Jim Carrey Wants To Return as an Even Creepier Grinch

Motion capture technology has come a long way. Gollum felt like you could reach out and touch him when he first graced movie screens and looks that good today! James Cameron took things up a notch years later with Avatar and continued that push with Avatar 2: The Way of Water (which absolutely rips). There is incredible mo-cap out there, crafted by some of the finest artistic minds in the film industry. Regardless, a lot of it looks like someone who took an adult education course in Microsoft Paint was given access to an Unreal Engine generator.

Most of this can be blamed on studios and how quickly they expect turnaround on new projects. Production houses are forced into strict and overwhelming schedules lest they lose their job to a competitor. It’s asinine, but executives don’t care as long as films come in, at most, a little over budget. That’s a lot of movies, anyway. Plenty go wildly over budget and still look like a Shrek-induced nightmare. Practical effects are obviously great, but even those can have their missteps. Look no further than Ron Howard’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas for an example!

I wouldn’t call Howard’s 2000 remake a bad film. I haven’t seen it enough to do that, and the last time I saw it was twenty years ago. Despite being 11 when it was released, it did not resonate with me. In my later years, I have an appreciation for the elaborate sets, Jim Carrey’s gonzo commitment, and the fact that they would try to make a film adaptation to begin with. It’s not just that the original cartoon is pretty perfect, it’s that the story does not need to be 105 minutes long in any context. There’s no need! The cartoon design also looks great, because it’s lifted directly from the book. The live-action one? F***ing terrifying.

Carrey’s Grinch costume is tactile and detailed and would fit perfectly in any horror film. The realistic ponch and tummy are unsettling. His eyes would make as much sense if you put them in Pennywise. Carrey’s commitment to the role pushes it over the edge. Those long fingers! I don’t care for it. However, neither did Jim Carrey. But he still wants to return to the role, as he recently explained to Comicbook.com.

“Oh, gosh, you know, if we could figure out the Grinch,” Carrey explained when naming what character he would like to reprise. “The thing about it is, on the day, I do that with a ton of makeup and can hardly breathe. It was an extremely excruciating process.” Still, Carrey did it for the ones that matter: the kids. “The children were in my mind all the time. ‘It’s for the kids. It’s for the kids. It’s for the kids,’” Carrey explained. And it’s nice, even if it didn’t work on me, who was an actual child. Welp, I still get it. If Jim loves the character but doesn’t want to go through the makeup process it’s better to leave well enough alone. No other options, anyway. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Wait. Didn’t I start this out by talking about how most motion capture looks like pixelated ass? Oh god…

“And now, with motion capture and things like that, I could be free to do other things. Anything is possible in this world.” Jim, no! Think of the children this time, Jim! There’s no goddamn way a new Grinch movie with Carrey wouldn’t be rushed through production and give us a new green monster to rattle us as we sleep. People say a lot of things while doing press for movies and sometimes s*** just comes out. I’m hoping this falls into that category and no executive with no imagination sees that Carrey wants to reprise a role that already made money and green lights it faster than— annnnd it’s just been fast-tracked into production. I’m so sorry.