Halloween Is Grinch Night

Well at least I'm happy I saw it.

I mean a concept like this is brilliant, take one of the most well known characters in children's media and swap out the background of Christmas for Halloween, and just tell a fun little story. Made an entire 11 years after the beloved Christmas classic, Grinch Night centers around a dark and blustery night in the town of Whoville which signals the eternal grump on Mt. Crumpit to descend to the town and bring a wagon filled of creepy and surreal monsters to celebrate the night. But a young Who by the name of Eucharia is intent on halting the Grinch from his macabre dance, and I actually really wish he wasn't in the movie. I mean think about it, we could have another Night On Bald Mountain with Dr. Seuss visuals and crazy music, that would be an incredible thing! I kinda have a love/hate relationship with this short, it has wonderful visuals perfectly encapsulating a dark autumn night where the moon is shining bright, with crisp colored leaves and orange filled lands. But I wish it did focus more on Halloween like the other one focused on Christmas, throw some costumes or bobbing for apples in and not some severely lacking Halloween iconography which to be frank is a sin! They never even bring up Halloween, it's only Grinch Night, so they have Christmas but not Halloween. I've never been more horrified in all of my years. But it almost is made up entirely because of the Grinch's paraphernalia wagon which is easily the best part of the short, with some comparing it to the Pink Elephants from Dumbo but I see more of Heffalumps And Woozles from Winnie The Pooh in terms of music and tone. It is a trippy, surreal, and even a bit creepy freakout, almost something Dr. Jonathan Crane would create with such interesting designs and wild music. This is the reason you should watch this special! And it actually won an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Program, plus was favored above all other adaptations by Dr. Seuss himself. I really did like it but I wanted so much more of that Halloween goodness, but I'm sure kids and adults can enjoy it just the same. It may be for more little kids, but they deserve something fun and spooky to watch next month. But now I desperately want some animation with love and attention to Halloween and all it encompasses....next time.