Niles: How Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch won Christmas

You can roast me like a chestnut if you disagree, but here goes — the Grinch is the best Christmas story.

Whatever you want in a Christmas story, you can find it at this point. Jesus in a manager? Santa trying to manage stuck-up reindeer? Frustrated professional women finding love during a Christmas trip back to their hometowns? Severus Snape blowing up Nakatomi Plaza? It’s all out there. But, for me, Christmas feels best in Whoville.

From Dr. Seuss’ original 1957 book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” to the outstanding 1966 TV special and through to the Universal Studios theme park shows of today, the Grinch delivers exactly what I want from the holiday season.

First, let’s acknowledge the all-star line-up in that 1966 TV special. You’ve got one of Universal Studios’ icons, Boris Karloff — the studio’s original Frankenstein’s monster — providing the speaking voice of the Grinch, while a literal Disney Legend, Thurl Ravenscroft, handled the singing. June Foray, a veteran of Disney and Warner Bros. cartoons best known as the voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel, voiced Cindy Lou, while Max was played by Dallas McKennon, who later voiced the Old Prospector on Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

And the production was directed by Chuck Jones, the mastermind behind so many classic Warner Bros. Looney Tunes, including my top two cartoon shorts of all time: One Froggy Evening and What’s Opera, Doc? This was a stunning collection of creative talent.

Their work not only has entertained generations of fans, but it also continues to inspire by reminding us that Christmas is celebrated best by giving, not getting. And the best way to give means welcoming and accepting people outside your community.

Give Universal credit for amplifying that point in its Grinchmas theme park shows in Hollywood and Orlando, which follow the 2000 Ron Howard film in revealing that the Whos had beef with the Grinch and then gave Cindy Lou Who some agency by trying to befriend the Grinch even before his heart grows those three sizes.

But the most important lessons I take from the Grinch’s story are that you should not make superficial assumptions about others, and you certainly cannot impose upon them the way you wish the world to be. “He hadn’t stopped Christmas from coming! It came! Somehow or other, it came just the same!”

To that end, I hope that everyone will support the creative community by going out and seeing something this holiday season, whether it’s a concert, ballet, movie or play. Giving the gift of support now can help us all continue to enjoy the gift of the creative arts in the future.