The new animated remake of the classic 1966 Grinch short film has become the first Christmas movie of the year. “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch” was released in theaters on Friday, Nov. 9. The animation was highly anticipated to portray the wicked and modern Grinch, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, but what viewers received was not what they were expecting.

Cumberbatch illustrates the first-ever lovable Grinch character from the start, giving the audience no chance in comparing the older evil Grinch to this new main character who is a caring owner of his dog Max. Although Max is shown as a servant in the original, this movies perceives Max as a close friend to the Grinch in scenes when they’re eating together or as the Grinch fixes Max’s hair.

This animation is made into a modern and bright film, giving Whoville a new appearance in comparison to the older generation. The original plot is what directors Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier wanted the film to revolve around. Viewers were disappointed that in the one-hour-and-45-minute production they made the Grinch stealing Christmas the shortest part of the entire movie; more time was given to the preparation part of stealing Christmas.

This is the only remake that gives more attention to smaller characters. This film shows a charming and honest side for both the villagers living in Whoville and the Grinch. Mr. Briclebaum, voiced by Kenan Thompson, is a villager who becomes a likable character with his innocent and warm-hearted personality and gives viewers instant smiles with the sweet words he tells the Grinch. Cindy-Lou Who, voiced by Cameron Seely, is given a revived character to represent a child’s curiosity and not just someone who doesn’t play a big role in the movie.

The ending of “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch” was too forceful; it felt like everything was so fast that audience members were not able to blink because they might have missed something. This ending made the grown-up audience believe maybe they ran out of funds to produce the movie or they didn’t want the movie to be any longer. Even if the ending did disappoint Dr. Seuss’ fans, this movie is a good animation remake of the Grinch giving young audiences a fun and enjoyable experience. Despite the disappointing ending, the movie was still entertaining and deserves 6 out of 10 stars.