Narrated by Anthony Hopkins, the film stars Jim Carrey as the eponymous character, with Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Bill Irwin and Molly Shannon in supporting roles.

The story revolves around the Grinch, a grumpy, green recluse living on Mount Crumpit, who despises Christmas and the joyful residents of Whoville and sets out to sabotage their holiday celebration.

As the Whos of Whoville prepare for their beloved Christmas celebrations, the Grinch, a bitter and misanthropic green creature who resides in a cave on Mount Crumpit, despises the holiday and plans to ruin it.

Six-year-old Cindy Lou Who, disillusioned by the town's obsession with the materialistic aspects of Christmas, has a chance encounter with the Grinch at the Whoville post office, where he saves her after she falls into a mail-sorting machine.

When Augustus, the teacher and every other classmate but Martha laughed at the result, the Grinch snapped, declared his hatred of Christmas, and fled to Mount Crumpit.

Determined to try to make things right, Cindy nominates the Grinch as the town's Holiday Cheermeister; the townsfolk agree, but MayWho, who is now the Mayor, strongly objects.

At the ceremony, the Grinch participates in various events and greatly enjoys himself, until MayWho gives him an electric razor as a present, deliberately reminding him of his unhappy childhood.

Cindy spots him, but mistakes him for Santa Claus, and the Grinch manages to convince her he is just taking the tree to the North Pole for repairs.

After she goes to bed, the Grinch strips the entire town of its Christmas goods, stuffing everything into a giant sack and driving it to the top of Mount Crumpit.

Inspired by his words, the Whos come together, join hands, and begin singing Christmas carols, while Cindy once again sneaks off to Mount Crumpit to visit the Grinch.

As the Grinch prepares to push the sleigh full of stolen goods off the top of Mount Crumpit, he hears the Whos singing below and realizes that his plan has failed.

20th Century Fox, with director Tom Shadyac and producers Dave Phillips and John Davis, pitched their version with Jack Nicholson in mind for the Grinch.

[16] While reviewing the book, Howard became intrigued by Cindy Lou Who's character and developed a vision for a film with an expanded role for her, a deeper portrayal of the Whos, and a more fleshed-out backstory for the Grinch.

[20] Before Howard's involvement, Tim Burton was approached to direct but turned down the offer due to a scheduling conflict with Sleepy Hollow.

Audrey Geisel had significant control over the script, vetoing several jokes she found inappropriate, including one about a family called the "Who-steins" who lacked a Christmas tree and presents.

To help Carrey cope with the grueling makeup process, producer Brian Grazer hired a consultant to train him in methods for "enduring torture".

Carrey also wore uncomfortable yellow contact lenses for his portrayal of the Grinch, but due to the discomfort, many scenes required post-production digital alterations to color his eyes.

This involved hours of makeup application using pioneering techniques that allowed for flexibility in Carrey's facial expressions, enabling him to maintain his comedic timing and exaggerated movements despite the prosthetics.

[35] It features a collection of music performed by several artists, including Busta Rhymes, Faith Hill, Eels, Smash Mouth, and NSYNC.

[37] All music is composed by James Horner, except where notedHow the Grinch Stole Christmas was first screened on November 8 at the Universal Amphitheatre to the cast and crew, as well as others in the industry, including Will Smith.

Later on December 1, 2000 the film received widespread release in The United Kingdom, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Uruguay and South Africa.

From 2010 to 2014, it was paired with the animated television special, airing annually as part of ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas, which later became Freeform's event.

Simultaneously, Toys "R" Us launched a massive promotional campaign for the film, transforming their stores into "Whobilation Headquarters" with one of the most elaborate visual merchandising displays in the company's history.

[48] The film became one of only four titles—alongside Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Shrek and The Mummy Returns—to sell more than two million DVD copies during their opening weeks.

At the time of its release, it held the sixth-highest three-day opening weekend of any film, trailing behind Toy Story 2, X-Men, Mission: Impossible 2, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

[64] Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars, describing it as "a dank, eerie, weird movie about a sour creature" and noting that the production design lacked the festive brightness that the material required.

[68] James Berardinelli of ReelViews wrote that Carrey's "off-the-wall performance is reminiscent of what he accomplished in The Mask, except that here he never allows the special effects to upstage him.

While acknowledging a few "terrific ad-libs," she felt Carrey's jokes were "nothing more than a desperate effort to inject some offbeat humor into an otherwise numbingly unhip, nonsensical and just plain dull story.

"[70] Todd McCarthy of Variety echoed some of these sentiments, noting that Carrey "tries out all sorts of intonations, vocal pitches, and delivery styles" in his performance, at times reminding viewers of James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart.

He further commented that Carrey's "free-flowing tirades, full of catch-all allusions and references, are pitched for adult appreciation" and were likely to "sail right over the heads of pre-teens.