Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (25th Anniversary) Movie Cast, Plot and Everything to Know

Key Facts

• Legendary makeup artist and creature creator Rick Baker won the Academy Award® for Best Makeup for his work on the film alongside collaborator Gail Rowell-Ryan. The film earned two additional Oscar® nominations: for costume designer Rita Ryack and for art director Michael Corenblith and set decorator Merideth Boswell in the Best Art Direction-Set Decoration category. 2025-11-29
• Released on Nov. 18, 2000, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas enjoyed immediate success. After opening in more than 3,200 theaters, the family friendly fantasy comedy spent four weeks at the top of the U.S. box-office charts, going on to gross more than $260 million domestically and $345 worldwide. It ranked as the year’s highest-grossing movie and earned the distinction of becoming the second highest-grossing holiday film of all time after 1990’s Home Alone. 2025-11-29
• An enduring holiday classic, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas dates to 1957, when author Theodor Geisel, better known by his pen name Dr. Seuss, published the story, which was inspired in part by his own unhappiness over the increasing commercialization of Christmas. It was first adapted for the screen in 1966 in the form of an animated TV special airing on CBS with actor Boris Karloff serving as both narrator and the voice of The Grinch. The TV special’s director, animation legend Chuck Jones, opted to make The Grinch green; in Seuss’s book, the character had been rendered only in black and white. 2025-11-29
• Based on the beloved book by literary icon Dr. Seuss. 2025-11-29
• This is a nationwide 25th anniversary theatrical re-release of the Oscar®-winning holiday classic, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas starring comedy legend and two-time Golden Globe winner Jim Carrey as The Grinch. 2025-11-29