{"id":37823,"date":"2014-12-18T00:00:26","date_gmt":"2014-12-18T08:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=37823"},"modified":"2014-12-18T04:27:58","modified_gmt":"2014-12-18T12:27:58","slug":"day-history-december-18th-grinch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2014\/12\/day-history-december-18th-grinch\/","title":{"rendered":"This Day in History: December 18th- The Grinch"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Day In History<\/a>: December 18, 1966<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"how-the-grinch-stole-christmas\"<\/a>\u201cChristmas day will always be, just so long as we have we.\u201d<\/p>\n

When \u201cHow the Grinch Stole Christmas\u201d first aired on December 18, 1966, the most optimistic projection for the cartoon was a ten-year run. Almost half a century later, it has exceeded all expectations, becoming a cherished Christmas classic eagerly awaited by millions every holiday season.<\/p>\n

It was a hard sell. Chuck Jones, the legendary animator from Warner Brothers, wanted to give life to one of Ted Geisel\u2019s (Dr. Seuss) classic books. Geisel was a friend of Jones\u2019 and admired his work. But he was still hesitant to agree to the project, and said no at first.<\/p>\n

Between Chuck\u2019s charm and his wife\u2019s coaxing, Ted finally relented. They decided to work on an animated version of \u201cHow the Grinch Stole Christmas\u201d. Turns out getting Geisel on board was the easy part. MGM was not thrilled about producing it, and the project was rejected 20 times before Foundation for Commercial Banks agreed to sponsor it.<\/p>\n

The story of the Grinch, set in Whoville, was based on Ted Geisel\u2019s hometown of Easthampton, Massachusetts, and the Grinch\u2019s mountain was inspired by nearby Mount Tom. Reading the book aloud took just over 10 minutes, making it necessary to add additional dialogue and songs to lengthen it for TV. The classic mountain scene was created specifically for this purpose.<\/p>\n

Chuck Jones wanted to make the Grinch even nastier than he was in the book. With the help of Boris Karloff and Thurl Ravenscroft, the Grinch\u2019s meanie factor was bumped up considerably. Geisel was a particular fan of the song \u201cYou\u2019re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch\u201d, and the lines \u201cyou\u2019re cuddly as a cactus, you\u2019re as charming as an eel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Max the lovable dog became a main character in the cartoon thanks to Chuck Jones. Max was the identifiable character, the audience\u2019s point of view in the film. Even though the Grinch is always a jerk to him, Max still loves him unconditionally. And who doesn\u2019t love watching Max take that ride down the mountain?<\/p>\n

The cartoon was the most expensive animated program ever made for CBS at that point, but Chuck Jones insisted on doing \u201cThe Grinch\u201d correctly. 250 backgrounds were used in making the cartoon, and a 34-piece orchestra was brought in for the musical numbers. Chuck and Ted were stumped on how to end it, but came up with the perfect solution \u2013 all the Whos down in Whoville holding hands, singing.<\/p>\n

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy our new popular podcast, The BrainFood Show (iTunes<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, Google Play Music<\/a>, Feed<\/a>), as well as:<\/p>\n