<P> The Grinch (voiced by Boris Karloff) is the film's main character . He lives in a cave atop Mt . Crumpit, located above the village of Whoville . The Grinch is a surly character with a heart "two sizes too small" who has especially hated Christmas for 53 years . On Christmas Eve, he finally becomes fed up with seeing the decorations and hearing all the music and caroling in the village and wishes he could stop Christmas Day from coming to Whoville . When he sees his dog, Max, with snow all over his face in the shape of a beard, he decides to disguise himself as Santa Claus and steal Christmas . </P> <P> The Grinch makes himself a Santa coat and hat and disguises the innocent Max as a reindeer . He loads empty bags onto a sleigh and travels to Whoville with some difficulty . In the first house he is almost caught by Cindy Lou Who (voiced by an uncredited June Foray), a small Who girl who wakes up and sees him taking the Christmas tree . Pretending to be Santa, the Grinch tells Cindy Lou that he is merely taking the tree to his workshop for repairs, and then gets her a drink before sending her back to bed . He empties the first house of all the food and Christmas - related items, namely presents, trees, mistletoes, and even the stockings on the chimney, then repeats the process at the other houses in Whoville, while also taking the village decorations . </P> <P> With the Whos' stolen Christmas goods, the Grinch and Max travel back up Mt . Crumpit . Before dropping the loaded sleigh off the mountain, the Grinch waits to hear a sad cry from the Whos . However, down in the village, the Whos joyously begin to sing Christmas carols, proving that the spirit of Christmas does not depend on material things . The Grinch begins to understand the true meaning of Christmas, though he barely does so in time to prevent the stolen treats from going over the cliff and while he tries to stop the sleigh from falling off, his heart grows three sizes--granting him "the strength of ten Grinches, plus two!", which he needs to lift up the sleigh . He brings everything back to the Whos and participates in the holiday feast . He is given the honor of carving the roast beast, while Max gets the first slice for himself for all his troubles . </P> <P> Director Chuck Jones and children's - book author Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) had worked together on the Private Snafu training cartoons at Warner Bros. Cartoons during World War II . How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was produced by The Cat in the Hat Productions in association with the television and animation divisions of Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer Studios . </P>

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