Product Details

• Actors: Boris Karloff, Thurl Ravenscroft, June Foray
• Directors: Ben Washam, Chuck Jones
• Writers: Dr. Seuss, Bob Ogle, Irv Spector
• Producers: Chuck Jones, Dr. Seuss
• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: September 28, 1999
• Run Time: 26 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (162 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301969707
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,892 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Accept no substitutes. The 1966 television adaptation of Dr. Seuss' timeless book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!--about an anti-Santa who tries to heist the holiday only to learn a powerful lesson--is a classic in its own right, and looking better than ever in its 50th Birthday Deluxe Edition. (For those doing the math, the 50 years is counting from the book's 1957 publishing date rather than the show's broadcast date.) The most significant improvement is in the digital transfer, cleaning up fuzz and specks and restoring the proper colors to the program. While the awful earlier DVDs showed the Grinch in a mustard-yellow color, this edition restores his proper green gleam. Special features are mostly ported over from the previous DVD--the Horton Hears a Who program, a featurette on the songs, Phil Hartman's special edition version, pencil tests, etc. minus the commentary track--but there is a new 15-minute featurette, "Dr. Seuss and the Grinch: From Whoville to Hollywood." While it starts out as a fluff piece aimed at the younger set (interviews with kids, some rapping), it does provide some interesting information, including interviews with the widows of Theodore Geisel and Chuck Jones and clips of Geisel and Jones' Private Snafu. (No mention of Jim Carrey, however.) --David Horiuchi

Product Description

Every who down in Who-ville likes Christmas a lot, but the Grinch who lived just north of Who-ville did NOT! So the cuddly as a cactus Grinch (with termites in his smile and garlic in his soul) tries to wipe out Christmas for the cheerful Who-villains, only to discover: maybe Christmas, he thought doesn't come from as store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more! Magnificently narrated by Boris Karloff and animated by cartoon legend Chuck Jones, it's an award-winning Who-roast-beast-feast of a holiday classic!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

107 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Grinch is GREEN!!!, November 21, 2006

By 

Paul C. Visby (Eagan, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Deluxe Edition) (DVD)

I just purchased this new anniversary edition of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (50th for the book and 40th for the special). First, this is a single disc release - not the two-disc set that was originally announced. I stuck the disc into my player to check it out and I was pleasantly surprised. "The Grinch" has been cleaned-up and looks beautiful. And, yes, the Grinch is now GREEN! YEA!!! But be warned, "Horton Hears A Who" has NOT been cleaned-up. It is the same version that appeared on the previous release. There is a new special feature that looks interesting. BUT, there are a few things that have disappeared: Chapter stops for both specials are GONE!, Subtitles for both specials are GONE!, and the commentary for "The Grinch" is GONE! I suppose I can live without those in exchange for a green Grinch, though it is disappointing. Be prepared for the missing features if you plan to upgrade. I do recommend this, though, as "The Grinch" looks so much better than the previous release.

***UPDATE*** 11/9/09
This anniversary edition has been discontinued and replaced by a very similar edition. The new 2009 edition was actually created in 2008 (the trailers are for upcoming DVDs - one year ago) and there are a couple of changes. First, the "Horton Hears A Who" feature has been dropped, I assume, because it has since gotten its own release. Second, the audio commentary has been restored. And third, the subtitles have been restored. Chapter stops are still missing but that is ok as the special is only 25 minutes or so. I had a lot of trouble getting this edition. I went through two copies from Amazon (and got a full refund), a copy from Target, and a copy from Warner Brothers itself (they replaced the Target copy). The problem was that the cover was from the new 2009 version but the disc was the 2006 disc. I finally found a correct version at Walmart today. There is no way to know if it is correct until you open it. The 2006 disc label says "50th Birthday Deluxe Edition" while the 2009 disc label just says "Deluxe Edition." The transfer itself is still the color-corrected, green-Grinch version found on the 2006 DVD.

85 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The same great story and songs but a terrible video transfer, November 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS/HORTON (DVD)

I recently purchased this DVD and was immensely disapointed with the quality of the transfer. The colors were all over he place with the Grinch appearing as a yellow, then brown and finally slightly green creature. The transfer is terrible. I would not recommend it to anyone based upon this poor quality.

82 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars the mustard brown grinch on dvd, November 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS/HORTON (DVD)

I agree with both Chicago, IL and Boston, Ma reviews. The crystal clear DVD viewing of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'was great but, WHY is the grinch not in his true green color! There are other greens in the picture so why not the grinch! Very perplexing we thought and it made the viewing very disappointing. WHAT GIVES! I would highly recommend buying the VHS version due to this disturbing error on the DVD version. I suppose the people who like the DVD version don't realize that the grinch in this version is an impostor! Even when he's green on the DVD cover AND main menu screen!