Move over, Uncle Scrooge

VIJAYSREE VENKATRAMAN

"Bah, humbug!" Ebezener Scrooge from Christmas Carol, the 1843 Dickensian classic, might say as he ungraciously vacates his long held spot as the Number one holiday-season-hater. Scrooge's nephew pitied him and said as a consequence of not being gregarious, particularly in a season of cheer, he stands to lose out on all joyousness. Could anyone be meaner or stingier than this character whose wealth brought him so little joy?

Dr. Seuss's - Theodore Seuss Geisel's - 1957 picture storybook, How the Grinch Stole Christmas gave the world a new green monster.

The Grinch hated Christmas. The whole Christmas season. Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason. It could be that his head was not screwed on quite right. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. But I think the most likely reason of all may have been that his heart was two sizes too small.

Not everyone is, Donald's uncle $crooge McDuck with billions in the bank but much to the delight of the credit card companies and huge stores, that doesn't seem to stop them. And let's face another truth. The Mighty Mouse has made the original miser lose his bite and has transformed him into yet another cute, if eccentric, Disney character.

People who do not buy into the commercial theme of this festival are reduced to ridiculous winter villains by the revelers. Director Chuck Jones made an animation special for TV based on this plot in 1966. "Everyone hates Christmas a little," he said. "To find a character who 'hates Christmas a lot' is a real find!"

Hollywood in its glitzy kindness rushed to the rescue of such folks with a full-length movie adaptation of Dr. Seuss's book once his widow Audrey gave them the go ahead. Jim Carey, the comic genius himself plays the title role in this 2000 production, which movie critics consider a nightmare. Stephen Holden of NY Times begins his review of the movie with a Ugh! That doesn't sound too good, right?

And yet this movie is miraculously at the head of the list of box office hits for the season. The Grinch of Whoville, is portrayed as a much misunderstood man and manages to earn the sympathy of the overspent audience despite his angry antics. It has grossed more than $150 million in its first two weeks of release.

Joanne Gair, the world's leading body paint make-up artist who has worked with celebrities such as Demi Moore, Madonna, Cindy Crawford and Gweyneth Paltrow "crystallized" Mrs. Claus at the shop window in Bloomingdales of New York city on November 24 as part of the Swarovski Crystal Tattoos and Body Paint event.

Starting with a bare minimum of a hot tube skirt, sash and hat, a supermodel was transformed as Gair demonstrated painting and crystal decorating techniques. The final Mrs. Claus was a true holiday spectacle bringing window shoppers to a complete standstill. A svelte Mrs. Claus or better still a female character not oozing over with the milk of human kindness in December does not seem to be looming in the horizon of toon towns yet.

Art will inspire more art. Seussical, the musical, a "contemporary re-imagining of Dr. Seuss" weaves together many of his most famous stories and characters in unexpected ways and is currently showing at Broadway, in the most happening theatre city. It is perhaps too ambitious in its hodgepodge of plots and cast but the nonsense verse and lilting music make it work. The Cat in the Hat, the master of mischief, provides the anarchy. The pen-and-ink Seuss illustrations come to life on stage.

The extraordinary blend of childlike wonder and adult wisdom makes this good family theatre. Unfortunately in the world premiere at Boston, the colonial theatre quite forgot to remove its usual restriction of "No children allowed".

"The Nutcracker," a tale by E. T. A Hoffmann, a popular ballet set to music from Tchaikovsky is still an old standby for children. The author never intended it to be a story for children, as his words portrayed a bleak view of humanity and relationships. It underwent revision by Alexander Dumas, eliminating much of the bitterness and the result was a fairytale. There are visits to Candy land where the little girl Clara and her prince meet sweets from around the world and the enchanted realm of the Snow Queen, Snowflakes with the Sugar plum fairy. The pine tree grows to dramatic proportions in various theatres.

The Grinch realises true meaning of the holiday, as the denizens of Whoville hold hands and burst into song even after he has cunningly stolen all their presents and dumped them, 3000 feet down Mt. Crumpit.

Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store."

"Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!"

The echoes of the trademark song from the animation film, "You are a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", should take a while to die way even as the Christmas villain stands redeemed in a blockbuster this millennium.

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