Director Ron Howard aims for the beautifully stylized mayhem of Frank Tashlin and Tim Burton, but he comes closer to the clamorous, headache-inducing visual overkill of Joel Schumacher's Batman movies.

Director Ron Howard usually lets his comedies gestate organically, but his Grinch is frantic from start to finish.

Live-action version of classic has some crude, scary moments.

... GRINCH stories have done little to excite my imagination. That said, one can very easily appreciate the technically aspects that apply to the creation of the Grinch figure in live action, the world of the Whos, the art direction, and set design.