Dr. Seuss' classic Christmas tale "The Grinch" returns to the big screen this holiday season. USA TODAY


Spoiler alert! There are mild spoilers for "The Grinch" ahead, so if you haven't seen the film and don't want to know anything about the ending, stop reading now.

Rejoice! Benedict Cumberbatch's movie version of "The Grinch" (in theaters now) brings to life an adoringly malevolent, wonderfully subversive star creature.

Mr. Grinch has all the sweetness of a seasick crocodile in Dr. Seuss' children's book and the classic 1966 Chuck Jones TV special, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"

But in the new film, the character takes a sensitive turn. By the end, the transformed Grinch goes so mushy that he utters a profound apology to the citizens of Whoville for his past wicked ways. 

"I'm so very sorry for everything," he says as he returns all the toys and decorations  he has stolen to ruin their celebration.

Cumberbatch, who has played the full spectrum of antisocial, rude characters – from Smaug the dragon to Sherlock Holmes – loved the journey.

More: 'The Grinch' Benedict Cumberbatch gets cranky about Christmas sweaters, standards on repeat

Related: There's a new version of 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch': Our hearts grew three sizes

"You find out more about why the Grinch is the way he is. Then you can enjoy his meanness," Cumberbatch says. "We get insight into what makes him tick. So it is not just the villain without having some understanding of where it’s all coming from."

Directors Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier spent four years bringing Theodor Seuss Geisel's (aka Dr. Seuss) character to life on the big screen. They knew they were going to have to expand the Grinch beyond the pages and the faithful TV special to make an 95-minute movie.

They start with the full-nasty Grinch. (He knocks a child's snowman over, then nails the shocked kid with a snowball. Double Grinch points!) But the sensitive moments sneak in.

The Grinch stress-eats (good explanation for the paunch), dons a Lycra workout bodysuit (nice irony) and plays a moving version of "All By Myself" on the pipe organ.

There's a new backstory: The Grinch grew up without a family in an orphanage,  and he became bitter about the joyful Christmas holiday.

"We wanted to start him out with his fun Grinchiness, the Grinch we know and love," Cheney says. "But we go on the entire journey with him. He’s this character in denial, with a worldview constructed to protect himself."

Producer Christopher Meledandri, who has worked with Dr. Seuss' widow, Audrey Geisel, since adapting "Horton Hears a Who!" in 2008, says the author's family supported the sensitive transformation.

In his mind, the green Grinch masks childhood pain from his desolate cave.

"For me, it's a metaphor for how we deal with early emotional wounds, developing coping mechanisms. The Grinch had sequestered himself away from any sort of hurt," Meledandri says. "The cynical, grumpy attitude was really a protective wall."

In the original "Grinch," the evilness melts away upon hearing the town singing joyfully even without toys. The Grinch saves his precariously overloaded sleigh of loot, triumphantly sails back into Whoville to return the booty, then cuts the Christmas roast beast as an honored guest. No "sorry" is uttered.

Ron Howard's critically derided 2000 live-action "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" featured Jim Carrey's Grinch giving his mea culpa to the Whos and ugly-crying (way, way too much).

The new Grinch apology is simple and eloquent. Mosier says the small peeks into the hurt heart that heals add a fuller explanation, while the Grinch fundamentals are firmly intact.

"There’s a little Grinch in all of us," Mosier says. "The reason why the Grinch is timeless is because you can make subtle alterations and still have the same essence and, ultimately, give the same message."


USA TODAY spoke with Benedict Cumberbatch about channeling Dr. Seuss' "brilliant" Grinch. USA TODAY


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