Other than Babe: Pig in the City and Santa Clause Conquers the Martians, I can't think of a more detestable kids pic than this. I hated Jim Carey and I hate Dr. Seuss' widow for authorizing this pile of #@@%!!! AND THEN SAYING "This is exactly the sort of film my husband would have made". Yeah, well maybe after he had an aneurysm!! Come on, lady. Just be truthful and instead say "it's dog drool and the Doc is spinning in his grave like a rotisserie--BUT MAN WILL YA' LOOK AT ALL THE MONEY THEY GAVE ME?!?!?!??".

I base this on the basic fact that the entire message of the book and wonderful TV special is: The GRINCH HATES XMAS and the People of Whoville know the REAL reason and joy of the holiday. Now with this crappy movie it's: The Grinch rightfully hates XMAS because it's been over-commercialized by the selfish people of Whoville. Huh?!?!?! This is the complete OPPOSITE of Seuss' vision and his widow has the nerve to say it was what HE wanted?!?! This was the most overblown and over-hyped movie. With $10000000000000 dollars spent on advertising and marketing (and $6.79 for writing),it's no wonder the movie made money!!! Kids can't help but see Grinch paraphernalia EVERYWHERE and demand to see the movie. BUT, to the parents of Planet Earth we have a solution to movies like this---Tell your kids NO!!!!! Then take them for a walk or go fishing or beat each other senseless with tire irons--it would STILL be better than going to see bloated MEGA-crap like this!

UPDATE: I have an Italian friend who likes the film. When we talked about it, I understood why. He had never read the book nor seen the wonderful cartoon versions--and the message in them is the exact opposite of this movie. So, if you haven't seen the cartoon or read the book, this could be a nice film to watch....but if you HAVE and loved them like I did as a child, the film is an insult.

Of course it isn't as good as the animated classic, an immensely charming, beautifully animated gem, that is a family Christmas favourite. I will admit I was a bit sceptical of the remake, but other than some slow scenes in the middle half and a patchy script, this film is surprisingly good. Honestly if you thought this is terrible, and I completely respect anyone who thinks that, I warn you Cat in the Hat was much worse, and gets my vote as the worst Dr Seuss adaptation ever. How The Grinch stole Christmas is very colourful, with great set design, and an unrecognisable Jim Carrey was terrific as the Grinch, he was actually really funny, not like Mike Myers who was miscast as the cat in Cat in The Hat. Everyone else was fine too, particularly the girl, and while he is no Boris Karloff Antony Hopkins does a good job as the narrator. The script is patchy in places, but there are a number of very funny bits, and it was nice having some character context about the Grinch. All in all, a colourful, well performed film, not as good as the 1966 animated classic,and flawed it is, but actually one of the better Dr Seuss adaptations. 8/10 Bethany Cox

With such an iconic 1966 animated 1/2 hour special, it's hard to imagine a reason to reimagine it as a live action movie. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'm not particularly angry or hate this. It's just that I couldn't stop asking Why?

This one gives a backstory to the origin of the Grinch. He gets delivered by mistake to Whoville. The kids bully him because of his looks. In frustration, he runs away to live on the mountain. Now he is a fully grown loner. Cindy Lou Who (Taylor Momsen) is searching for the meaning of Christmas. She tries to see the good in the Grinch, and keeps trying to bring the spirit of Christmas to him. But the Grinch just can't get into the spirit.

I don't have a big problem with the additional backstory or the greater role for Cindy Lou Who. That's to be expected for an expanded Grinch. And Taylor Momsen is a perfectly good child actor. But none of it excites me. The visual design is again expected but without the outlandishness of 'The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.' for instance. However it is still great once we get to the last part where the Grinch tries to steal Christmas. All the sentiments are there voiced especially by Cindy Lou Who's father. That part still works. Nothing can change that.