The Rex (2015 film)

The Rex (also known as Dr. Seuss' The Grinch) is a 2018 American 3Dcomputer-animated Christmas comedy film produced by Illumination. Based on the 1957 Dr. Seuss book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, it is the third screen adaptation of the story, following the television special from 1966 and the live-action feature-length film from 2000. It marks Illumination's second Dr. Seuss film adaptation, following The Lorax (2012). The film is directed by Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier, and written by Michael LeSieur and Tommy Swerdlow. It stars the voices of Benedict Cumberbatch, Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson, Cameron Seely, and Angela Lansbury, and is narrated by Pharrell Williams. The plot follows the Grinch as he plans to ruin Whoville's Christmas celebration by stealing all the town's decorations and gifts.

The Grinch was released by Universal Pictures in the United States on November 9, 2018, in RealD 3D and select IMAX theaters. It has grossed over $508 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing holiday film of all-time, as well as the highest grossing Dr. Seuss film adaptation. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the animation but said the film added little to nothing new to the source material. It is the final adaptation released during the life of Seuss's widow Audrey Geisel, who served as executive producer of the film and died on December 19, 2018.

Plot
In the town of Whoville, the humanoids called Whos are filled with excitement about celebrating Christmas. The only one who isn't amused is a cantankerous, green furred creature called The Grinch, who has a heart "two sizes too small" and lives as a hermit in a cave on the top of Mount Crumpit just north of Whoville. The Grinch has a pet dog named Max, and they both only visit Whoville when the Grinch needs to buy food and do bad things.

Meanwhile, 6-year-old Cindy Lou Who notices that her mother Donna is overworked trying to take care of herself and her baby twin brothers, Buster and Bean. At first, she decides to send a letter to Santa Claus to help her mother, but after encountering the Grinch, who sarcastically says that she'll have to talk to Santa face-to-face about it, she then decides to go to the North Pole to talk to Santa, but when Donna tells her that it would take a month to get there and back home, her final decision is to try and trap Santa with the help of her friends.

With Christmas approaching, all the Whoville festivities give the Grinch a flashback, recalling his disjointing childhood spent mostly alone and unwanted in an orphanage. The Grinch soon decides that he will steal Christmas from Whoville to assuage his distress. He acquires a fat reindeer whom he calls Fred to help him pull a sleigh that he stole from his neighbor Mr. Bricklebaum. After a test run, the Grinch discovers that Fred has a family. With a heavy heart, he lets Fred go home with them.

On Christmas Eve, after making a Santa Claus disguise and dozens of gadgets to help him with his plan, the Grinch and Max, who pulls the sleigh in Fred's place, go down to Whoville to steal the decorations and presents. He soon encounters Cindy after falling into her trap. Her request to help lighten her mother's workload, and her kind advice about listening to the Whos' singing to alleviate his sadness, touches the Grinch's bitter heart. Nevertheless, the Grinch carries on with his mission.

After stealing every Christmas present and decoration, the Grinch and Max head back to Mount Crumpit to dispose of them. The Whos wake up and are shocked to see that the presents and decorations are gone. At first, Cindy believes that she's to blame, because she 'trapped' Santa, but Donna tells her that Christmas is more than just about presents, and that Cindy's the best thing that ever happened to her. The Whos join together to sing.

The Grinch and Max hear the singing, rendering the Grinch puzzled to see that they are celebrating Christmas despite his theft. After heeding Cindy's advice and immersing himself to their singing, his small heart triples in size, causing him to double over in breathless joy and wonder. The sleigh falls off Mount Crumpit, and the Grinch tries to save it. In the nick of time, Fred and his family come to his aid. After securing the sleigh, the Grinch and Max go to Whoville to return the stolen items. A guilt-ridden and remorseful Grinch admits his crimes to the Whos, and apologizes before returning to his cave, feeling ashamed for everything he has done.

Feeling sorry for the Grinch, Cindy Lou comes to invite him to celebrate Christmas at her house, and he awkwardly attends. When seated down for dinner, he realizes and confesses that it wasn't really Christmas he despised, but being alone and his bitterness over being neglected. Before carving the roast beef, the Grinch offers a toast, "To kindness and love, the things we need most."

Voice cast

 * Benedict Cumberbatch as The Grinch, a disgruntled, green creature who despises Christmas. Illumination originally wanted Cumberbatch to voice the Grinch in his natural accent, however, Cumberbatch felt that since the rest of the cast is American, the Grinch himself should have an American accent.
 * Cameron Seely as Cindy Lou Who, a young resident of Whoville.
 * Rashida Jones as Donna Lou Who, Cindy's overworked single mother.
 * Kenan Thompson as Bricklebaum, a jolly bearded-citizen of Whoville who befriends The Grinch.
 * Angela Lansbury as Mayor McGerkle, the elderly Mayor of Whoville.
 * Tristan O'Hare as Groopert, Cindy Lou's best friend.
 * Ramone Hamilton as Axl, one of Cindy Lou's other friends.
 * Sam Lavagnino as Ozzy, one of Cindy Lou's other friends.
 * Scarlett Estevez as Izzy, one of Cindy Lou's other friends.
 * Pharrell Williams as the Narrator
 * Michael Beattie as Store Clerk

Development
In February 2013, it was announced that Illumination was developing a 3D animated feature film based on the Dr. Seuss book, with the working title How the Grinch Stole Christmas, later shortened to The Grinch. Peter Candeland and Yarrow Cheney were set to direct,  though in 2018 producer Scott Mosier took over from Candeland.

Casting
Benedict Cumberbatch was cast as the titular character in April 2016. By September 2018, Angela Lansbury had been set to voice the Mayor of Whoville. Rashida Jones, Cameron Seely, and Kenan Thompson also joined the cast, while Pharrell Williams, who had previously worked on Illumination's Despicable Me films, was revealed to be narrating the film.

Animation
The animation was created by Illumination Mac Guff in Paris, France. Several software programs were used in creating the film's CGI characters including Maya, ZBrush, and Nuke as well as in-house software. A 3D CGI model of the town of Whoville through which a virtual camera could travel was crafted using Maya, ZBrush, Foundry’s Mari, and Allegorithmic’s Substance Painter.