[8.2/10] I don’t know if Chuck Jones and Dr. Seuss had any other collaborations, but they were made for one another. Jones has such an expressive style that dovetails so beautifully with Seuss’s imaginative worlds and off-kilter designs. That’s particularly true for The Grinch himself, who is allowed to be irregular-looking and even grotesque, but who is endlessly expressive as a character.

His trademark malevolent smile, his stern and determined walk, his slithers and scowls and other gestures are just so eye-catching and memorable. It’s no wonder the character wormed his way into people’s hearts -- even with a mouth full of crooked teeth, he’s just a ton of fun in the way he moves and works his way through Seuss and Jones’ exaggerated world.

Jones also comes up with plenty of great sequences of his own. The interactions between The Grinch and Max have a lot of the character of Jones’s prior work in particular. Small sequences like The Grinch playing pool with ornaments or ceiling up an Xmas tree like it’s a beach umbrella show the old master’s own imaginativeness in how he builds The Grinch’s grand yuletide heist.

It’s a treat to see Seuss’s designs come to life, as the various contraptions the Whos clang on to drive The Grinch mad, and the various decorations and bits in their town, have a new vibrancy when motion is added. The art style remains faithful to Seuss’s illustrations while also showing Jones’s flair.

The music and voice work are both stellar as well. “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch” is such an earworm, with the booming baritone carrying the melodies straight into your brain. The lyrics are fun too, capturing Seuss’s eccentric lyrical style. At the same time, Boris Karloff adds such whimsy to the peace as the narrator and the voice of The Grinch. He sells both The Grinch’s annoyance at the celebration of the holiday and his heartfelt transformation with sincerity and vigor.

It’s a nice story on its own. Even apart from the other trappings, the tale of a local grump trying to thwart Xmas from coming by engaging in a little comic burglary makes for a strong premise for a special like this. And the crux of the piece -- Grinch’s epiphany that what he hated were the trappings of the holiday, but that the core of the celeration persists even without material goods -- is a duly venerated one. To be fair, you start to understand The Grinch’s annoyance with the noise from below given its depiction, but that just makes his realization of the purity of the town’s jubilation all the sweeter.

Overall, this one is a classic for a reason. Superb animation, great narration, a delightful tune, and a silly but heartwarming tale give you everything you need to appreciate the holidays. Dr. Seuss and Chuck Jones are both great on their own, but mix them together and you get something extra special.