In both the original Dr. Seuss book, Cindy-Lou Who is a tiny toddler, “no more than two,” whose interaction with a Santa-Claus-disguised Grinch revolves only around questioning him about why Santa is taking their Christmas tree in the middle of the night.
In Universal Pictures and Illumination’s new version of The Grinch, she’s a little older, and she’s on a mission to trap Santa to ask him to help her over-worked, over-tired mother. “We wanted to find a character who was the antitheses of the Grinch,” producer Chris Meledandri says. “Someone who was incredibly helpful and embodied the optimism that childhood allows us to have. She’s a very positive character, but there’s a certain wisdom to her as well. We talked a lot about why her path was going to cross with Santa’s — or the-Grinch-as-Santa — and giving her a sense of mission and intention. Her determination puts these two characters on paths that we know are going to collide.”
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