History Heartwarming / TheGrinch2018

** The movie is just filled with little moments of affection between the two that’s absent from the Chuck Jones and Ron Howard versions until the end. Max puts his head on the Grinch’s knee, who scratches his ear in response. The Grinch showing concern for Max’s well-being when Max digs himself into the snow trying to pull the sleigh. Heck, the sleigh originally had a doggy-sized sidecar when [[spoiler:Fred was still part of the team]]. The Grinch even assures Max that it’s okay…[[spoiler:when ''the Grinch'' is the one dangly off the edge of Mount Crumpit with the sleigh]]! There's a reason why some tie-in material calls Max the Grinch's best friend, after all.

** Heck, Bricklebaum genuinely sees the Grinch as a friend, and even proudly whispers that he's his best friend to the Who beside him during [[spoiler:the Grinch's toast]].

* The Grinch giving Max a chew toy for Christmas. It's more poignant due to [[spoiler: being after the gift return, which in prior versions was the happy climax, but here, contained an awkward apology followed by the Grinch making a sad and quiet walk home, a shockingly realistic response in a Seuss story. The ending too is surprisingly down to Earth, with Grinch being horrifically shy among all the Whos at a home Christmas party, instead of a grand feast of the town like in prior versions.]]

* The Dog Days of Winter short, which sees Max braving a blizzard, falling icicles, and a dog-hating shopkeeper purely to bring a flu-ridden Grinch his favorite tea. [[spoiler:He does, and the Grinch invites him up to curl up beside him in bed, where he gives him a deeply affectionate scratch.]]

* Despite the name, the Grinch in this film is nowhere near as heartless, antisocial or "evil" at the beginning of the film as he is in previous adaptions--while he's certainly pretty grouchy and cynical, we do see some shades of good in him, particularly in how he treats his dog, Max.

* Max's response to the Grinch coming back from the Whoville tree lighting ceremony in the throes of a PTSD-driven breakdown. He closes the door when the Grinch fails to do so himself, makes him a cup of tea, and quietly sits listening as the Grinch talks half to himself and half to Max. The next morning, he's obviously still very concerned as he brings him up his coffee. Made all the more heartwarming if you're operating under the theory that he's the Grinch's service dog.

** The Grinch is shown to be significantly kinder to Max than the Chuck Jones or the Ron Howard version, generally by treating him more like a typical dog owner would. He plays with him, apologizes when he upsets him, and freaks out whenever it looks like he might be hurt. Also, though Max is still the Grinch's MoralityPet, he's genuinely loving/loyal to his owner and willingly goes along with his plans.

* Unlike most kids her age, Cindy-Lou can see that her mom's exhausted from having to juggle work and raising three kids as a single parent. Cindy-Lou helps out around the house without a single complaint and wants to ask Santa Claus to give her mom the extra help she can't give.
* The Grinch lets Fred go free without a fuss after he sees him reunite with his mate and child.

** Heck Bricklebaum genuinely see's the Grinch as a friend and even proudly whispers that he's his best friend to the Who beside him during [[spoiler:the Grinch's toast]].

** At least one viewer has pointed out that Max quite literally serves as the Grinch's emotional support dog, helping him get out of bed in the morning and with basic self-care tasks like feeding himself and showering.

** At least one viewer has pointed out that Max quite literally serves as the Grinch's emotional support dog, helping him get out of bed in the morning and with self-care tasks like feeding himself and showering.