“Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did not.”

Dr. Seuss’ original children’s story “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” poetically tells the story of a creature living in solitude to shield himself from holiday festivities and cheer.

On Nov. 9, Universal Pictures released “The Grinch,” a new animated rendition of the beloved Christmas tale.

The new film paints the Grinch as a more child-friendly creature, like the original animation, rather than the beast many are familiar with in Jim Carrey’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” from 2000.

As much as I personally love Carrey’s rendition of the Grinch, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the new Grinch voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch.

Senior Heather McNeill said she enjoyed the movie’s resemblance to the 1966 animated film “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

“I really enjoyed that it was so similar to the original cartoon Grinch,” McNeill said. “I’m extremely picky about the recreation of old movies, and I thought it upheld its high standards to the original.”

The Grinch lives alone in a cave along with his dog, Max, the only companion the Grinch seems to tolerate.

Loathing Christmas due to rejection as a child, the Grinch feels bitter toward the cherished holiday.

In an effort to steal Christmas from the Whos, the Grinch is introduced to a new character, Fred. Fred is a big reindeer that the Grinch recruits for his evil plan.

Fred became part of the Grinch’s small family until the Grinch and Max discovered Fred was missing his real family. Fred and his real family make a reappearance later in the film to stop the Grinch and his sleigh from falling off a cliff after the Grinch had his change of heart regarding Christmas and Whoville.

Cindy-Lou Who (Camerson Seely) is an adventurous girl who is being raised, along with her baby brothers, by a stressed, single mother (Rashida Jones) who works night shifts and cares for her family during the day.

Cindy-Lou’s only wish from Santa this year is for her mom to be happy.

When the Grinch pretends to be Santa and is caught by Cindy-Lou overhearing her peculiarly selfless request, he is confused because he thought all of the Whos were greedy, especially when it came to Christmas.

When the Grinch realizes his plan to ruin Christmas fails as singing fills the air in Whoville, his heart grows two sizes.

He travels down to the village and admits what he has done, expecting to be ridiculed and shunned.

However, to the Grinch’s surprise, the Whos were not angry with him and Cindy-Lou even traveled to his cave later to invite him to a Christmas dinner.

“The Grinch” only earned a 58 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with many critics saying the film didn’t meet their expectations.

I disagree with these critics. The Grinch was portrayed as a less-gruesome creature due to the animation and as a way to entertain children.

A meaner Grinch wouldn’t have necessarily made this rendition a better Grinch.

“The Grinch” was a feel-good movie for the holiday season that allowed me to shed a tear and crack a smile throughout the duration of of the film.

Senior Keegan Cummings said he enjoyed the characters’ personalities in the movie.

“I liked how they built upon the original story without changing it too much,” Cummings said. “I felt as though I could empathize with the Grinch. My favorite character was Max because of his confidence and overall charisma.”