Listen to Boris Karloff narrate ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’
The 1966 animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas had plenty going for it. For one, Seuss himself was at the helm of writing the screenplay. Trying to translate Seuss’ signature whimsy has proven to be a herculean task with his other adaptations, so it’s obvious when you can hear the man himself crafting the words.
Also helping to steer the special in the right direction was Chuck Jones, the legendary Looney Tunes animator who directed the programme. Jones’ own penchant for cartoon slapstick and visual flair meshed perfectly with Seuss’ wacky world. With those two at the creative reigns, anyone could have stepped in and made the adaptation a classic. But Jones and Seuss made a genius decision by bringing in another top-tier collaborator: horror icon Boris Karloff as the titular Grinch.
With Karloff, the Grinch transformed from a miserly trickster into something far more sinister and even scary. With his signature growl punctuating the wickedness that was central to the Grinch’s evil deeds, Karloff became the memorable voice of the misanthropic green creature that generations of viewers continued to hear in their heads for decades to come.
If you wanted to relive Karloff’s menacing narration of the classic holiday tale but didn’t manage to get your hands on a physical copy of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, there was a solution. In conjunction with the animated special, Karloff’s narration was repurposed into a vinyl record that could be spun at any point in the year.
Since Karloff is largely the only speaker throughout the cartoon (minus a few appearances by the Whos down in Whoville), it’s an easy transition to go from the special to the vinyl record – it’s practically the same, except that Karloff himself takes on all the voices, including Cindy Lou Who. The only exceptions are when the special’s original songs come in, including Thurl Ravenscroft’s iconic ‘You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch’.
As the only credited artist on the vinyl release, Karloff was the one awarded when the soundtrack for How the Grinch Stole Christmas! won a Grammy for Best Children’s Music Album at the 10th Annual Grammy Awards. It would be the only entertainment industry award that Karloff would ever win in his lifetime.
Check out the soundtrack for How the Grinch Stole Christmas! down below.
