Other Titles • How the Grinch Stole Christmas • Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas • The Grinch • Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Having a performer like Carrey in Howard's corner on such a film was quite a boon. "His incredible imagination, energy and physical talents made him the perfect, and only choice, to bring the Grinch to life," says Howard.
Carrey did have to make an audition of sorts, this for Dr. Seuss' widow, Audrey. She came to the set of Man onthe Moon where Andy Kaufman did his impression of Jim Carrey doing the Grinch.
"It got a little complex," says Carrey with a laugh when recalling their meeting, "but it was there for her. I was still flabbergasted when she signed off on me doing the part because the Grinch was such an indelible part of my childhood."
For her part, Audrey Geisel recalls being "stunned" when Carrey (or Kaufman) did the Grinch for her. "Without make-up he simply became the Grinch before my eyes, recalls Geisel.
So they got the book and they got their star, but Howard and Grazer were faced with the daunting prospect of creating the wondrous, zany, archetypal world Seuss made his own in his 44 books.
"I wanted the design to be exciting and the color combinations to make something I really haven't seen before. I wanted the visual team to create an original and complex world but one which also has a level of irreverence and sophistication that would be cool for kids," says Grazer.
"It's a real world, it's just not our world," was the guiding principal Howard espoused to his creative team as they began work on creating such a world. Where every element of the movie had to be built from scratch, every actor had to go through an extensive make-up and hair application and, to truly embody the art of Dr. Seuss, extensive and innovative visual effects had to be executed. Nonetheless, these stylistic issues still had to take a backseat to Howard's desire to tell a genuine story with emotional resonance.
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