up Cindy Lou in wrapping paper before leaving the post office with Max
Ugh... what's that stench?! It's fantastic! Max, grab a bag. We'll come back for the rest. Of course, when I say "we", I mean "you". It's amazing to see what these Whos throw away. Oh well... one man's toxic sludge is another man's potpourri. [Max questionly barks] I don't know, it's some kind of soup.The Grinch about the hazardous waste being dumped away
Get the stick Max! Get the stick! (Max barks and runs after the stick that was thrown) (chuckling to himself) There's no stick. I'm smarter.The Grinch tricking Max with throwing a stick
Blast this Christmas music!! It's joyful and triumphant.The Grinch being annoyed to learn that he was singing Christmas carols during his sleep
The nerve of those Whos. Inviting me down there - on such short notice! Even if I wanted to go, my schedule wouldn't allow it! 4:00, wallow in self pity; 4:30, stare into the abyss; 5:00, solve world hunger, tell no one; 5:30, jazzercize; 6:30, dinner with me - I can't cancel that again; 7:30, wrestle with my self-loathing... I'm booked. Of course, if I bump the loathing to 9:00, I could still be done in time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling and slip slowly into madness. But what would I wear?!The Grinch's personal list
It's because I'm green, isn't it?!The Grinch after a taxi cab passes him
I asked for three quaters, not five eighths! Stay focused!The Grinch bulding his sleigh
Air bags a little slow. BUT THAT'S WHAT THESE TESTS ARE FOR!!The Grinch after a malfuncioned test.
All right, you're a reindeer. Here's your motivation: Your name is Rudolph, you're a freak with a red nose, and no one likes you. Then, one day, Santa picks you and you save Christmas. No, forget that part. We'll improvise... just keep it kind of loosey-goosey. You HATE Christmas! You're gonna steal it. Saving Christmas is a lousy ending, way too commercial. ACTION! [Max knocks the red nose off] BRILLIANT! You reject your own nose because it represents the glitter of commercialism. Why didn't I think of that? Cut, print, check the gate, moving on.The Grinch making Max a "reindeer"
WE.... DID IT!!!! We did it, we did it!! That wasn't so bad, was it, Max?The Grinch after successfully stealing all of Whoville's gifts, food and decorations
How could it be so? It came without ribbons, it came without tags, it came without packages, boxes or bags!The Grinch seeing that all of Whoville are singing in celebration in spite of the losses of their gifts, food and decorations
Maybe Christmas... doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more.The Grinch learning about the true meaning of Christmas
I'm all... toasty inside... and I'm leaking. Oh, Max... I LOVE YA!!The Grinch embracing the true meaning of Christmas before admitting that he loves Max
Cindy Lou Who: Hi, Mr. Grinch!
Grinch: [gasps] Cindy Lou Who?! WHAT'RE YOU DOING UP THERE...?!?!?!
Cindy Lou Who: I came to see you. No one should be alone on Christmas.The Grinch being snuck up on by Cindy Lou Who when he was trying to catch his sled fromm falling off the mountain.
Are you kidding? The sun is bright and the powder's bitchin'! Now scoot over, it's my turn to drive!The Grinch to Cindy Lou as he skies through the snow while Cindy rides his sleigh down Mt. Crumpit
This could be a little more difficult to negotiate... HEADS UP, WHOVILLE!! Out of the way, I have no insurance!!The Grinch riding his sleigh back to Whoville to return all the gifts, food, and decorations that he stole
Thanks for the help, Lou! (Cindy: Hi, Daddy!) (Lou: Hi, Cindy-honey!) MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL!!The Grinch thanking Cindy's father Lou for helping out in stopping the sleigh from crashing
You got me, Officer! I did it: I'm the Grinch that stole Christmas, and I'm... sorry. (holds his fists in surrender) Aren't you gonna cuff me, put me in a chokehold, or blind me with pepper spray? (Augustus: You heard him, Officer! He admitted it! I'd go with the pepper spray.) (Officer: Yes, I heard him all right... he said he was sorry. Besides, looks like everything's all here and accounted for.)The Grinch confessing his crimes and expressing his apology before surrendering himself to the police, only to see that they are willing to forgive him as they learned a lesson about the holiday
The Grinch shaking hands with Mayor Augustus Maywho before laughing at him over winning Martha May's heart and telling him to cheer up afterwardsNo hard feelings. (laughs) Cheer up, dude, it's Christmas.
Yeah! There's nothing like the holidays. Who wants the gizzard? (Who citizen: I do!) Too late! That'll be mine...The Grinch cutting the Christmas turkey as he celebrates Christmas in his cave with Max and the Whoville citizens; the last lines of the film
Trivia
- In the film, the Grinch's younger self was portrayed by the late Josh Ryan Evans in his final film role.
- Unlike the book or 1966 and 2018 version, where the Grinch is a smart, scheming and manipulative individual, the film depicts him as an entertaining, whimsical, comical and insane person with the scheming qualities.
- Also, he never mentions 53 years and instead, he mentions year after year, making the number of years he put up with Christmas ambiguous.
- The original Grinch was not green. Like everything else in the book, he was black and white with some red and pink splotches. Jim Carrey's Grinch was originally meant to look like this but Ron Howard wanted the film to also be an adaptation of the Chuck Jones cartoon.
- The film shows that the Mayor is the real villain and the Grinch is the real good guy. It is because of the Mayor's bullying, that caused the Grinch to become cold, a little scorbutic and anti-social and even attempt to steal Christmas (by stealing presents, decorations and food).
- The Grinch is very similar to Davey Stone from Eight Crazy Nights, The Beast from Beauty and The Beast, and Ebenezer Scrooge: all hate Christmas at the beginning because of the past, both are in love with their love interest, both are even adults and both redeemed after knowing the true meaning of Christmas.
- Before Jim Carrey was cast to play the Grinch, Jack Nicholson, Eddie Murphy, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Bill Murry, Mike Myers, Kevin James, John Goodman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tim Curry, Jack Black, Danny DeVito, the late Robin Williams, Steve Buscemi, Brendan Fraser and Steve Carrell were briefly considered.
- Jim Carrey's Grinch suit was covered in yak hair, which was dyed green, and sewn onto a spandex suit.
- He is similar to his 2018 animated counterpart, because they both have a tragic past when they were young, both have a dog named Max and both hate Christmas at first until redeemed at the end. The only difference is this Grinch is more like a real live creature while the other Grinch is an animated version.
- Jim Carrey accepted the role of the Grinch when he heard a tape of a kid's choir singing the song "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch".
- Jim Carrey's yellow contact lenses were so uncomfortable that he wasn't able to wear them at times during filming. Some shots of his eyes had to be colored in post-production.
- The Grinch is the only character who breaks the fourth wall in the film. He actively tries to avoid speaking in rhyme and even interacts with the narrator.
- After the Grinch leaves Whoville for the second time, the camera pans up and a statue of an elephant can be seen, in reference to Horton Hears a Who. Jim Carrey would later go on to voice Horton in the animated film of the same name.
- When the Grinch drove the little car, when he was destroying Christmas, Jim Carrey said that it was really hard to drive and it took him forever to get the feel of the car.
- Jim Carrey admitted to feeling ashamed for not trying to prevent some of the adult humor in this film and has repeatedly stated that all of the jokes he ad-libbed were age appropriate. He then found out that Ron Howard had removed many other jokes that were even raunchier, but had to keep some of it, due to what they both claim as "studio interference".
- The Grinch's only real victim while he is stealing Christmas, is a fluffy white cat that he accidentally sucked up with a vacuum, while stealing presents from a house.
- By virtue of a sad backstory, the movie makes the Grinch a more sympathetic character than he was in the book, or the Chuck Jones special.
- The Grinch has sharp fingernails that can dent cars and cut through thick glass.
- When the Grinch pulls the sheet off the table all the silverware was scripted to fall off with the sheet. Jim pulled the sheet off so well that when nothing came off he went back and ruined the table himself.
- The Grinch has two similarities to Jim Carrey's character Stanley Ipkiss (the Mask) in The Mask (1994). The Grinch and the Mask are green in appearance (although the Mask is only green in the face), and the Grinch and Stanley have dogs, named Max and Milo, respectively.
- Jim Carrey and Sir Anthony Hopkins were both involved in comic books. Carrey played the Riddler in Batman Forever (1995) while narrator Anthony Hopkins went on a few years later to play Odin, Thor's father in Thor (2011), Thor: The Dark World (2013), and Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Dr. Edward Bailey in RED 2 (2013).
- This is the most successful movie of Jim Carrey's career.
- Jim Carrey (The Grinch) subsequently played another Christmas-hating character, Ebenezer Scrooge, in Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009). Happily, both characters become kind and generous at the end of their respective films.
- When the Grinch's heart begins to grow, it hurts his chest and he falls to the ground and wounds his hand. He turns back and forth between his two injuries, mimicking a similar gag from Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) in which Ace takes a spear to each leg.
- The Grinch doesn't conjure up the idea to steal Christmas until an hour into the film.
- The scene where the Grinch is directing his dog, Max, before stealing Christmas, is Jim Carrey making fun of director Ron Howard, imitating his style of directing. Howard found the scene hilarious and decided to include it in the film.
- The Grinch's voice is styled after Sean Connery.
- Many of the Grinch's lines were ad-libbed by Jim Carrey.
- In the original adaptation of the Grinch, his main dislike of Christmas is due to the loud noise and extreme gluttony. However, for this movie, an extensive backstory was created to explain why he hates Christmas.
- Author Dr. Seuss (Theodore Seuss Geisel) and (after his death) his widow had been approached previously to authorize a live-action version of the story. But Seuss was disappointed with his previous live-action effort, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953) and refused any such proposals. But then, after the success of How the Grinch Stole Christmas at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego, Mrs. Geisel saw the potential of a live-action interpretation.
- In the film, when the Grinch pulls the tablecloth off the table, everything was supposed to fall. But he did it perfectly, so going back and knocking everything off was improvised.
- Jim Carrey does an impression of the late Sean Connery when portraying the Grinch.
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