On Thursday, December 13, the Grinch cartoon, filmed by Scott Mougere and Yarrow Cheney, based on the story by Dr. Suze (aka Theodore Geisel) "How Grinch Stole Christmas," begins in Russian cinemas.
In the new version of the story about Grinch, there are no noticeable differences with the plot of the original fairy tale. In the center of the tape is already a textbook, an eternally dissatisfied grumbler and slander Grinch, who decides to kidnap Christmas (in Russian, the New Year), so that the inhabitants of Ktotogorod should stop rejoicing and having fun. To melt and "enlarge" his heart in size - it is initially in Greench two times smaller than in others - only a young who is Cindy Lou.
However, she will not have to put much effort into this - the Grinch is engaged in reflection throughout the entire film, wondering why he is so sick of the Christmas holiday. It is curious that, in contrast to the 2000 version of the film, the plot lines of Grinch and the little one develop in parallel and intertwine only at the end.
The idea of re-filming the famous fairy tale of Dr. Seuss belongs to Chris Meledandri - head of Illumination Entertainment, whose team together with Universal Pictures started creating a cartoon, and also presented the world "The Secret Life of Pets", "Zveropa" and, of course, the Despicable Me franchise.
- Cartoon "The Secret Life of Pets"
- © kinopoisk.ru
Meledandri, by his own admission, has long had a weakness for negative characters. In addition, at one time, the head and founder of Illumination admired the very first adaptation of Suze’s tale, released by Chuck Jones and Ben Washem in 1966.
However, his cartoon Meledandri decided to build differently, expanding and enriching the original story. According to him, in a new film, psychologism is important and the search for an answer to the question of why Grinch prefers the ascetic lifestyle and hates Christmas.
“The main character of this story got a moral trauma in childhood. And now he wants to deprive other people of the joys of life, because he did not know them when he was a child. And although this is not in the book, it seemed to me that this was the main message of Theodore. The loneliness and seclusion of Grinch, who became disillusioned with people, became the manifestation of these mental anguish, ”said Meledandri.
As a result, Meledandri and his team, represented by fellow producer Janet Healey, directed by Scott Mauger and Yarrow Cheney, and also took part in making the film as a producer to Theodore Guisele Audrey’s wife, created a touching film about the human bad guy, analyzing their own actions and deep in their soul dreaming of Christmas with friends.
That is why the voice of Grincha should have been an actor who would have made him a humane, special villain. Then it was decided that the Briton Benedict Cumberbatch would give a voice to the green grumbler. The filmmakers did not lose: Kambergrinch turned out not at all cruel and not evil, but rather just whimsical and harmful.
The voice acting for the tape was also done by Kenan Thomson (Brickelbaum), Cameron Seely (Cindy Lou), Angela Lansbury (Mayor Ktogragrad) and Rashida Jones (Donna Wothshka). Separately, it is worth mentioning the narrator, singer Farrell Williams speaking in voice - the cartoon “Grinch” continued the collaboration of the musician and the studio started from the film “Despicable Me”.
The emphasis on Grinch’s humanity in the new film is significantly different from the focus of the first full-length film with Jim Carrey on the characteristic consumerism of the city-town. In addition to this, the picture depicted a love line, which went against the original plot. Young Grinch (Kerry) was in love with a classmate, who Martha May Ctovier (Kristin Baransky).
As for the visual embodiment of Ktotogorod and its inhabitants in three-dimensional space, here for the Illumination team the starting point was the illustrations to the book of Geisel. Artists sought to create a relevant picture today. As a result, they managed to organically combine the bright colors of the cartoon and avoid a hodgepodge of visual effects.
- Frame from the cartoon "Grinch"
- © kinopoisk.ru
The premiere of paintings abroad took place on November 8th. The tape caused ambiguous reviews among fans of the story about Grinch - most viewers compare the animation with the game tape by Ron Howard and do not always prefer the cartoon.
“The cartoon was too long and did not meet expectations. The action was so prolonged that by the middle small children simply lost interest in him and began to crawl on the floor. Grinch is shown a sad character who wants to take part in the holiday, but does not know how to improve relations with the residents of the town, ”wrote one of the users on Twitter.
Also, viewers felt that the creators of the animation tape had moved significantly away from the classic version of the adaptation of a children's fairy tale.
“As a big fan of Greench, I’m completely disappointed with the new version. They too deviated from the original cartoon. Characters do not resemble themselves. I had the feeling that I was watching “Despicable Me,” but instead of Grew, for some reason, there was a Grinch ..., ”said one of the spectators.
In addition, Twitter expressed the opinion that such cartoons become successful only due to the low standards set for children's films.
If only there was a chance of this box office flop. It will make it possible to learn how to make it. How to discouraging to other better animation studios.
- Red Purplegreen (@ HiCoolCat1) November 9, 2018“I wish this picture would fail at the box office. But no, thanks to a large-scale advertising campaign and low requirements for children's films, such crafts will continue to collect a huge cashier and the studio will never learn the necessary lesson. As it is probably insulting to other animation studios, where they work more professionally, ”one of the users said.
However, among the reviews there are a number of positive. According to some users, the cartoon will no doubt be liked by children and will cause pleasant nostalgia in adults.
“Yesterday I looked at Greench.” He summoned so many memories! My eldest son played Grinch in a school play. Great animation! And a good message. Definitely worth watching. Enjoy! ”, The user advised.
Saw it yesterday. It brought back so many memories. The oldest son played the grinch in his school play. What a 🌟
Great animation! & a sweet message. Worth watching. Enjoy!
The audience considered it important that the film has its own charm and that it lucidly demonstrates the true purpose of the Christmas holiday.
“Great cartoon! Grinch let go of Fred! He's not a bad guy at all, he just has a wounded soul. The inhabitants of Ktogragrad are very kind. I laughed. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and O Holy Night songs remind you of the true meaning of the holiday. I love “Grinch” of 1966, and I also liked the new film! ”- they write on the social network.
“Well, I looked at the Greench, and he was very sweet. I understand why some people like the 1966 version or even the 2000 version more, but, to be honest, I think that the new cartoon also has its charm, ”another user noted.