The latest take on that Christmas-hating, food-stealing all-round grump The Grinch is headed our way at the end of the year, with Benedict Cumberbatch providing the vocals for the title character. Check out the new trailer for the film.
The basics of the character are re-established here: he's a cynical grump who lives a solitary life inside a cave on Mt. Crumpet with only his loyal dog, Max, for company. With a cave rigged with inventions and contraptions for his day-to-day needs, the Grinch only sees his neighbours in Who-ville when he runs out of grub.
Each year at Christmas they disrupt his tranquil solitude with their increasingly bigger, brighter and louder celebrations. When the Whos declare they are going to make Christmas three times bigger this year, the Grinch realizes there is only one way for him to gain some peace and quiet: he must steal Christmas. To do so, he decides he will pose as Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, even going so far as to trap a lackadaisical misfit reindeer to pull his sleigh.
Meanwhile, down in Who-ville, Cindy-Lou Who – a young girl overflowing with holiday cheer – plots with her gang of friends to trap Santa Claus as he makes his Christmas Eve rounds so that she can thank him for help for her overworked single mother. As Christmas approaches, however, her good-natured scheming threatens to collide with the Grinch’s more nefarious one. Will Cindy-Lou achieve her goal of finally meeting Santa Claus? Will the Grinch succeed in silencing the Whos’ holiday cheer once and for all?
From the sounds of this new look at the film, Cumberbatch's Grinch is already a little warmer and less mean than Jim Carrey's or the classic cartoon version, but perhaps we just haven't seen him go full grump.
The Grinch should be with us on 9 November.
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