A new sequel to Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas has been published this year and it’s titled How the Grinch Lost Christmas. It was written by Alastair Heim, illustrated by Aristides Ruiz, and approved by the Dr. Seuss estate.
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I have only watched the 2000 film adaptation, which starred Jim Carrey, and I wasn’t that big of a fan of the character, mostly because of how it was portrayed. Dan Kois, however, makes the case for the original 1966 animated film adaptation, the screenplay of which was written by Theodor Geisel, Dr. Seuss himself.
The appeal of Geisel’s Grinch, according to Kois, was the very essence of the character. The Grinch was a miser who hated Christmas and the raucousness of the whole occasion. Although he couldn’t actually help it as he was born that way.
Although we want children to enjoy the spirit of the occasion, sometimes we just feel it’s just too much work and too much madness. At the end of the day, the moral of the Grinch’s story is that the core of the holiday season is that we get to spend it together. It’s not the presents or all the other decorative elements, it’s the spirit of family and community.
The new Grinch book, on the other hand, picks up a year after the events of the original (spoilers will follow).
It involves a Christmas tree-decorating contest. The Grinch enters, loses, and sulks about it. Instead of the malevolent creature threatening the Whos and all the readers that Christmas will be lost forever, the Grinch turned into the sore loser. Then, the Whos invite him back and he regains his Christmas spirit.
It’s a nice children’s story, though Kois argues that it lost sight of who the Grinch is, in favor of teaching its readers the moral that Christmas isn’t about the glitz and the glamor. But there is perhaps an expectation that this sequel will open the doors for the Grinch to become more relevant as he permeates through other aspects of culture.
(Image credit: Slate)
Source: neatorama