![]() All of Illumination's feature-length films to date have been rated PG by the MPAA.All three are among the 50 highest-grossing films of all time, and six of their films are among the 50 highest-grossing animated films, with Minions being the fifth all-time highest. The studio's three highest-grossing films are Minions, which has grossed $1.159 billion worldwide Despicable Me 3 (2017), which has grossed $1.015 billion worldwide, and Despicable Me 2 (2013), which has grossed $970.8 million worldwide. ![]() The Minions, characters from the Despicable Me films, are the studio's official mascots. The company is also known for being the creators of the Despicable Me franchise, its spin-off/prequel Minions franchise, and The Secret Life of Pets franchise. It is the company responsible for creating the Sing franchise. It is owned by Meledandri and Universal Studios, a division of NBCUniversal, with Universal fully financing and owning all the films. But, when I asked my 4-year-old what she thought about the Grinch, she replied “he was funny when he stole presents because he was green.” So, you know, Illumination did something right.Illumination (formerly known as Illumination Entertainment) is an American animation film production company founded by Chris Meledandri in 2007. Humanizing him also robs the character of the simple, sneering, pink-eyed villainy that made him one of the greatest Christmas cads in history. Ultimately the Cumber-Grinch is not all that bad of a guy and thanks to his new backstory, even when you wouldn’t want to touch him with a thirty-nine and a half-foot pole you can at least understand why he’s acting that way. As we all know, there’s not much better endorsement of character than a cartoon dog. In spite of Grinch’s gruff demeanour, it’s obvious Max cares about him and vice versa. His dog, Max, is by the Grinch’s side throughout the entire movie. There are a handful of moments in the film where the Grinch isn’t a mean one at all, showing the kind of empathy he’s meant to learn by the end of the movie. There’s still a lesson being taught to the Grinch here, but the onus is completely on Cumber-Grinch to just kind of get over it. Instead of The Grinch being angry at other people’s joy during a holiday he sees as hollow and annoying, he’s bitter about being left out of it in the first place. As a result the simple, elegant lesson about kindness and warmth in the holiday season gets trickier. Yes, like the book, his heart is too small, and his shoes may be too tight, but there’s a reason for it in this version that’s not his fault. Young Cumber-Grinch was abandoned, a forgotten child whose exile as an adult is no longer self-imposed. In addition to a Despicable Me-style upgrade in the tech department, The Grinch gets a surprisingly tragic backstory. The attempt to make the film’s main character more understandable is way less charming and in fact, a little problematic. In years past, Cindy Lou Who would’ve been wishing for a dad as if that’s the only thing a single mom could really want. Cindy Lou Who, for example, is the oldest daughter of a hard-working single mom all she wants for Christmas is for her to be happy, which is VERY 2018. Of course, to flesh out a 30-page children's book to a feature-length movie, Illumination’s film adds layers to the characters to both add screen time and update the 1957 original. My 4-year-old had a blast and it was hard not to have one too just sitting next to her. The cast, Kenan Thompson in particular, make all the jokes land, while Illumination’s signature blend of physical comedy and and Rube Goldberg-style gadgets and gizmos gives the world around the Grinch an update that’s mostly in keeping with Dr. It needs to be said though, the movie is a lot of fun.
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