The TVCU's How the Grinch Missed Christmas
Every Christmas I post something holiday related. This Christmas I intended to cover the Grinch, particularly since I'm also currently working on Cartoon Multiverse: The Cartoon Crossover Encyclopedia, but my schedule has been so full that I just haven't had the time.
So Merry Belated Christmas!
Earlier than somethings but later than others--HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (LIVE ACTION)--In the live action film, the Grinch was delivered via storks dropping off kids via balloons. The Grinch was diverted from his original destination as a baby and raised by a Who couple. His hatred of Whos came from being raised among people who didn't like him because he was different. He was the product of constant bigotry and bullying, but the final straw was when he was embarrassed in front of the Who girl that he had a crush on, which led him to leave Whoville and live in the cave in the mountain.
1954--SEUSSICAL--This musical adapts Horton Hears a Who but combines it with crossovers with the Grinch and other Dr. Seuss characters. This confirms that Whoville and the Whos from Horton and the Grinch are the same. Whoville is a miniature world that exists in a speck. When Horton encounters it, it is on a speck of dust on a clover flower in the jungle in which the elephant lives. In the original Grinch story, Whoville is described to resemble Easthampton, MA, located near Dr. Seuss's home of Springfield, MA, but the Grinch live action film shows that it exists within a snowflake. Though I'd love to claim Easthampton, the town next to my Northampton, as Whoville in order to give myself another personal crossover, I'm going to have to accept that indeed Whoville exists within a speck, which likely is really some sort of microverse that may travel, which would explain how the speck itself can travel. The animated version of Horton Hears a Who (from the 1970s) makes it clearer that the Whos of Whoville are the same in both Horton and Grinch. Then in the more recent 2008 feature length version of Horton Hears a Who, the young Whos are seen making a Grinch Snowman. Note that the Grinch himself is not a Who. The Grinch was mistakenly delivered by a stork to the Whos. The Grinch not only appears to look very differently, he also exhibits super-strength. The Star Trek crossover later in this timeline explains through inference that the Grinch is actually an alien. Though not a crossover at all, I have to point out that the Laurel and Hardy film Babes in Toyland (aka March of the Wooden Soldiers) features Bogey Men that live in the caves under Toyland that strongly resemble the Grinch. That film predates Dr. Suess's Grinch by about two decades. Seussical's appearance on this timeline is retroactive. Seussical is a musical with the main story being a retelling of Horton Hears a Who, but with cameos of other famous characters. So it is placed to take place when Horton Hears a Who was published. This appearance of the Grinch takes place prior to his first published appearance.
1955--THE HOOBUB AND THE GRINCH--The first appearance of the Grinch.
December 1957--HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS--Dated based on the publication date of the original story. However, I consider the cartoon to be the same events as the book. I also consider the Jim Carrey film to be the same events. The film adapts the original story exactly, and then adds in filler, sort of like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
December 1959?--LOST ISSUES--Click here for more Grinch team-ups.
Sometime between How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Halloween is Grinch Night--ROBOT CHICKEN--"Robot Chicken's DP Christmas Special"--Demonstrated to be a separate reality within the same multiverse as Family Guy. In "Robot Chicken's DP Christmas Special", the Grinch visits a doctor due to his heart growing three sizes. Note that if the doctor did "fix" his heart, restoring it to its original size, it could explain why the Grinch returned to his old ways after his Christmas redemption. Because of that, I'm including this entry twice, in the Alternate Realities section and in the main timeline. [I have occasionally added sketches from Robot Chicken and other sketch comedy shows into the main timelines previously when the sketches seem to work well for the timeline.]
October 1977--HALLOWEEN IS GRINCH NIGHT--Because it is. Note that despite his Christmas experience, the Grinch didn't seem to completely reform from his old ways.
1982--THE GRINCH GRINCHES THE CAT IN THE HAT--Do I need to even describe this? The Grinch battles The Cat in the Hat.
December 1992--TINY TOON ADVENTURES--"It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special"--A blue Grinch appears attempting to steal Christmas. Note that for this timeline I didn't separate live action and animation for the most part. It was too complicated. Because of the nature of Whoville as a possible microverse that travels, it's probable that Whoville touches many realities within the multiverse. Below in the Alternate Realities section I only included appearances of the Grinch is very clear alternate Grinch/Whoville realities. For instance, Mad is a clear parody and since the Grinch Christmas Special happens in the 1950s, it can't be in the main timeline that Tom Hanks and other modern actors are responding to the events of that special. Likewise, since I've included the Simpsons in this timeline, Treehouse of Horror must then be placed in that Alternate Realities section since those stories are non-canonical.
1996--THE WUBBULOUS WORLD OF DR. SEUSS--The Grinch appeared along several other famous classic Dr. Seuss characters in new stories.
2014
DEC 5-25 - HYSTERIA OF THE WORLD PART 2:
GRUSS VON KRAMPUS [ANTILOGY] - Ivan encounters a demonic elf and a goat-demon menacing a shopping mall, and discovers reports have been coming in across New England that Krampus, a yuletide demon known for devouring naughty children, is appearing everywhere at once. NEGATE members are deployed to handle the crisis, with Ivan teamed up with Ark Gearheart and Victor Venkman of the Real New England Ghostbusters. The Krampus demons are accompanied by devilish elves, killer snowmen, Nutcracker fiends, green grinches, foul faeries, and other yule ghouls. Analysis of the situation reveals that the visible yuletide fiends are the result of the damage to the Veil that occurred in November (HYSTERIA OF THE WORLD PART 1), leaving the separation between the natural and supernatural worlds all too flimsy. While assorted Ghostbusters attempt to handle the many problems this is causing, Ivan seeks help from Velaska Pskowski to see if she can magically repair the glamour that should be concealing these types of things from humanity, and rendering them unable to physically interact with the world at large. Vela's magic reacts badly with the Anti-Logic, and Ivan's full moon transformation (on Krampusnacht, no less) begins turning him into a Krampus. The effect only lasts the night, but makes it clear that the danger will only get worse, as vampire and zombie Santas are spotted. Assorted Ghostbusters run damage control missions around the clock through Boxing Day when the majority of Christmas Spirits finally dissipate, and Vela even dons a proton pack to help out (leading her to conclude that a franchise in Springfield MA might be a good idea). Unseen by Ivan Schablotski or his allies, this exhaustive confrontation is considered a failure for Wolfram & Hart in the eyes of their client, the Fractal Paradox, who had actually ensured that no resolution could be reached before the Full Moon had passed, as they had grown suspicious that the challenges Wolfram & Hart had been throwing at Ivan were stacked in his favor. The WR&H representative points out that this situation is a global event which falls outside the parameters set up by the Fractal Paradox for these challenges, and insist that Ivan has in fact performed acceptably, given his abilities.
The Krampus is a popular demonic European Christmas figure associated with St. Nicholas and serving as the punisher of naughty children; it's origins appear to be Pre-Christian and it may represent an incorporation of a pagan Horned God into church tradition, a tactic used to help adapt a population to its new religion. The green-furred meanie is a Grinch of the type written of by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel in HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (1957). Killer Snowmen have been depicted in the 1997 horror comedy JACK FROST and it's 2000 sequel JACK FROST 2: REVENGE OF THE MUTANT KILLER SNOWMAN. N.E.G.A.T.E. and the assorted Ghostbusters which appear here are present-day representatives of the company Ghostbusters from the 1984 film GHOSTBUSTERS. Fractal Paradox is a variation of Faction Paradox, an antagonistic group from the DOCTOR WHO television programme (1963 to present). WR&H stands for Wolfram & Hart, an antagonistic group from ANGEL: THE SERIES (1999-2004).
December 2014--THE SIMPSONS--"I Won't Be Home for Christmas"--The Grinch appears.
December 2017--SUPERPIGALEX--"Twas the Oink Before Christmas"--The Grinch is the villain.
24th Century (around the first season around Christmas)--STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION # 2--"Spirit in the Sky"--A group of aliens that look like the Grinch invade the Enterprise looking for a noncorporeal old man that looks like Santa!
Alternate Realities:
BADLY ANIMATED MARVEL CHRISTMAS CAROL--The Grinch appears, killing Santa.
MAD--In "Da Grinchy Code", Tom Hanks, Nicolas Cage and Harrison Ford team up to solve the case of the stolen presents in Whoville. Mad is part of the TVCU Multiverse as shown in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which demonstrated that a Manga Batman comic, Mad Magazine parodies, and the New Scooby-Doo Movies were all in separate realities in the same multiverse as Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
ROBOT CHICKEN--Demonstrated to be a separate reality within the same multiverse as Family Guy. In "Robot Chicken's DP Christmas Special", the Grinch visits a doctor due to his heart growing three sizes. Note that if the doctor did "fix" his heart, restoring it to its original size, it could explain why the Grinch returned to his old ways after his Christmas redemption. Because of that, I'm including this entry twice, in the Alternate Realities section and in the main timeline.
TREEHOUSE OF HORROR--The Grinch appears in "Oh, the Places You'll D'oh!"
So Merry Belated Christmas!
Earlier than somethings but later than others--HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (LIVE ACTION)--In the live action film, the Grinch was delivered via storks dropping off kids via balloons. The Grinch was diverted from his original destination as a baby and raised by a Who couple. His hatred of Whos came from being raised among people who didn't like him because he was different. He was the product of constant bigotry and bullying, but the final straw was when he was embarrassed in front of the Who girl that he had a crush on, which led him to leave Whoville and live in the cave in the mountain.
1954--SEUSSICAL--This musical adapts Horton Hears a Who but combines it with crossovers with the Grinch and other Dr. Seuss characters. This confirms that Whoville and the Whos from Horton and the Grinch are the same. Whoville is a miniature world that exists in a speck. When Horton encounters it, it is on a speck of dust on a clover flower in the jungle in which the elephant lives. In the original Grinch story, Whoville is described to resemble Easthampton, MA, located near Dr. Seuss's home of Springfield, MA, but the Grinch live action film shows that it exists within a snowflake. Though I'd love to claim Easthampton, the town next to my Northampton, as Whoville in order to give myself another personal crossover, I'm going to have to accept that indeed Whoville exists within a speck, which likely is really some sort of microverse that may travel, which would explain how the speck itself can travel. The animated version of Horton Hears a Who (from the 1970s) makes it clearer that the Whos of Whoville are the same in both Horton and Grinch. Then in the more recent 2008 feature length version of Horton Hears a Who, the young Whos are seen making a Grinch Snowman. Note that the Grinch himself is not a Who. The Grinch was mistakenly delivered by a stork to the Whos. The Grinch not only appears to look very differently, he also exhibits super-strength. The Star Trek crossover later in this timeline explains through inference that the Grinch is actually an alien. Though not a crossover at all, I have to point out that the Laurel and Hardy film Babes in Toyland (aka March of the Wooden Soldiers) features Bogey Men that live in the caves under Toyland that strongly resemble the Grinch. That film predates Dr. Suess's Grinch by about two decades. Seussical's appearance on this timeline is retroactive. Seussical is a musical with the main story being a retelling of Horton Hears a Who, but with cameos of other famous characters. So it is placed to take place when Horton Hears a Who was published. This appearance of the Grinch takes place prior to his first published appearance.
1955--THE HOOBUB AND THE GRINCH--The first appearance of the Grinch.
December 1957--HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS--Dated based on the publication date of the original story. However, I consider the cartoon to be the same events as the book. I also consider the Jim Carrey film to be the same events. The film adapts the original story exactly, and then adds in filler, sort of like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
December 1959?--LOST ISSUES--Click here for more Grinch team-ups.
Sometime between How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Halloween is Grinch Night--ROBOT CHICKEN--"Robot Chicken's DP Christmas Special"--Demonstrated to be a separate reality within the same multiverse as Family Guy. In "Robot Chicken's DP Christmas Special", the Grinch visits a doctor due to his heart growing three sizes. Note that if the doctor did "fix" his heart, restoring it to its original size, it could explain why the Grinch returned to his old ways after his Christmas redemption. Because of that, I'm including this entry twice, in the Alternate Realities section and in the main timeline. [I have occasionally added sketches from Robot Chicken and other sketch comedy shows into the main timelines previously when the sketches seem to work well for the timeline.]
October 1977--HALLOWEEN IS GRINCH NIGHT--Because it is. Note that despite his Christmas experience, the Grinch didn't seem to completely reform from his old ways.
1982--THE GRINCH GRINCHES THE CAT IN THE HAT--Do I need to even describe this? The Grinch battles The Cat in the Hat.
December 1992--TINY TOON ADVENTURES--"It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special"--A blue Grinch appears attempting to steal Christmas. Note that for this timeline I didn't separate live action and animation for the most part. It was too complicated. Because of the nature of Whoville as a possible microverse that travels, it's probable that Whoville touches many realities within the multiverse. Below in the Alternate Realities section I only included appearances of the Grinch is very clear alternate Grinch/Whoville realities. For instance, Mad is a clear parody and since the Grinch Christmas Special happens in the 1950s, it can't be in the main timeline that Tom Hanks and other modern actors are responding to the events of that special. Likewise, since I've included the Simpsons in this timeline, Treehouse of Horror must then be placed in that Alternate Realities section since those stories are non-canonical.
1996--THE WUBBULOUS WORLD OF DR. SEUSS--The Grinch appeared along several other famous classic Dr. Seuss characters in new stories.
JOHNNY BRAVO (ANIMATED SERIES)
SEASON 1 EPISODE 5 “‘TWAS THE NIGHT”
Release Date: August 4, 1997 (Setting is Christmas Eve)
Animated Series Crosses: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; How the Grinch Stole Christmas; Wacky Races; Quick Draw McGraw; The Ruff and Reddy Show; Yogi Bear; Jetsons; Scooby-Doo!
Other Crosses: H.R. Pufnstuf; Brady Bunch
The Story: Johnny thinks Santa is a thief, and injures him trying to stop him. He then has to take Santa’s place to deliver the presents around the world.
Notes: Johnny wonders why Rudolph isn’t part of the sleigh team. The scene then shifts to show Rudolph is at the North Pole fighting the evil forces of the Grinch. Johnny reviews the list of those who are to receive coal, which are all politicians. Some of the names on the list are famed cartoon characters while others are cartoon creators. Others still are unknown to me. The full list is: President (the only one to receive a gift rather than coal), Sen. L’annon, Sen. Aberg, obscured name of senator whose name ends with “dn”, Sen. Sntstgne, Sen. Dascardley, Sen. Muttdy, Sen. McGraw, Sen. Ruff, Sen. Ready, Sen. Freedman, Sen. Davis, Sen. Bell, Sen. Cowsil, Sen. Ceasar, Sen. Johnson, Sen. Deserano, Sen. To, Sen. Granger, Sen. Hanna, Sen. Barbera, Sen. Warner, Sen. Yogi, Sen. Booboo, Sen. Jetson, Sen Oakey, Sen. Ricthey, Sen. Jan, Sen. Tomtishen, Sen. Pamela, Sen. Blip (it’s obscured whether he gets a gift or coal), Mayor of Aron City (gets a gift), and Sen. Puffnstuff (gets a gift). Johnny brings a gift to Scooby-Doo. Scooby was hoping for Scooby snacks but instead receives a coupon for free speech therapy lessons from Cindy Brady.
May 1999--FAMILY GUY--SEASON 1 EPISODE 5 “A HERO SITS NEXT DOOR”
Release Date: May 2, 1999
Animated Series Crosses: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Cutaway Crosses: Super Friends
Non-Crosses: Teletubbies
The Story: A new neighbor moves in next door. It’s Joe Swanson, wheelchair bound police officer. Peter becomes resentful of all the attention Joe is getting.
Notes: Animated Series Crosses: In a flashback to how Joe became handicapped, Joe fell off of a roof after trying to apprehend the Grinch. This would be refered to again in a later episode, when it’s revealed to be a lie. However, since this was a flashback story told by Joe, rather than the standard cutaway, I consider it to mean that the Grinch indeed exists within the world of Family Guy. Cutaway Crosses: Peter plays strip poker with the Super Friends at the Hall of Justice. Non-Crosses: Stewie becomes hypnotized when watching an episode of the Teletubbies.
Release Date: May 2, 1999
Animated Series Crosses: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Cutaway Crosses: Super Friends
Non-Crosses: Teletubbies
The Story: A new neighbor moves in next door. It’s Joe Swanson, wheelchair bound police officer. Peter becomes resentful of all the attention Joe is getting.
Notes: Animated Series Crosses: In a flashback to how Joe became handicapped, Joe fell off of a roof after trying to apprehend the Grinch. This would be refered to again in a later episode, when it’s revealed to be a lie. However, since this was a flashback story told by Joe, rather than the standard cutaway, I consider it to mean that the Grinch indeed exists within the world of Family Guy. Cutaway Crosses: Peter plays strip poker with the Super Friends at the Hall of Justice. Non-Crosses: Stewie becomes hypnotized when watching an episode of the Teletubbies.
December 2001--FAMILY GUY--"A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas"--When Lois rampages through Quahog in a frenzied rage, she stomps into a black and white scene of a man saying “I’ve changed my mind. I wanna live again. I wanna live again!” before being pushed by Lois into the river below. This is a reference to the 1946 movie It’s a Wonderful Life. During Lois’ rampage, she runs across a group of children celebrating the creation of Frosty the Snowman. The magical hat brings him to life, only to be a curse when Lois melts the happy creature by spitting alcohol across a lit match. Peter is unamused by Joe’s joke about breaking his legs, and claims that it was “about as funny as Sinbad.” He goes on to explain that he was not referring to Sinbad the comedian (whom he considers hilarious), but rather Sinbad the Sailor. Bonnie mentions that Joe became paralyzed around Christmas time. This is shown in A Hero Sits Next Door, where he is paralyzed by The Grinch.
December 2002--IT'S A VERY MERRY MUPPET CHRISTMAS--After Fozzie get painted green he meets up with The Whos from How The Grinch Stole Christmas who confuse him for the Grinch.
December 2007--ELMO'S CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN--Stan the Snowball mentions the Grinch as a real person.
December 2010--PSYCH--"The Polarizing Express"--The Grinch walks past the Psych office.
December 2002--IT'S A VERY MERRY MUPPET CHRISTMAS--After Fozzie get painted green he meets up with The Whos from How The Grinch Stole Christmas who confuse him for the Grinch.
December 2007--ELMO'S CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN--Stan the Snowball mentions the Grinch as a real person.
December 2010--PSYCH--"The Polarizing Express"--The Grinch walks past the Psych office.
2014
DEC 5-25 - HYSTERIA OF THE WORLD PART 2: GRUSS VON KRAMPUS [ANTILOGY] - Ivan encounters a demonic elf and a goat-demon menacing a shopping mall, and discovers reports have been coming in across New England that Krampus, a yuletide demon known for devouring naughty children, is appearing everywhere at once. NEGATE members are deployed to handle the crisis, with Ivan teamed up with Ark Gearheart and Victor Venkman of the Real New England Ghostbusters. The Krampus demons are accompanied by devilish elves, killer snowmen, Nutcracker fiends, green grinches, foul faeries, and other yule ghouls. Analysis of the situation reveals that the visible yuletide fiends are the result of the damage to the Veil that occurred in November (HYSTERIA OF THE WORLD PART 1), leaving the separation between the natural and supernatural worlds all too flimsy. While assorted Ghostbusters attempt to handle the many problems this is causing, Ivan seeks help from Velaska Pskowski to see if she can magically repair the glamour that should be concealing these types of things from humanity, and rendering them unable to physically interact with the world at large. Vela's magic reacts badly with the Anti-Logic, and Ivan's full moon transformation (on Krampusnacht, no less) begins turning him into a Krampus. The effect only lasts the night, but makes it clear that the danger will only get worse, as vampire and zombie Santas are spotted. Assorted Ghostbusters run damage control missions around the clock through Boxing Day when the majority of Christmas Spirits finally dissipate, and Vela even dons a proton pack to help out (leading her to conclude that a franchise in Springfield MA might be a good idea). Unseen by Ivan Schablotski or his allies, this exhaustive confrontation is considered a failure for Wolfram & Hart in the eyes of their client, the Fractal Paradox, who had actually ensured that no resolution could be reached before the Full Moon had passed, as they had grown suspicious that the challenges Wolfram & Hart had been throwing at Ivan were stacked in his favor. The WR&H representative points out that this situation is a global event which falls outside the parameters set up by the Fractal Paradox for these challenges, and insist that Ivan has in fact performed acceptably, given his abilities.
The Krampus is a popular demonic European Christmas figure associated with St. Nicholas and serving as the punisher of naughty children; it's origins appear to be Pre-Christian and it may represent an incorporation of a pagan Horned God into church tradition, a tactic used to help adapt a population to its new religion. The green-furred meanie is a Grinch of the type written of by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel in HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (1957). Killer Snowmen have been depicted in the 1997 horror comedy JACK FROST and it's 2000 sequel JACK FROST 2: REVENGE OF THE MUTANT KILLER SNOWMAN. N.E.G.A.T.E. and the assorted Ghostbusters which appear here are present-day representatives of the company Ghostbusters from the 1984 film GHOSTBUSTERS. Fractal Paradox is a variation of Faction Paradox, an antagonistic group from the DOCTOR WHO television programme (1963 to present). WR&H stands for Wolfram & Hart, an antagonistic group from ANGEL: THE SERIES (1999-2004).
December 2014--THE SIMPSONS--"I Won't Be Home for Christmas"--The Grinch appears.
December 2017--SUPERPIGALEX--"Twas the Oink Before Christmas"--The Grinch is the villain.
24th Century (around the first season around Christmas)--STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION # 2--"Spirit in the Sky"--A group of aliens that look like the Grinch invade the Enterprise looking for a noncorporeal old man that looks like Santa!
Alternate Realities:
BADLY ANIMATED MARVEL CHRISTMAS CAROL--The Grinch appears, killing Santa.
MAD--In "Da Grinchy Code", Tom Hanks, Nicolas Cage and Harrison Ford team up to solve the case of the stolen presents in Whoville. Mad is part of the TVCU Multiverse as shown in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which demonstrated that a Manga Batman comic, Mad Magazine parodies, and the New Scooby-Doo Movies were all in separate realities in the same multiverse as Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
ROBOT CHICKEN--Demonstrated to be a separate reality within the same multiverse as Family Guy. In "Robot Chicken's DP Christmas Special", the Grinch visits a doctor due to his heart growing three sizes. Note that if the doctor did "fix" his heart, restoring it to its original size, it could explain why the Grinch returned to his old ways after his Christmas redemption. Because of that, I'm including this entry twice, in the Alternate Realities section and in the main timeline.
TREEHOUSE OF HORROR--The Grinch appears in "Oh, the Places You'll D'oh!"
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