Halloween Is Grinch Night

Halloween Is Grinch Night
Genre	Comedy-horror
Written by	Dr. Seuss
Directed by	Gerard Baldwin
Voices of	Hans Conried Henry Gibson Gary Shapiro Hal Smith Irene Tedrow Jack DeLeon
Narrated by	Hans Conried
Composer	Joe Raposo
Country of origin	United States
Production
Executive producers	David H. DePatie Friz Freleng
Producer	Ted Geisel
Running time	26 minutes
Production company	DePatie–Freleng Enterprises
Original release
Network	ABC[1]
Release	October 28, 1977 (1977-10-28)

Halloween Is Grinch Night (titled It's Grinch Night for the 1992 videocassette release and Grinch Night for the sing-a-long videocassette release) is a 1977 children's animated Halloween television special and is a prequel^{[citation needed]} to the 1966 television special How the Grinch Stole Christmas! It premiered on ABC on October 28, 1977.^[2] The original voice actor for The Grinch, Boris Karloff, by then deceased, was replaced by Hans Conried, though Thurl Ravenscroft, who sang on the original special, again provided singing vocals. The songs and score were written by Sesame Street composer Joe Raposo.^[3]

The special won the 1978 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program.^[4]

Plot

On Halloween in Whoville, a huge storm blows and a chain of events causes the Gree-Grumps and Hakken-Krakks to arouse the Grinch into descending to Whoville in his paraphernalia wagon and wreaking havoc in the town on "Grinch Night". All of Whoville dreads the smell of the wind as an omen, and everyone retreats to their home as the whole village goes into lockdown.

Euchariah, a young Who with astigmatism, goes out to the "euphemism" and blows away. He runs into the Grinch as he is picking brickles out of his fur, the result of a failed attempt to hunt down the last Wuzzy Woozoo. After giving Euchariah a brief spook, the Grinch decides the young boy is too small to waste time on and resumes his trek to Whoville.

Euchariah decides that he must stall the Grinch in order to save Whoville. Catching up to the Grinch's wagon, the irritated Grinch decides to give Euchariah the "spook's tour", and Euchariah is drawn in to a surreal nightmare with spooks and monsters in all directions. Euchariah endures the spooks just long enough for the storm to die down, forcing the Grinch to abandon the trek and return home. His dog Max, visibly depressed and nostalgic throughout the special, refuses to return with the Grinch and follows Euchariah home where he is greeted as a hero; the Grinch laments that he will "miss that Grinch Night Ball" but finds solace in "that wind will be coming back, someday; I'll be coming back, someday!" and then ends this promise with a sinister laugh.

Voice cast

• Hans Conried as The Grinch/Narrator
• Gary Shapiro as Euchariah
• Henry Gibson as Max (singing)
• Hal Smith as Josiah
• Jack DeLeon as Sergeant Samuel McPherson
• Irene Tedrow as Mariah
• Thurl Ravenscroft as Singer, Monsters (uncredited)

Songs

1. "I Wouldn't Go Out on a Night Like This" – Josiah
2. "The Grinch Night Ball" – The Grinch
3. "How Many Times" – Max's inner voice, The Grinch
4. "As the Grinch Creaks Ever Closer..." – Chorus
5. "I Wouldn't Go Out on a Night Like This" (reprise) – Chorus
6. "He Is Wandering in the Wind" – Chorus
7. "The Eyebrow Song" – The Grinch
8. "The Spooks Tour"
   1. "Grinch Is Gonna Get You" – Monster Chorus
   2. "Members of the Un-human race" – Monster Chorus
   3. "The Spooks Tour Finale" – Monster Chorus
9. "Gone Is the Grinch" – Chorus

Home media

The special was first released on VHS by CBS/Fox Video via their PlayHouse Video banner in 1985. In 1992, it was released again by Random House Home Video on VHS under the title It's Grinch Night. It was also released on VHS by CBS Video through Fox Kids Video in 1996 under the title Grinch Night, along with a sing-along version. In 2003, the special was released as a bonus special on the VHS and DVD release of Dr. Seuss on the Loose from Universal Studios Home Entertainment under its original title (though the packaging and menu still referred to it as Grinch Night). On October 18, 2011, the special was released on DVD by Warner Home Video under Dr. Seuss's Holidays on the Loose!, along with How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat.^[5] On October 23, 2018, it was released on Blu-ray by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment as an extra on Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Ultimate Edition, along with The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat. Both extras were remastered in high definition for this release.^[6]

See also

• How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, original 1957 book
• List of films set around Halloween

References

1. "Beware of the Grinch!". The Robesonian. 28 October 1979. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
2. Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 119–120. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
3. Terrace, Vincent (2013). Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936-2012 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 134. ISBN 978-0786474448.
4. "30th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". Emmys. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
5. Dr. Seuss's Holidays on the Loose! DVD – Warner Bros.: WBshop.com – The Official Online Store of Warner Bros. Studios
6. Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Ultimate Edition

External links

• Halloween Is Grinch Night at IMDb
• Holland, Chris; Scott Hamilton. "Stomp Tokyo Video Reviews – Halloween is Grinch Night (1977)". Stomp Tokyo. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
• Video on YouTube, posted by The Museum of Classic Chicago Television