Twenty-five years ago, Christmas changed completely, as a film that was not only funny and spectacular, but also educational, became an indispensable part of it. The Grinch, starring Jim Carrey and Taylor Momsen, was released in 2000, and since then, no holiday season can go by without watching it at least once. Dr. Seuss’ story took on a whole new meaning when directed by Ron Howard, but its message has not changed at all, what’s more, it may have reached its destination for even more people. Before we watch it again this year, we’re showing you some behind-the-scenes facts that can make the movie experience even more exciting. Dr. Seuss’ original Grinch story was released in 1957 under the title How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It immediately became a huge success, defining the true meaning of Christmas for several generations, showing children a direction, and pulling adults back to reality, because it’s not just these days that the world goes crazy around the holidays – in the capitalist sense, that is. This problem has existed for many decades, ever since holiday shopping became fashionable, and everyone always wants to give the coolest, biggest, most special gift to the other person. The writer wanted to destroy this image of the times, so he created the strange green creature who hates Christmas because of it, and who then learns to love it when he realizes it (along with the people around him), what is its true meaning.
Ron Howard’s film, which adapts Dr. Seuss’s fairy tale, was released in 2000, 25 years ago. The extremely spectacular and instructive work attracted a lot of people to the cinemas even then, so it became a blockbuster. And to this day, year after year, we re-watch it so that Jim Carrey and Taylor Momsen can remind us: Christmas will be truly intimate and happy when we focus on each other and not on the gifts. We can live with appearances every other day of the year, at least during the holidays, let’s try to leave this mentality behind.
The Grinch debuted in the United States on November 17, 2000, and then became the highest-grossing film of all time – it became the sixth most profitable film worldwide. It won three Oscars, and Jim Carrey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for this role in the Best Actor category. There is no denying that this role gave a completely new impetus to the actor’s career, but we might not even realize how few people turned him down for the role. And this is not the only behind-the-scenes story that few people have heard about.
His wife inspired the story
Theodor Seuss Geisel, or Dr. Seuss, invented the Grinch character in 1955, but at the time it had nothing to do with Christmas. It was a sudden idea that he came up with for a story he intended for a magazine. According to the story, the Grinch sells a thread to a creature named Hoobub for a lot of money, because he makes him believe that the thread is more valuable than the sun. Even with this short story, he made him feel how much he hates capitalism.
However, on Christmas 1956, the strange green creature took on a completely new meaning. Dr. Seuss’s first wife, Helen, became seriously ill. The illness put a damper on their Christmas, and the holiday season was filled with anxiety and fear for them that year, and the writer declared: “I feel so Grinch-like.”
So it was that his hatred of the commercialization of Christmas combined with his pain and fear, and the words just flowed out of him.
He often said that How the Grinch Stole Christmas was the fastest book he wrote and the easiest to work on. After the book was published, he refused to sell his story to Hollywood for ten years because of a previous bad experience. He never saw the 2000 film himself, as he died of cancer in 1991.
“They practically buried me alive”
Jim Carrey recalled the day he found out he had been cast as the Grinch as one of the most defining moments of his life. In an interview in 2000, he revealed that he had spent his entire childhood trying to imitate the evil green creature who hated Christmas. He also gave him a voice and a strange face, the only thing missing was the green glaze. The rubber-faced actor can still show how he played with his facial expressions to create a perfectly evil face looking back at the audience. Of course, he also made sure not to make it too scary, since the film was primarily intended for children.
Despite how extraordinary an opportunity he felt, like a dream come true, getting the role, he had to face many difficulties. Starting with the fact that his makeup took eight hours to do, which almost led to him abandoning the character. However, Ron Howard did not want to let the actor go at any cost, because he was the only one who could imagine the Grinch in his role. So a really effective solution was needed, and they found it at the CIA.
A CIA trainer arrived on set. This guy teaches agents how to endure any kind of torture. Well, he trained me to be the Grinch. After eight hours of makeup, I had to somehow vent my frustration, so I got a big, big hole in the side of my trailer
– Jim Carrey recalled in an interview ten years ago. According to him, the trainer gave him tasks such as smoking as many cigarettes as he could physically or eating as much as he could until he felt really, really sick. He did not want to go into any other details.
He also said that being under so much makeup was like being buried alive for him. The costume, made of yak fur and spandex, was just an addition. According to Carrey, it was terribly uncomfortable and made his skin very itchy. With all this information, we can probably all agree that the actor deserves much more credit for this performance.
An 18-year-old boy played the young Grinch
Not many people remember Josh Ryan Evans, but he was a very exceptionally talented young man who was given a short time on earth. The boy was already 18 when he got the role of the child Grinch, and this may have been because he himself was no taller than 97 centimeters. The American audience may remember the actor better, because he played Timmy in one of the most popular TV series, Passions. He won a Soap Opera Digest Award for his performance and stole the hearts of viewers forever.
He had to live with a strange disorder called achondroplasia. This is a type of dwarfism, a genetic disorder that causes a person’s limbs to remain very short, while their spine develops somewhat normally. Evans also had a thin voice, remaining quite childlike even in his adult life, making him a perfect choice for the role of the eight-year-old Grinch.
He died on August 5, 2002, during heart surgery. He had been operated on to correct a congenital heart defect, which did not end well. The young man, who was only 20 at the time, was cremated, and his tombstone was not inscribed with the “born and died” inscriptions, but with the dates of his sunrise and sunset. It is a strange coincidence that the episode of Passions in which the character of little Timmy dies was also released on the day of the actor’s death.
