A new trailer for Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures' animated holiday feature The Grinch is now live! As you might expect, the tale follows The Grinch (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his plans to steal Christmas, which are derailed when his heart grows in size after empathizing with the citizens of Who-ville. But as this new trailer reveals, the Grinch is going to great lengths to pull off his Christmas heist, including reconnaissance missions, reindeer procurement, and picking on his pooch pal, Max. (I don't know what that last thing has to do with the plan, but it's a perennial part of the Grinch's inherent grinchiness.)

But Illumination wants some small part of your heart to side with the Grinch despite all his wickedness. They manage to tug on the heartstrings through a flashback to Kid Grinch whose origins are designed to make you feel Feels. The animation studio behind Minions also doles out their usual humor which ranges from the clever to the slapstick, which is sure to delight all ages of fans even if it skews toward younger audiences.

Co-directed by Yarrow Cheney (The Secret Life of Pets) and Kevin Smith‘s longtime producing partner Scott Mosier, The Grinch arrives November 9th, just in time for the holiday season.

Check out the new trailer below:

For more on The Grinch, check out these recent write-ups:

Here’s the official synopsis for The Grinch:

For their eighth fully animated feature, Illumination and Universal Pictures present The Grinch, based on Dr. Seuss’ beloved holiday classic.  The Grinch tells the story of a cynical grump who goes on a mission to steal Christmas, only to have his heart changed by a young girl’s generous holiday spirit.  Funny, heartwarming and visually stunning, it’s a universal story about the spirit of Christmas and the indomitable power of optimism.

 

 

Academy Award® nominee Benedict Cumberbatch lends his voice to the infamous Grinch, who lives a solitary life inside a cave on Mt. Crumpet with only his loyal dog, Max, for company.  With a cave rigged with inventions and contraptions for his day-to-day needs, the Grinch only sees his neighbors in Who-ville when he runs out of food.

Each year at Christmas they disrupt his tranquil solitude with their increasingly bigger, brighter and louder celebrations.  When the Whos declare they are going to make Christmas three times bigger this year, the Grinch realizes there is only one way for him to gain some peace and quiet: he must steal Christmas.  To do so, he decides he will pose as Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, even going so far as to trap a lackadaisical misfit reindeer to pull his sleigh.

 

Meanwhile, down in Who-ville, Cindy-Lou Who—a young girl overflowing with holiday cheer—plots with her gang of friends to trap Santa Claus as he makes his Christmas Eve rounds so that she can thank him for help for her overworked single mother.  As Christmas approaches, however, her good-natured scheme threatens to collide with the Grinch’s more nefarious one.  Will Cindy-Lou achieve her goal of finally meeting Santa Claus?  Will the Grinch succeed in silencing the Whos’ holiday cheer once and for all?

 

Find out, Christmas season 2018.

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Image via Illumination