Yesterday there was a new family movie that premiered in all Indonesian cinemas. My wife and I wanted to see this in the theater nearest to our home but unfortunately it did not play there. So we saw this in another one which was quite near as well. It was the one with Dolby Atmos sound system, though the movie playing there did not have such effects. Anyway, let's get on with the movie now.
Brief Story Line
Grinch (Benedict Cumberbatch - Doctor Strange, Sherlock TV series etc) was very grumpy and really hated Christmas day. Few days before Christmas, he grew even grumpier especially when the city nearby called Whoville went all around to make sure this year's celebration was 3 times bigger than previous year. With the help from his friend Max the dog, Grinch decided to steal Christmas from the residents of Whoville.
Meanwhile a young girl named Cindy Lou Who (Cameron Seely) was thinking of capturing Santa Claus so she could request special wish from him. She had a very loving mother named Donna Lou Who (Rashida Jones - Parks and Recreation TV series etc) but usually overworked. Cindy and Grinch paths would later on crossed over and their lives would never be the same.
So could Grinch successfully steal Christmas? And could Cindy Lou manage to capture Santa Claus? Find them all in this family friendly Christmas movie.
End of Brief Story Line
Ok, so this movie was really awesome in term of the animation. It was truly beautiful the way the Christmas decorations were shown in here. Really made me and my wife felt a sense of overwhelming Christmas joy even though it is still more than a month away. I am also pretty sure that the audience would be able to enjoy the pretty and colorful pictures shown in the film. Which is why I think children should be entertained by the movie due to the nice animation.
The 3D effects I was very sure were astonishing. The effects were put in good use in so many of the scenes, which made me regret a bit that we did not see this in 3D. Although funnily enough I could not find any studios showing it in 3D. Perhaps the movie distributors were worried there would not be enough audience looking for such effect (and paying extra money for it). Aside from the wonderful animation, the movie was also filled with tons of music and songs, like the classic Christmas songs but there were also 1 or 2 songs that I thought was sung by Pharrel Williams who also happened to be the narrator. Btw, the narration of the movie was very unique as they were all rhymed (if you happen to listen to them carefully).
The story of this film was quite simple. It was adapted from children book titled How The Grinch Stole Christmas! written by Dr. Seuss. Apparently it was the third adaptation of the book with 1996 TV version and year 2000 same title with Jim Carrey as the character. I never saw those adaptations so sadly I could not give any comparison with those previous adaptations, but according to critics, this movie did not provide anything new. For me personally though, the plot of the movie was not too complicated but sometimes there were scenes that were supposed to be touching (such as the reason why Grinch hate Christmas so much), however it did not give that effect to me. Although, the final moment involving the Christmas dinner proved to be emotional for me and my wife, especially with the very lovely song playing in the background. There were also some occasional funny scenes usually the ones relating to Max who was such a wonderful friend of Grinch and the very enormous reindeer Fred whom the audience adored.
Some of the voices behind the cast were well known names such as Benedict Cumberbatch who were surprisingly not recognizable. Not sure whether it was because his voice was made heavier, or due to the lack of British accent. There were also Angela Lansbury (Murder, She Wrote TV series) as the mayor of Whoville and Kenan Thompson (Fat Albert) as Whoville resident Bricklebaum who considered himself as Grinch' s best friend. But the one that was really fun to hear was the voice of Cindy Lou Who who sounded very adorable as it sounded like a boy and suit her cute animation (especially her hair that my wife loved so much).
Oh before I forgot, there was a very funny short movie starring those cute minions before the start of the movie titled Yellow is the New Black (obviously a parody of famous TV series Orange is the New Black). So you better not be late arriving at the studio, otherwise you would miss it. There was no mid or post end credit scene, although the earlier part gave some pretty funny animations.
Overall as a family movie, this one was very good in term of the animation and the songs and it did give a good feeling after seeing it. However, it was not one of the very best Christmas movie to my opinion and it may not be a classic as well. Whether it would be another hit from Illumination (the studio behind Despicable Me series and The Secret Life of Pets) remains to be seen. So if you are looking for a good enough family friendly movie with some moral messages and you are fans of beautiful animation combined with lovely Christmas songs, then this one should definitely satisfy you.
Happy watching!
Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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