How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (TV special) Director Chuck Jones and children's-book author Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) had worked together on the "Private Snafu" training cartoons at Warner Bros. Cartoons during World War II. Jones was interested in adapting one of Geisel's books into a television special and approached him to turn "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" into one in time for the holiday season. Although Geisel was initially reluctant due to his unpleasant experiences making the film "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.", he eventually agreed. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" was produced by The Cat in the Hat Productions in association with the television and
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film) Want" in mid-December. The film closed on April 30, 2001 after five months with a final gross of $260,044,825. Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold over 48.1 million tickets in North America. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 51% based on 135 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Jim Carrey shines as the Grinch. Unfortunately, it's not enough to save this movie. You'd be better off watching the TV cartoon." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 29 critics,