How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film) Grinch pepper-sprayed. Martha turns down the mayor's proposal and returns his engagement ring, deciding to be with the Grinch instead. The Grinch joins in the Whos' celebration feast, carving the roast beast himself. Before his death in 1991, Dr. Seuss had refused offers to sell the film rights to his books. However, his widow Audrey Geisel, agreed to several merchandising deals, including clothing lines, accessories and CDs. In July 1998, Geisel's agents announced via letter she would auction the film rights of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". In order to pitch their ideas to Geisel, the suitors ultimately had to
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (TV special) songs and animated sequences without words (the longest being an extended scene in which the Grinch and Max comically descend into Whoville) were added. As all the major networks had flipped to full color schedules by 1966, the special was likewise produced in color, establishing the Grinch's color (white in the two-tone illustrations of the original book) as green, a convention used in later television specials featuring the character as well as the 2000 and 2018 film adaptations. The half-hour (with commercials) short was originally telecast in the United States on CBS on December 18, 1966. CBS repeated it annually