Illumination presents: How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Kind of odd that there's a second Illumination film with a dog named Max, but I'm thinking of watching this film just for Benedict Cumberbatch.

edited 8th Mar '18 12:00:38 PM by MrMediaGuy2

- Why the hell does Illumination do such domestic, safe, mundane films!!?? This is a fantasy! Go all out! Don't make the Grinch's home look ordinary!

- Benedict Crumblebumb sounds way too ordinary for the Grinch. This is the same thought I had when hearing Gargamel in Smurfs: The Lost Village.

- I kind of like the idea of the Grinch being more like that grumpy neighbor you just gotta deal with every day, instead of an outrageous, monstrous anomaly. But we'll see if it works in this interpretation.

- We get it. You created the Minions, and Happy. You may kindly cease self-pleasuring yourself in front of us!!

I think the scene with the song was meant to be Self-Deprecation, since the Grinch is just as annoyed by it as the audience is.

I don't like the use of "Happy". It sounds way too "modern" to be associated with something like the Grinch. Same goes for the grocery store.

gotta get catchy modern pop music in there

Knowing which company is making it there's probably a dance number at the end

I also wish they'd let Cumberbatch use his natural british accent. It would help the Grinch stand out more.

BTW, when that inflatable penguin appeared, did anyone else expect the inevitable "Cumberbatch can't say penguin" joke?

I hope it ends up somewhere in this film.

That was a pretty good first look.

Is it bad that I would almost rather watch this than Wreck-It Ralph 2?

At least (as far as we know) there's no cringey pandering crossover scene of the Grinch hanging out with other Universal-owned characters that act horribly OOC.

You know grocery stores have kind of now been here for over a century, so calling them something modern is actually wrong. Given how grocery stores have become a part of life for now a hundred years, I think they can be timeless.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grocery_store

I wasn't necessarily complaining about the fact that they had a grocery store but more how it looked and felt. The Seuss story (and most of his work) has this very fable-like, otherwordly quality to the world that isn't being represented here at all.

Surprised I wasn't anywhere as disappointed with this as I thought I would be.

Actually like that they're not making him a extreme hermit or a dreaded force of nature as in the past movie (whereas I'd say the book and cartoon were a bit more vague about this), just more of an dickish neighbor that while living on the outskirts of the town, is still part of Who-ville society. Personally speaking, I think that can actually make for a decent story and character interactions that naturally expands on the original story...if the writers play their cards right (a quick Wiki glance shows the one writer on the film hasn't penned any of the existing Illumination films, so who knows. Liking the story synopsis though).

Also like that they're not going for over-the-top gags to show him being a jerk, the scenes with the jar and the pickles are actually pretty subtle (by Illumination standards). I read a comment dismissing those scenes as leftover gags Gru from DM would do, but Gru's actions are usually more flashy than this (especially since Gru uses supervillain weapons).

I wonder what if this was released in 2000 and the Jim Carrey version was released in 2018.

People would probably look on this one fondly as a genuine holiday classic while bashing the trailer for the Jim Carrey version.

All good points I never considered.

I'm surprised that this is my favorite version of the Grinch. Probably because this one is more relatable.

BTW, am I the only one who doesn't mind the jazzy version of the famous song?

Mainly because it doesn't sound TOO 2010s to me. It doesn't have any autotuning or anything like that in it. To me, it sounds more eighties or seventies.

That was the only part of the trailer I liked. It's a pretty solid cover.

Late to comment on the trailer but yeah this does give me high hopes for the movie. The jazzy take on the Grinch theme is very fitting to the character. Grinch just being an everyday prick to the Whos is very in character, especially how casual he does it. And its animated so well that the best parts comes in the characters reaction and body language.

So yeah, consider me a supporter for seeing this film as that was actually a good first trailer that helps established new audience to this character.

I hated that cover. It was bad and stupid and I'd rather take the shitty overdone Jim Carrey cover. I would've been kind of fine with Cumberbatch keeping his natural accent, loathe as I am towards him, but he's doing another American accent here and I'm still not sold on him holding it down properly.

And the trailer just kinda was...Illumination. It's bland. Average. Devoid of anything having any worth beyond a light chuckle. I swear, it feels like they outright recycled Vector's character model for The Grinch here. After The Lorax, I don't have any hope in how they're going to do this but I was not impressed by the trailer at all. I'm predicting this is gonna get like a 70-something on Rotten Tomatoes and it'll be forgotten after a week.

i am nothing meaning polarizing opinions form you guys? personally it's meh for me but maybe i might give it a shot.

I think it looks So Okay, It's Average so far, but I expect it to be at least a little better than the trailer makes it look.

Mainly because I don't like the Jim Carrey version, and I think it's nice that it doesn't have a lot of the problems that film had. (Ugly appearance, pointless adult jokes, etc.)

I'm expecting it to be a mediocre film. Given the trailer I don't expect it to be obnoxious like the Lorax, but mostly bland and inoffensive.

Aside from the personal qualms I have with Cumberbatch as a person, I was fine with his casting initially because I thought that with the type of character he usually plays he could bring the gruffness most people associate with the Grinch, like Boris Karloff did. But his voice sounds way too soft in the trailer IMO, and not letting him keep his british accent was a mistake in that regard as well.

edited 11th Mar '18 12:38:07 PM by Draghinazzo

I don’t know, I actually thought the whispery voice is fitting and matches well with the performance Karloff gave as the character. Granted its not that sinister pressence that is from the Boris Karloff (granted the scenes we watched isn’t the whole iconic “Noice” speech) but it does have a sardonic tone to it.

. . . Shit just now realize this is the second time Bennedict Cumberbatch is taking on a Boris Karloff role. First being Frankenstein (monster). And in hindsight, he would of fit perfectly as the role of Imotehp in that second Mummy reboot. God, one of these days I should talk about how I would of handle the Dark Universe.

Maybe he WILL bring some bravado to the character, and maybe the trailer just doesn't show it?

Yeah, I was about to say that we only heard his voice a couple times in the trailer, so maybe he won't sound like that ALL the time.