Why Is The Grinch Mean And Green? 20 Fun Trivia Facts About ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’

Dr. Seuss’ story “How the Grinch Stole Christmas follows a villainous creature that tries to steal Christmas from the residents of Whoville. However, the airing of the holiday special can make viewers wonder why is the Grinch green? Why is the Grinch mean? and other interesting questions.

Find out more about the classic Christmas story by checking out the list of fun trivia facts gathered from TV Guide, Yahoo, and Biography.

1. The Grinch wasn’t always green. He was originally drawn in black and white by Dr. Seuss. The character was later made green by Chuck Jones, the director of the 1966 TV cartoon, due to several coincidences in which he frequently received green rental cars.

2. Jim Carrey, who starred in the 2000 live-action film “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” underwent torture training to endure the lengthy makeup process required to become the Grinch.

3. Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, struggled to come up with an ending for the original story. “Finally in desperation... without making any statement whatever, I showed the Grinch and the Whos together at the table, and made a pun on the Grinch carving ‘roast beast’… I had gone through thousands of religious choices, and then after three months, it came out like that,” he previously stated about his writing process.

4. Dr. Seuss’ original book of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” was published in 1957 by Random House.

5. Geisel was inspired to write the story based on his own frustrations with the commercialization of the Christmas holiday.

6. Geisel was notoriously “anti-Hollywood” and hesitant to allow his book to be turned into a 1966 CBS television special.

7. Rick Baker and Gail Rowell-Ryan won an Academy Award for best makeup in 2001 for the live-action film.

8. Kazu Hiro, who was tasked with applying Carrey’s makeup for the film, started going to therapy once the film wrapped after dealing with the actor’s frustrations over the process.

9. Boris Karloff, the actor who voiced the Grinch, didn’t sing “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” However, since he was the only voice listed at the end of the credits, people assumed he sang the theme song.

10. Voice actor Thurl Ravenscroft, whose voice credits included Tony the Tiger, sang “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch.”

11. After opening in November 2000, the live-action movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” made $345 million.

12. Similar to how the Grinch was modeled after Geisel, the author thought Jones’ illustration of the character resembled the director.

13. “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” was considered a very expensive animation. At the time, it cost $300,000, which was 10 times the price of the average half-hour cartoon.

14. Despite his brief issue with writing the conclusion, Dr. Seuss said, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” was “the easiest book of my career to write.”

15. Dr. Seuss wrote the book quickly and was able to finish it within a few weeks.

16. Geisel would drive around his La Jolla, California neighborhood with a “Grinch” vanity license plate.

17. The Grinch was 53 years old, the same age as Dr. Seuss when the book was written.

18. In 1977, a Halloween sequel titled “Halloween Is Grinch Night” was released. The story followed the Grinch as he wreaked havoc on Whoville and learned nothing from his bad behavior. Instead, he promised to return someday to do it all over again. The special won an Emmy Award for outstanding children’s program.

19. In 2018, a computer-animated version of the Christmas story titled “The Grinch” was released. The titular character was voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch.

20. After his death in 1991, Geisel’s wife controlled her husband’s legacy and was able to veto several ideas from “The Grinch” movie, including rude jokes and inappropriate references.