Ron Howard's imagining of Dr. Seuss' fantastical creation is a wondrous thing to behold. Filled to bursting with strange and colorful shapes, sounds, costumes, and decor, this film is the kind of immersion one only gets after sliding down the proverbial rabbit hatch. Then there's Jim Carrey who, but for his cast credit, is nonexistent in this film. He so totally disappears into this character that there is ultimately no Jim Carrey here. Only Grinch. Unfortunately, that may be part of the problem also. The Grinch is terribly one-dimensional in his extreme misanthropy. Additionally, the chipper, Christmas-crazed residents of Whoville are single-faceted characters. This lack of character shading makes the narrative aspect of How the Grinch Stole Christmas rather dull and vacant. It's a film that feels padded, an annoyance that pulls us away from the fantasy. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is not likely to become any landmark achievement, yet it's sure to earn a berth among the perennial Christmas film classics. This Whoville is a fun place to visit, but it'll only whet your appetite for more goodies.
D: Ron Howard; with Jim Carrey.