Review: ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas: 25th Anniversary Edition’

by | Nov 24, 2025 | Movie Reviews, Movies | 0 comments


Greetings again from the darkness. Many families have their holiday traditions, and movies are frequently part of the shared time together. One of the most popular of these movies turns 25 years old this year. It’s director Ron Howard’s live action version of the Dr. Seuss classic starring zany Jim Carrey in the title role. All ages enjoy plenty of laughter while watching, and the real treat is the holiday message the story delivers.

In celebration of the film’s 25th anniversary, Universal has released a 4K Ultra HD steelbook. The film has been remastered featuring Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for enhanced visuals and sound. This special edition also features some insightful and entertaining extra features that will surely appeal to fans of the film. To get the full impact of the enhancements, I compared this new version with my original DVD from a couple decades ago. “Wow” was my reaction on numerous occasions as the vivid colors, exquisite clarity, and full sound blew away the old format. Whoville and the Grinch really jump off the screen.

Rather than review the film, I’ll provide an overview of the Special Features section which is divided into categories. “Spotlight on Location” delivers interviews (from when the film was original released) with director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer, and star Jim Carrey as they discuss the responsibility they felt in honoring the Dr. Seuss source material. They discuss casting 6-year-old Taylor Momsen (now an actor-musician) and Max the dog (a rescue). We hear from legendary Make-up and Effects artist Rick Baker (who won the Best Make-up Oscar for the film) … the first film where he had 90 characters in make-up! We also learn this was (at the time) the largest set ever built for Universal.

“Deleted Scenes” and “Outtakes” are the next two categories. We see the Grinch secretly speeding up the metronome for the carolers (and other havoc in Whoville), Christine Baranski in slinky pajamas utilizing a clap on/off for lights at bedtime, and a ‘boo-hoo’ scene that seemed like a good one to cut. The gag reel splices a lot of ‘I’m sorry’ moments, unintended slips and falls, and quite a few times with teeth issues. The outtakes are probably lighter than what one might expect for a Jim Carrey comedy.

“Who School” is mostly the stunt coordinator filling us in on the challenges of figuring out how the Whoville characters move. Having Cirque du Soleil performers on set allowed for some circus type stunts, as the goal was ‘strange yet human-like’. “Make-up Application and Design” affords the great Rick Baker the opportunity to fill us in on the challenges of turning Jim Carrey into the Grinch and so many other characters into Whos. We even see a clip of Baker himself in Grinch make-up. Carrey admits to feeling ‘buried’ in the make-up and Bakes tips his cap to the star for the 92-day shoot.

“Seussian Set Decoration” lets us in on the architectural inspiration for Whoville that came right from the book, and how the essence of the set and props were meant to capture the spirit of the Dr. Seuss book. Even Audrey Geisel, the author’s wife, provides some insight. The “Visual Effects” section informs us that there were 600 visual effects for the film, 300 of which were computer generated (blue screens and overlays). They even created a ‘Who Construction Kit’ to seamlessly (and quickly) fill in the scenes. The final section of the Bonus Features is a music video of Faith Hill singing “Where Are You Christmas?”, including clips from the movie and Faith on set.

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas 25th Anniversary Edition will be available on 4K Ultra HD and Steelbook on November 11 from Universal Pictures
 

David Ferguson
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