The Grinch (2018)

There's been a couple of iterations of The Grinch, and you'll certainly have your own favourite version whether it be the 1966 animated film or the Jim Carrey model from 2000. From this introduction alone, the question has to be asked as to whether Illumination's take on the green furry grump is anything other than a money-making exercise, although one in which there's not a minion in sight.

Thankfully this take on the Christmas thief is perfectly serviceable, even if it fails to muster anything particularly original. The Grinch lives with his dog Max at the top of a mountain, hates everyone, hates Christmas even more, and devises a plan to steal Christmas from the town of Whoville which is situated at the bottom of the mountain.

With the help of Max and a rather large reindeer called Fred, he plots the downfall of Christmas for the Whos (the human like people who live in Whoville) but is stopped in his tracks by the kindness of a young girl called Cindy-Lou, who simply wants her Mother to be less stressed and have more help.

The animation is decent as you'd expect from Illumination, and the town of Who looks absolutely terrific, especially during overhead shots, of which there are many. Benedict Cumberbatch enjoys himself as the lead voice, and Pharell Williams and Angela Lansbury flesh out a reasonably famous cast.

The problems lie in the reasoning behind the film's existence; Illumination produced this on the back of Despicable Me 3 (2017) and followed it up with a further two sequels, The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) and Sing 2 (2021) before returning to the Despicable Me stable with Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022).

Perhaps this means that their next feature will be The Grinch 2, which at least would force them into an original story of a much loved tale; but until then, if you like The Grinch, well, have another one. 6.8/10