Christmas and Halloween are a kid's favourite holidays, and they're foils to each other, really. If Dr. Seuss could provide the great Christmas special (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 1966), surely the Grinch would be ripe for a Halloween special. Halloween is Grinch Night is a thirty-minute cartoon that debuted on TV in 1977.
Maybe they waited too long to make this, because unfortunately the Grich is passed his best before date. Halloween is Grinch Night features weak songs, weak jokes and weak animation (the Christmas special looks great if you've seen it on Blu-ray). Unfortunately, Boris Karloff having died in 1969, the Grinch has a new voice and it's just not the same. The Grinch's dog Max is miserable, and he shouldn't be such all the time. He's a lot cuter in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. He even sings a song (in his head) about his misery, which is a mistake given that we never hear his thoughts in the 1966 cartoon- he's a silent character. Finally, what exactly does the Grinch *do* on "Grinch Night"? With the Whos all secure in their houses, what is there for him to do? This special suggests he scares people with elaborate visions that look like a bad drug trip, but it doesn't explain how he does that. Halloween is Grinch Night is a curiosity, but it just doesn't measure up to the Christmas classic and it's not surprising it didn't achieve the same level of immortality.
Maybe they waited too long to make this, because unfortunately the Grich is passed his best before date. Halloween is Grinch Night features weak songs, weak jokes and weak animation (the Christmas special looks great if you've seen it on Blu-ray). Unfortunately, Boris Karloff having died in 1969, the Grinch has a new voice and it's just not the same. The Grinch's dog Max is miserable, and he shouldn't be such all the time. He's a lot cuter in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. He even sings a song (in his head) about his misery, which is a mistake given that we never hear his thoughts in the 1966 cartoon- he's a silent character. Finally, what exactly does the Grinch *do* on "Grinch Night"? With the Whos all secure in their houses, what is there for him to do? This special suggests he scares people with elaborate visions that look like a bad drug trip, but it doesn't explain how he does that. Halloween is Grinch Night is a curiosity, but it just doesn't measure up to the Christmas classic and it's not surprising it didn't achieve the same level of immortality.