How the Grinch Stole Christmas Turns 25 This Year. Here are 9 Things You Never Knew About the Jim Carrey Classic

There are two kinds of holiday movies: those that bustle with a cheery holiday spirit from beginning to end, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Based on the beloved 1957 Christmas book by Theodore “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, the live-action movie from 2000 arrived nearly 35 years after the animated special first aired on TV. In it, an unrecognizable Jim Carrey portrays the green-skinned antihero of Whoville, who aims to ruin Christmas by stealing all the town’s presents, decorations and food. But the Grinch ultimately learns a valuable lesson about togetherness and literally has a change of heart.

Twenty-five years after its release, How the Grinch Stole Christmas remains one of the great Christmas must-watches. To start, the technicolor extravaganza features laugh-out-loud humor, whimsy and eye-popping visuals mixed with that underlying dark—dare we say sinister?—vibe. Amping up the fun factor are Carrey’s committed performance and an adorable pre-Gossip Girl, pre-rock star Taylor Momsen as Cindy Lou Who. But it took a major effort to bring that classic to the big screen.

In honor of its silver anniversary (and a Dec. 12 theatrical re-release), we’re rounding up nine little-known facts about the movie. By the end, your heart will have, as the quote goes, grown three sizes today.

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1. Dr. Seuss’s widow was heavily involved

Our story starts with Dr. Seuss himself. Following his death in 1991, his wife, Audrey Geisel, began licensing his work with greater regularity. In 1998, she invited Hollywood bigwigs to present her with pitches for How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which would be the first live-action film adaptation of any Seuss story.

According to a letter that laid out her terms (explained in Time magazine at the time), she had a few key stipulations. No. 1? The work was open only to directors who had already earned a minimum of $1 million from at least one previous movie. She’d also consider only those Grinches who were of “comparable stature to Jack Nicholson, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman.” (The producers would have to hand over a portion of the box-office gross too.)

In the end, director Ron Howard (Apollo 13) and Carrey successfully wooed her. But that dream team almost fell apart …

2. Jim Carrey almost walked away from the gig

For Carrey, saying yes to the role in this iconic Christmas movie was the easy part. Transforming into the character was the real challenge. After undergoing eight brutal hours of makeup and prosthetics on Day 1, he put his leg through the wall of his trailer out of anger and told the powers that be that he wanted a one-way trip out of Whoville.

“It felt like being buried alive,” he told Graham Norton about the experience on Norton’s talk show in 2015. “I told Ron Howard I couldn’t do the movie.” Howard’s producing partner, Brian Grazer, came up with the solution: Hire an expert who trains CIA operatives to withstand torture. The guy came to the set and taught the actor how to endure this special brand of torture. His tricks included turning on the TV, changing a pattern, punching himself in the leg and smoking a lot of cigarettes.

3. The fed-up makeup artist fled the set

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the daily makeup and costume application and removal—whittled down to 3-1/2 hours a day—took a toll on Carrey’s attitude on set. Makeup artist Kazuhiro Tsuji told Vulture that the star often took out his frustrations on the crew, and his behavior stalled production.

“Once we were on set, he was really mean to everybody,” Tsuji said. Mentally exhausted, he met with the producers, who decided that he should take a leave of absence. After Tsuji had gone dark for a week, Howard called him and said that Carrey vowed to treat people better. So he returned.

Tsuji would go on to earn two Oscars (for Darkest Hour and Bombshell); Grinch makeup supervisors Rick Baker and Gail Ryan won the coveted golden statue for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for their work on the movie.

4. Ron Howard dressed up like the Grinch for a day

Because the process was just that intense—and the Achilles’ heel of production—Howard decided to experience it firsthand. For one day, he was decked out as the Grinch and directed in full makeup and costume. (Good news: There is video evidence!)

“It was to be like, ‘Listen, I was in the chair for six hours also this morning, and I understand that it’s hellish, and I’m going to work today as the Grinch,” his daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, told Graham Norton. Howard himself noted, “It must have been very confusing for everyone else.”

5. The glittery set had a direct connection to a classic horror film

Howard transformed the back lot of Universal Studios in LA’s Universal City into the brightly hued winter wonderland of Whoville. That means the set and its various soundstages were constructed directly behind the iconic Bates Motel set used in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 master horror film, Psycho.

To this day, the tour guides at Universal Studios reportedly still tell the story about how Carrey once pranked tourists on the tram tour by running out from behind the motel wearing a dress and holding a knife. But because he was in full Grinch regalia, nobody recognized him.

6. There were famous faces in Whoville

Next time you watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas, be on the lookout for a few familiar faces among the colorful residents of Whoville. Why yes, that’s Verne Troyer—i.e., Mini-Me from the Austin Powers movies—as a member of the Whoville band. And that’s Deep Roy, who’d go on to play all the Oompa Loompas in Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as a clerk in the town’s post office.

Howard also inserted his teen daughter, who’s credited in the film as Surprised Who. Bryce Dallas Howard would go on to star in blockbuster movies like Jurassic World, The Help and The Lady in the Water, as well as becoming an accomplished director herself.

7. Kids helped out in the costume department

Costume designer Rita Ryack chose a 1950s aesthetic for the film’s 450 costumes, consulting retro cookbooks for ideas for the many food-inspired outfits. (Love those cup-of-eggnog hats!)

To achieve the homemade look for the Whos’ Christmas celebration (otherwise known as the “Whobilation”), she enlisted second graders from Brookside Elementary School in Oak Park, California, to create gingerbread men, presents and stars to embellish the costumes. “Anything you see that looks crude and has lots of macaroni and glitter, they made,” she told the Los Angeles Times.

8. Queen Elizabeth II attended the premiere

Yup, the queen went green. Queen Elizabeth II attended the London premiere of How the Grinch Stole Christmas for a noble cause: It doubled as a benefit for the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund, which provides financial support for people working behind the scenes in the entertainment industry.

The monarch also did a formal meet-and-greet with the cast, Howard, Grazer, Geisel, Baker and composer James Horner. (Naomi Campbell, Lionel Richie, Hugh Laurie and Billy Elliott star Jamie Bell attended the event as well.) Little 7-year-old Momsen later told Regis Philbin on his talk show that she properly curtsied for the queen. “I’ll remember that for a lifetime!” she said.

9. It was panned by critics

Despite the years of hype, the movie—released Nov. 17, 2000—wasn’t exactly embraced by critics. To this day, it sits at a green splat-worthy 49% on Rotten Tomatoes. The New York Times roasted it outright, sniping that “the movie is so clogged with kooky gadgetry and special effects and glitter and goo that watching it feels like being gridlocked at Toys ”R” Us during the Christmas rush.”

Roger Ebert gave it two out of four stars and predicted that “I think a lot of children are going to look at this movie with perplexity and distaste.”

But he was wrong. This Christmas movie grossed a whopping $261 million at the domestic box office and remains a holiday feast for people of all ages. Never doubt the power of Cindy Lou Who!

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Sources:

Universal Pictures at Home: “How They Brought Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch to Life”
IMDb: “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”
The Graham Norton Show: “Jim Carrey Trained By CIA To Play Grinch”
@thegnshow on TikTok: “Bryce Dallas Howard’s Grinch story”
@imeugeneclark on YouTube: “Did you know in How the Grinch Stole Christmas…”
Reddit: “In The Grinch (2000), Cindy Lou Who has actual egg nog on her head”
Marianne “The Zombie” Audouin: “Taylor Momsen – best of interviews from 2000 (7 years old) about the Grinch”
Rotten Tomatoes: “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”
Box Office Mojo: “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”

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