Dr. Seuss may have been cancelled a couple years ago, except that he wasn’t. A few of his more obscure books were flagged for problematic material, but they’re still available. And his contribution to the holidays? Not only wasn’t How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Memory-holed, but there are not one but three movie adaptations available to stream with the fam.
But how can you watch them in our streaming future-scape? Here’s how:
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
The first take on Seuss’ 1957 book came just under a decade after publication. Produced by MGM and first aired on CBS, this TV special pulled out all the stops. Boris Karloff was enlisted to narrate Seuss’ euphonious, wordplay-heavy prose and give the Christmas-hating green Grinch his voice. Future Tony the Tiger and top shelf name-haver Thurl Ravenscroft sang the songs.
And for the animation, they tapped no less than Chuck Jones, semi-fresh off departing Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies, to give Seuss’ imagery life. Jones was a genius, but he was particularly brilliant at two things: the pacing of jokes, which embraces stillness before launching into frantic action; and gorgeous, detailed close-ups. It’s one thing to stare at the Grinch’s face in Seuss’ book; it’s another to him launch into a smirk with such leisure you can see it form in slow, granular detail.
Where to stream: Peacock
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Nearly three-and-a-half decades later Seuss’ Yuletide tome received a big screen take, this one live-action. Poor Jim Carrey underwent a torturous daily make-up routine, taking 2 ½ hours to apply a get-up from horror legend Rick Baker. Carrey described it as “akin to being buried alive,” and after two weeks he appeared to lose his mind, disappearing only to be found having shredded his make-up. Eventually Carrey had to be trained with someone on the “methods of enduring torture.” Ron Howard directed.
Where to stream: Also on Peacock
The Grinch (2018)
You know who didn’t have to be tortured to play the Grinch? Benedict Cumberbatch. All he had to do was stand in a recording booth and crap out Dr. Seuss’ iconic lines. This one went back to animation, albeit the modern CGI style, though, like its predecessor, it also had to Stretch-Armstrong a story, one that makes for a snug 25 minute TV special, out to about 85 minutes, end credits included. Karloff did double as narrator and Grinch voice. Cumberbatch is spared that, with the narration supplied by Pharrell Williams.
Where to stream: Guess what? It’s also on Peacock
In short: If you want to binge all three Grinch movies, you can do so on the same place. Otherwise you’ll have to rent them or wait from them to appear on good old fashioned linear TV.