How the Grinch Stole Christmas Animated Characters Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (besides known as The Grinch in the UK) is a 2000 vacation comedy drama fantasy musical motion-picture show directed by Ron Howard and written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, based on the 1957 children's book by Dr. Seuss chosen How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The film was released past Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment on Friday 17 Nov 2000. It was the first Dr. Seuss volume to be adapted into a full-length feature film. Because the film is based on a children's book many additions were made to the storyline to bring it upward to feature-length including some information near the backstory of the championship character and reworking the story