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The appeal of How the Grinch Stole Christmas is, of course, seasonal, but it's hard to think of a more inspired cartoon than this classic TV special. Together with Charles Schultz's A Charlie Brown Christmas (now 42 years old, one year older than Grinch), Grinch is the best holiday-inspired entertainment of modern times. It's the kind of weirdly clever, yet innocent and kid-friendly, product that forces me to use this tired cliché -- they just don't make 'em like this any more. Instead, they just remake 'em in the new cynical, frenetic, consumerist mode starring the likes of Jim Carrey, the aural/visual equivalent of a three-quarts-of-eggnog headache.
There's plenty that could be said - but why bother? Most of the best moments in Grinch are still accessible in our memory banks. In fact, the show is so familiar that more than a dozen bands have covered the theme song, 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.' The film remake came and went, but the original cartoon is still shown faithfully in prime time every December. The longevity of the special is no surprise, since it is one of the best works of two American creative icons, legendary animator Chuck Jones and (of course) writer Dr. Seuss. But in a culture where almost everything has a short lifespan, it's nice that some things don't turn over.
