By KERRI HOOVER

Before the season of gratitude was underway, the new and improved animated version of The Grinch debuted in theatres on November 9, ushering in the upcoming holiday season.

Directed by Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier, The Grinch, was inspired by the children’s book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! written by Dr. Seuss and showcased a similar plot line as the Jim Carey version which debuted in November of 2000 and the original animation that first aired in 1966. The animated movie features the voices of (but not limited too) Benedict Cumberbatch, Cameron Seeley, and Rashida Jones.

Pharrell Williams narrates the traditional story of the cynical, green, grump (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) who lives alone on top of Mount Crumpit with his sidekick, Max the dog. Like the original animation, the Grinch is out to destroy the joyful spirits of the neighboring Whos who reside in Whoville by stealing away any physical object that reflects Christmas. However, through small acts of kindness by one little Who girl [Cindy Lou Who, voiced as Cameron Seely] the Grinch’s heart begins to soften.

The Grinch follows a similar plot line when compared to original and Jim Carrey versions. However, it introduces new characters, and thusly, new scenes to the story that differ from previous makings. For example, Donna Who, Cindy Lou’s mother, was a new character never seen before. She played a big part in the movie given the fact that Cindy Lou wanted to meet Santa in order to tell him to bring her mother a special present for Christmas. Mr. Bricklebaum, the closest neighbor of the Grinch, and Fred the reindeer were two more additional characters that added humor and flare to the traditional story.

Even though I knew what was going to happen towards the end of the movie, the outcome was still not ruined for me. Even though it is almost identical to that of previous version, there was an added flare to the film because new characters were introduced. Because of the numerous about of new characters, new scenes were incorporated as well in order to follow the story behind the featured characters. I enjoyed the new scenes and characters that were included within the recreation of The Grinch. Since they added variation to the traditional story line, I was always anticipating the conclusion of the scene because I had not idea how it was going to or supposed to end. The variation allowed for me not to lose interest throughout the movie.

Being a fan of the original animation, I was looking forward to watching this movie in theatres in order to get me in the Christmas spirit. Before watching it, I was slightly concerned that the new recreation of it would be too childish or too different from the first one so much to an extent that it would not be the best for teenagers my age to watch or be interested in. However, on the bright side, I could not have been more wrong. While watching this movie, I have not laughed as hard as I did during this one in a long time at a movie. I appreciated the semi-sarcastic humor that was sprinkled throughout the movie which mainly came from the mouth of the Grinch. Personally, the sarcastic humor was perfect for teenagers, like myself. It allows them to become more engaged with the film instead of stereotyping it as more childish form of entertainment. The humor was not inappropriate for younger viewers by any means in my opinion. Therefore, this would be a perfect movie that the whole family could watch, laugh along with, and thoroughly enjoy.