How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
★★½ — How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Based on Dr. Seuss's beloved 1957 children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Ron Howard's 2000 live-action adaptation arrived with enormous commercial expectations and a production budget to match. Universal Pictures and Howard's own Imagine Entertainment backed a film that required an almost absurd level of practical craft: production designer Michael Corenblith built an entire town from scratch on the Universal lot, and the makeup work by Rick Baker (responsible for transforming Jim Carrey into the green creature himself) won the Academy Award for Best Makeup. The film was, by any commercial measure, a success, taking well over a hundred million dollars at the domestic box office during its opening run and becoming a fixture of holiday television for years afterward. Whether the money spent on the screen translates into something worthwhile is, of course, a different question entirely.
Howard was, by 2000, a reliably polished but unremarkable director of mainstream Hollywood product, comfortable moving between genres with professional confidence. His work in that period ranged from thrillers to prestige dramas (his 2001 film A Beautiful Mind would arrive just a year later, and I've had thoughts on his later Robert Langdon pictures too, including The Da Vinci Code), and How the Grinch Stole Christmas sits at the glossier, more commercially minded end of that output. The screenplay, written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, takes Seuss's relatively slender original story and expands it considerably, building out the mythology of Whoville and giving the Grinch a backstory that the book never needed to provide. Whether that expansion serves the material is something viewers tend to feel strongly about one way or another.
Jim Carrey is, almost by definition, the central creative decision of the whole enterprise. Cast at the peak of his box office pull, Carrey had already demonstrated a particular talent for physical, rubber-faced comedy across a string of popular films throughout the nineties, including The Mask and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. The Grinch, a character who is essentially a pantomime villain with a hidden soft side, suits those instincts well on paper. Alongside Carrey, the film features Taylor Momsen as Cindy Lou Who, the small girl whose curiosity and generosity set the plot in motion, with supporting turns from Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, and Bill Irwin filling out the Whoville ensemble. It is, in many respects, a Jim Carrey film with everyone else arranged around him.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) is a loud, overstuffed holiday spectacle that leans heavily on Jim Carrey’s manic energy, and thankfully, he delivers. Beneath pounds of green prosthetics and yellow contact lenses, Carrey throws himself into the role with full commitment, bouncing between snarling villainy and wounded vulnerability like only he can. His performance is the film’s beating heart (even if it’s wrapped in neon fur and rubber teeth), and for kids, the Grinch remains an iconic, love-to-hate-him character. But beyond Carrey, the movie struggles to find its footing. Directed by Ron Howard with maximalist flair, it drowns in production design: Whoville is a candy-coloured fever dream of spirals, bells, and nonsensical architecture that feels more exhausting than enchanting. The story (faithful to Dr. Seuss in spirit but bloated with new subplots) drags in the middle, padded with slapstick gags and musical numbers that don’t always land. And while young viewers adore the Grinch’s antics, adults may find the tone uneven, veering from sweet to shrill without much balance. It’s not a bad Christmas film, just an average one. It checks the boxes: catchy songs, a message about generosity over gifts, and a redemption arc wrapped in tinsel. But it lacks the warmth, simplicity, or timeless charm of the original animated short or later adaptations. Perfectly serviceable holiday fare for kids, buoyed by Carrey’s undeniable star power, but as a film? Overlong, overdesigned, and ultimately forgettable.
That said, I find myself returning to it most years out of habit more than genuine affection, which feels like a fair summary of where it sits. There is something to be said for a film that does exactly what it sets out to do, even if it does it in the noisiest, most exhausting way imaginable. The Carrey performance alone makes it worth at least one viewing, and for younger audiences discovering it fresh, that energy is probably irresistible. But once the tinsel settles, you're left with a film that spent a fortune on the wrapping and not quite enough on what's inside.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2000 | Watched: 2026-04-20
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) on YouTube
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: Amazon Prime Video · Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.
Related on Movies With Macca
More from Ron Howard: Inferno (2016) · Angels & Demons (2009) · The Da Vinci Code (2006) · A Beautiful Mind (2001)
More with Jim Carrey: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) · Yes Man (2008) · The Mask (1994) · The Truman Show (1998)
More from Germany: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Cemetery Man (1994) · The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) · Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)
More from the 2000s: Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) · Daredevil (2003) · Apocalypto (2006)
More family: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Wonder (2017) · Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anastasia (1997)
More comedy: The Eagle (1925) · The General (1926) · Americana (2023) · The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
