The holiday season brings many tried and true symbols to the homes of many Americans, including Christmas trees, decorated houses, holiday parties and all around cheer. And, of course, it also brings new holiday movies. This year, that movie is “The Grinch.” Directed by Scott Mosier and Yarrow Cheney, this movie puts a digitally animated spin on the classic tale.

The film tells the story of the Grinch, who lives alone in a cave just outside of Whoville. He is spiteful and grumpy, and when Christmas comes around, those feelings go into overdrive. The Whos, who live in Whoville, can’t get enough of Christmas, especially one little girl named Cindy Lou.

When Cindy Lou is going to mail a letter to Santa, she literally runs into the Grinch. Once he hears how important her letter is, he sarcastically says that she should talk to Santa herself. The idea gets planted in her brain, and she hatches a plan to trap Santa and ask him to help her overworked mother.

Meanwhile, the Grinch reflects on his sad childhood in an orphanage, which shows the viewer the reason he hates Christmas so much. He was all alone, and never got to feel the love that other kids did on Christmas. Fueled by the painful memories of his childhood, the Grinch hatches his own plan to steal Christmas from the Whos and make them feel the sadness that the Grinch himself felt for so long.

I enjoyed this movie, but it was definitely not made for someone of high school age. Nevertheless, I found myself smiling and laughing at the movie many times.

While the movie did little to change the basic plot of the first two movies, it put a warmer, fuzzier spin on it. The Grinch is never truly mean or scary, like he is in the Jim Carrey version of the film. Instead, he was mainly sarcastic and at times, almost friendly or caring. In one scene, the Grinch sets his reindeer that he was going to use for his heist free because he sees that the reindeer has a family.

In the movie the Whos aren’t scared of the Grinch. They all treat him with kindness and respect, even when the Grinch isn’t the nicest to them. On the other hand, in the Carrey version people are terrified of the Grinch and think he’s a hideous monster out for blood.

Finally, the Grinch is far less barbaric than the Grinch in the Carrey version. He has a nice home in a cave, where the other Grinch lives on top of mounds of trash. The Grinch in the newest version eats real food, where the other Grinch eats the things that nobody wants. The newest Grinch simply is far more civilized than the previous Grinches.

The soundtrack of the movie features a brand new song entitled “I Am The Grinch” performed by Tyler, The Creator. The song, like the movie, gives people a new point of view on the Grinch franchise.

Overall, the movie is a heartwarming tale of love and acceptance that’s chock full of Christmas cheer. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a holiday movie to take them back to their childhood and put a smile on their face.