Movie Info
Movie Name: Halloween Is Grinch Night
Studio: DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
Genre(s): Animated/Seasonal
Release Date(s): October 29, 1977
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
The Sour Sweet Wind is blowing and the Gree Grumps are ‘a growlin’
It is Grinch Night in Whoville and all the Whos are fearful as the Grinch comes down from his mountain perch. When a Who named Euchariah decides to brave the wilds as the Sour-Sweet Wind blows and heads out, he finds himself a prisoner of the evil Grinch and having to use his wits to outsmart him.
Directed by Gerard Baldwin, Halloween Is Grinch Night is an animated family special. The special is a follow-up to the popular 1966 Christmas holiday cartoon How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It first aired on ABC on October 29, 1977 and won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program. Halloween Is Grinch Night has been released on DVD with other specials.
I do believe in spooks!
I honestly don’t ever remember seeing Halloween Is Grinch Night and never knew about it until recent years. The half-hour special is a nice addition to the family oriented Halloween specials like It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Garfield’s Halloween Adventure (though that special is seldom seen nowadays as well).
Halloween Is Grinch Night does play out like a Dr. Seuss story and was written by Seuss. The story has a nice poetic flow to it. It is set up as a prequel to How the Grinch Stole Christmas and has the Grinch acting in his evil ways which can be a bit confusing for kids since the special was released later and the other story is more popular and often seen…no the Grinch did not go bad again.
The Grinch is coming for YOU!!!
Unfortunately, Boris Karloff had already passed when Halloween Is Grinch Night was released so it loses the great narrative though they try to recreate it with famed voice actor Hans Conried. The film also features the vocal talents of Laugh-In veteran and character actor Henry Gibson as Max’s singing voice.
The animation is pure Seuss and that too is a good thing. The Grinch, the Whos, and their world they live in are a fun reflection of Seuss’ writing, and it is always good to visit them.
I rather wish that Halloween Is Grinch Night was in the regular holiday rotation. It isn’t as good as the original, but if it had been played more regularly, it might have been a classic itself…I wish I had grown-up with it. If you get the chance, check out Halloween Is Grinch Night for a fun short family night.
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