You might have thought Hollywood would have learned its lesson with the last time they tried to make a Grinch movie back when Ron Howard wasn’t just a journeyman director willing to step in and save your Star Wars movie from the hipster doofuses who made The Lego Movie, but you’d be wrong.
Yes, Universal has enlisted Illumination, the “geniuses” behind the Despicable Me franchise, to craft a new movie, and at least from the trailer that they dropped on Thursday, it’s got all of their trademarks plastered all over it. A grumpy, evil-doing protagonist? Check. His adorable sidekick? Check. Complicated silly machinery? Sure! Plentiful slapstick? You bet. Benedict Cumberbatch? Sure! Pharrell’s “Happy?” Oh god help us all.
Peep it:
So yeah, we’ve come to praise Illumination, not to bury them. Let’s remember that before the Minions became a cash cow and forever ruined your Facebook feed, the first Despicable Me was a pretty damn solid family film, and we have a bit of a soft spot for Secret Life of Pets as well. They’ve got experience with Dr. Seuss adaptations as well, having done The Lorax back in 2012, so out of all the people in the film industry currently, they’re probably the best-equipped to do an easily-accessible version of this story.
It’s probably going to be the least-controversial Thanksgiving viewing selection of this year, unless they have the Grinch go on a rant about allergies or vaccinations or something. But these are the Minion makers, after all, so we wouldn’t expect that.
The Grinch (Shouldn’t it be called How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Or have we just decided to get rid of traditions and wear our goddamn pants on our head or something) hits theaters on November 9. But as far as we’re concerned, you can’t beat Chuck Jones at his own game.
Featured image via Universal.