It isn't going to be possible to watch the classic film How the Grinch Stole Christmas on any streaming services this holiday season, and I am a bit put out.
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The version that won't be available is my favorite adaptation of the classic Dr. Zeuss book. The adaptation, featuring Jim Carey, and directed by Ron Howard is just dripping with style. The classic holiday film How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a must-watch every year, but this year it won't be streaming anywhere.
Anyone who wants to watch it will have to find it through a cable subscription or own it already, of course. This year nobody has bought the rights to it, and I think that's a little annoying. Streaming Jim Carey being the absolute lunatic dressed up as a Green Grinch is a film highlight. It's certainly a darn sight better than the absolute sewage that gets puked out by Hallmark every year anyway.
How The Classic Films Stole Christmas Then Our Hearts
Adapting a Dr. Zeuss book into a movie is no small task. His nonsensical worlds, full of rhyme, but very little reason take a lot of imagination to translate. However, the Ron Howard adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is an instant classic.
Paired with Jim Carey's incredible interpretation of the Christmas-hating goblin, the retelling of the classic books makes for a film I will be reliably streaming every year. But, this year, I may have to dig through my DVD collection to see if I still have a copy.
Despite not being highly acclaimed by critics, audiences and the Oscars begged to differ. The film won Best Makeup and was nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design in 2000. It also raked in a massive $345 million, making it one of the highest-grossing films of the year. On top of this, it is the third highest-grossing Christmas film of all time, which drives me to ask why it won't be streaming.
I guess it's cheaper to produce a tacky hallmark film than to buy the streaming rights of a classic. But, it won't be impossible to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Many still own it, and your local cinema may even do a showing.
