You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch of the special, it is often mistakenly attributed to Boris Karloff, who served as narrator and the voice of the Grinch in the special but who himself could not sing. Until Ravenscroft was publicly credited, Tennessee Ernie Ford was also speculated to be the voice behind the song. Mainstream and pop acts have covered the song, usually for holiday-themed albums. Jim Carrey, as the Grinch, sang a slightly condensed version of the song in the 2000 live action film adaptation, "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas", with 1940s style big band music by James Horner. A version by Bob
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film) in the character Cindy Lou Who and pitched a film in which she would have a larger role as well as a materialistic representation of the Whos and an expanded backstory of the Grinch. On September 16, 1998, it was announced that Howard would direct and co-produce a live-action adaptation of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" with Jim Carrey attached to star. It was also reported that Universal Pictures, who had acquired the distribution rights, paid $9 million for the film rights for an adaptation of "Grinch" and "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" to Geisel. Jeffrey Price and Peter S.