Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Blu-ray Movie Review

You're a mean one, Warner Bros.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 20, 2019

Essentially an upgrade of the 2011 DVD collection Dr. Seuss: Holidays on the Loose, last year's questionably-titled How the Grinch Stole Christmas: Ultimate Edition is almost identical to the previous Blu-ray but adds two loosely-related specials: Halloween is Grinch Night (1977) and The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat (1982), both of which have been fullly restored for their Blu-ray debut. For a synopsis of the main feature, please refer to the linked review. Below you'll find write-ups for both new-to-Blu specials, as well as their A/V details -- again, everything else about this disc is essentially the same as before, save for the packaging. (For the most part, that's not a compliment.)

The Grinch returned to TV after an 11-year absence for Halloween is Grinch Night (screenshots 4-6). Though much less remembered than its older brother, this Emmy-winning special features a few familiar elements that might intrigue first-time viewers: colorful characters and memorable songs (two with vocals by Thurl Ravenscroft), as well as great Grinchy voice work by Hans "Captain Hook" Conried and an appealing visual style right in line with Seuss' artwork. (It's written by the good doctor as well, but not based on an actual book.) Even its differences stand in good contrast: Joe Raposo's dramatic score is an easy highlight, the dark and muted color palette fits like a glove, and there's a few doses of nightmare fuel just for good measure. The story falls a little short, however: it lacks the smooth lyrical flow of Seuss' best work, but as a whole Grinch Night still feels like a forgotten adventure worth revisiting.

The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat (screenshots 7-9) is the black sheep of the family: not only is it a crossover episode, but it takes place in an environment far removed from his cave above Whoville. The Grinch (voiced by Bob Holt this time) has been relocated to an apartment in a colorful city, Max still lives with him, and everything's coming up roses...that is, until he renews his Grinchy vows to spread doom and gloom across the land. He targets The Cat in the Hat (Mason "Smuckers commercial" Adams, who also narrates) after a near-accident on the road, eventually tormenting him with inventions not far removed from a Road Runner cartoon. Its feel-good coda seems tacked on, but the memorable score (again by Joe Raposo), solid songwriting, Seuss script, and familiar characters keep everything afloat. Unfortunately, the animation is even more stripped-down than Grinch Night and, combined with the brighter environment, makes this feel more like a cheap Saturday morning cartoon than a true "special".

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is sourced from the same master as the previous Blu-ray, albeit re-encoded with an AVC codec at a slightly higher bitrate. Not exactly a tangible upgrade, but then again the old disc looked pretty good to my eyes. That doesn't mean there's no room for improvement, so let's call this "passable" and leave it at that.

And while the other two specials look about the same quality-wise (more due to the cheaper animation and visual design than the restoration), they're a giant leap beyond their DVD counterparts and, in my opinion, worth the price of admission if you're a fan of either one. Image detail and colors are rock-solid with no obvious compression artifacts, aliasing, banding, and other digital eyesores, while the regular appearance of fine grain suggests that no excessive amounts of DNR were applied. Overall, a perfectly fine effort in line with most of WB's animated releases.

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

How The Grinch Stole Christmas features the same creaky Dolby Digital mix as before. While it's doubtful that lossless audio would've yielded massive improvements, this is very lazy on Warner Bros.' part. Unfortunately, their laziness also extends to the other two specials -- they're stuck with Dolby Digital as well. Dialogue and narration are both intelligible while the music sounds fine (considering the source material, at least), but don't expect anything beyond DVD quality. These vintage toons will never sound brand-new, but compressed audio on a 2018 Blu-ray is ridiculous.

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

How The Grinch Stole Christmas: Ultimate Edition arrives in a two-disc keepcase with attractive cover artwork and a slipcover that doesn't shed glitter like the last one. On-disc extras are exactly the same as the 2009 Blu-ray.

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Far from an "Ultimate Edition" of its main feature, WB's latest Blu-ray of How the Grinch Stole Christmas at least resurrects two long-lost Grinch specials with new restorations to boot. Beyond that, however, it's basically the same disc as before with a dated (but serviceable) 1080p transfer, Dolby Digital Audio, and a handful of recycled bonus features from the DVD era. A tough one to recommend on principle, but cheap enough for an impulse buy.