Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas 25th Anniversary Edition 4K review
Nov 08, 2025- Permalink
Universal has just released Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas 25th Anniversary Edition on 4K in time for the holiday season. Directed by Ron Howard, the live-action adaptation of the Christmas classic stars Jim Carrey, Christine Baranski, Jeffrey Tambor, and Taylor Momsen, with narration by Anthony Hopkins. Taking the story to feature length means adding backstory which takes the tight rhythm of the original tale away, but Universal was never going to stuff Jim Carrey into a shorter pic, so here we are.
The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The video presentation has amazing clarity and detail, from the sets to the fabrics, to the amazing facial prosthetics Carrey in working beneath. There are some moments of softness, but they’re not frequent. The colour palette, especially the reds, pop off the screen unless they’re the drab olives that match the Grinch’s mood. It’s a Yuletide colour feast. Black levels are generally quite good, though some darker moments can be a bit murky. The presentation has a pleasing layer of grain and there’s no digital noise or artifacts to write to Santa about.
On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby Atmos soundtrack that folds back to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 as well as French, French Canadian, Spanish (Castilian and Latin American), German and Italian DTS 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French, French Canadian, Spanish (Castilian and Latin American), German, Italian, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish. The surrounds really shine with ambient sounds and the wind in the environment is almost a co-star. The height channels do get some play in various scenes and the low frequency adds some depth to moments as well. Dialogue is always clear and centred.
The Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas 25th Anniversary Edition 4K also comes with a Blu-ray copy and a digital code in the US, though a digital code is not available for the Canadian edition. There’s a new bonus feature for this release, “25 Years Later: The Gift of The Grinch”, that features interviews with Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer, make-up artist Rick Baker and actress Taylor Momsen and is chock full of anecdotes and info. Legacy bonus materials from previous releases include an audio commentary by Ron Howard, a look at the makeup application and design, pieces on the set decoration, visual effects, the Whovians, a promo focused on Carrey and Howard, deleted scenes, outtakes, a music video and theatrical trailer all presented in standard definition and a 4:3 aspect.
Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas 25th Anniversary Edition 4K upgrades both the audio and video presentations as well as giving us a new retrospective and legacy extras. I do not own the previous releases so can’t say this is a “must upgrade” release, but if it’s a staple of your holiday season, you won’t go wrong picking it up.