The Grinch (2018)

The Grinch

• I am not a huge fan of this film, so I’m gonna keep this shorter than normal. Starting off positive, the animation is smooth, detailed, and entertaining. Illumination is usually very excellent at making fun animation with great character designs and visually pleasing settings. It’s the easy highlight for this film. The voice cast also does a fantastic job, and I enjoy Benedict Cumberbatch in this role. He’s certainly not as animated as Jim Carrey was, but he still has a nice tone that fits this version of the Grinch. Kenan Thompson is also great, and he should do much more voice acting. Moving on to the downside, for a film titled ‘The Grinch’, there seems to be quite a bit that isn’t very Grinch centric. There’s too much subplot and small things that take away from it. Of course, there is a big chunk of the classic story, but it’s hard to sit through when it’s already been done twice in the past. That’s the biggest hit on the film for me. I just don’t care enough to really pay attention, despite the nice animation. The story just isn’t developed right. Lastly, the soundtrack is kind of whatever, with some songs that work and some that don’t. Overall, this film isn't the best, and though it has some fun aspects, most of it is a bore. Not one I’d watch again, but I’d probably recommend it if you really like Illumination.