The Mean One represents another milestone for horror in 2022, as director Steven LaMorte managed to get an unauthorized parody of Dr. Seuss' beloved book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! in theaters. Since LaMorte didn’t have the rights to explore the Grinch and its universe, the filmmaker had to get creative in hiding references and nods to Dr. Seuss' literary work, just enough for fans to rejoice while avoiding a lawsuit. Now that the movie is finally available, it’s time to break down all the Dr. Seuss easter eggs and references in The Mean One.
The Mean One is The Grinch
While The Mean One couldn’t use the word “Grinch” without infringing copyright law, the titular character (David Howard Thornton) is a copy of Dr. Seuss’ iconic character. They are both green, furry, and hate Christmas. Their heart is also said to be two times smaller than a regular person's. Finally, kindness can make both creatures’ hearts grow three times their size. The difference is that in The Mean One, empathy is also deadly because the monster’s growing heart explodes inside his chest.
Cindy Lou is Cindy You-Know-Who
The Mean One was also forbidden to use the name Cindy Lou, who in Dr. Seuss’s original story is the young girl who wakes up while the Grinch is stealing every Christmas-themed object in her house. That’s why the parody goes with the name Cindy You-Know-Who (Krystle Martin), who becomes a heroine when she decides to take down the Mean One and overcome the trauma caused by the monster killing her mother.
Newville is Whoville
Whoville is also protected content, leading The Mean One to create the town of Newville in its place. The parody also scrapped the fairy Whos concept in exchange for regular humans, lowering production costs while creating some healthy distance between The Mean One and copyrighted content.
The Grinch’s Crooked Mountain
While The Mean One changed Whoville, the parody’s creature still lives in the snowy mountains to the North of the town. The Mean One mountain is identical to the jagged peak Dr. Seuss drew and is present in every other adaptation of the Christmas tale.
The Rhyming Narrator
Dr. Seuss is famous for writing entire books with rhymes, so the parody needed to homage to this creative choice. While The Mean One wasn’t allowed to use Dr. Seuss’s original verses, they still have a rhyming narrator (Christopher Sanders) who bridges different scenes with totally original – and sometimes disturbing – verses.
Mayor McBean
One of the main characters of The Mean One is Newville mayor McBean, a crooked politician who hides the truth about the green creature and lies to the town’s citizens. Her name seems to be inspired by Sylvester McMonkey McBean, a Dr. Seuss character who tricks the kindhearted Sneetches for personal profit.
Sheriff Hooper
The name of Newville’s Sheriff could be inspired by two different Dr. Seuss characters. The first, Hooper Humperdink, is the only boy not invited to a birthday party in Hooper Humperdink...? Not Him!, one of Dr. Seuss' earliest books, still published under his birth name, Theodor Geisel. The other possible character is Peter T. Hooper, a young boy who travels the world searching for rare eggs he can cook. Neither character seems to have much to do with the Sheriff, though, and maybe The Mean One only used the name.
A Cat in a Hat
In a blink-and-you-might-miss moment, we see a sign for a lost cat named Porkpie, who disappeared mysteriously. The picture on the sign shows that Porkpie was using a Christmas hat, which means the Mean One is probably the culprit behind the cat’s vanishing. That could be a reference to The Cat with a Hat, one of Dr. Seuss’ most beloved books. This could also be a nod to The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, an animated musical special written by Dr. Seuss that premiered on ABC in 1982.
Horton’s Bar
When Cindy finds out the stranger who has been following her has some critical knowledge to share about the Mean One, they go talk about the green creature in a bar named Horton’s. That’s a direct reference to the elephant Horton, the protagonist of multiple Dr. Seuss books, including Horton Hear a Who!
Doctor Zeus
The man whose life was destroyed by the Mean One is named Mathias Zeus. However, the people of Newville usually call him Doc. He’s Doc Zeus, which sounds almost identical to Dr. Seuss. At least close enough not to get into some legal trouble.
The Mean One’s Tight Shoes
When Cindy is training to take down the Mean One, she wonders what turned the monster into a vicious beast. She asked herself if his head was not screwed right or if his shoes were too tight. These are precisely the reasons Dr. Seuss comes up with to explain why the Grinch is so grumpy, and in the original book, there’s also no clear answer to the Grinch’s behavior.