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The Grinch

What I liked: This was a fun movie and I laughed more than I thought I would. I liked the Grinch's pants and tie. I liked the ski birds, they really kicked off the movie to a great start. The carolers channeling West Side Story were funny and escalated well. Bobsled commuting should definitely catch on. The Wallace and Gromit inventions were spot on. They made me wonder if maybe Wallace was missing a sibling And I think that Max would get along with Gromit really well. The goat and Fred were also surprisingly funny. It's hard to beat the original music but the updated Mister Grinch song was acceptable. I liked the overly festive neighbor and his odd dog, they made me laugh. I didn't know that the Grinch played the organ but should not have been surprised, most villains do. Doubtless in one of the many Star Wars movies in the works we will be treated to Vader practicing the organ in the heart of a star destroyer. It's too bad more villains don't branch out to include drum solos. I hope that someday I have a dog serve me cake and hot chocolate at a party.

What I didn't: Shockingly, I wasn't terribly bothered by the Grinch's backstory. Usually I get annoyed that movies spend a long time building up a backstory for decidedly one sided villains, but this was short and not terrible. But as back stories go I think I have a better one figured out: the Grinch lives at the top of the mountain and doesn't have 4 wheel drive. It's bad enough in the summer having to climb strait up the cliff with his shopping cart, but in the winter? No wonder the guy is grouchy. All anyone would have to do to make him more pleasant to be around would be install and elevator. I didn't like the the Cindy Lou side of the story. It just seemed unnecessary and like it extended the movie by a half an hour. I guess it is good idea to have a protagonist who is not evil, but I guess I would be happier watching the Grinch avoid carolers, battle a bulldog, and search for reindeer than an annoyingly adorable little girl plan with her friends and try to make Christmas special for her mom. But more importantly if you're going to pep up the original music why would you not jazz up the Fahoo Dores song? That is the one that had no pep to begin with! Honestly.

Who should watch this? Kids will probably get the most mileage, but I had fun.

Would I watch it again? I had fun seeing it but it will not supplant the Mr Grinch song in my Christmas tradition. What can I say, I like the 3 minute song better than a hour and a half feature length film.

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