"The people who are not cannibals": conversation with Benedict Cumberbatch about "The Grinch"

There's a new Grinch in town, and he would not touch your fan theories with a stick of 39 and a half feet. Especially not that one theory.

Perhaps the most famous of Dr. Seuss creations, the Grinch is a constant presence in television and cinema. His outsized torso appeared in the classic 1966 holiday cartoon and in Jim Carrey 's live action movie in 2000, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". humanoid.

In most interpretations, the Grinch has a reputation for being a curmudgeon with a disturbing heart condition. He always realizes the true meaning of Christmas, especially after the Who's singing like angels, even if the Grinch stole their presents.

But are these stories really darker than you thought?

We asked our questions to Cumberbatch, the last resident imitator of Resident Green Santa, who weighed in the darkest fan theories we could present him. Was he contractually obliged to answer every unimportant question we had about the holiday animation movie? Who is to say? But here's what we got:

First, let's establish that How the Grinch stole Christmas! might not be an autonomous story. It could be related to Dr. Seuss's tale Horton hears a who! since both sagas involve a place called Whoville inhabited by Whos.

In Horton hears one who, which was published three years before How the Grinch stole Christmas!We learn that Whoville is so small that it exists on a speck of dust. It's so serious that Horton hears one of its inhabitants because the place is fundamentally microscopic. In fact, we are led to believe that the only way that giant creatures (of normal size) can destroy their world is to make a lot of noise (singing and playing instruments).

So, for years, fans have assumed that the Grinch and all the Whos were actually quite tiny. The animated film of 2000 asserts the theory: it is shown that Whoville exists on a snowflake. But the links between Horton and Grinch take a darker twist in a deep dive with the permission of the writer Cracked Mark Oliver.

In his article, Oliver explains that if Grinch's plan to steal Christmas was really to happen, causing the Who to lose their Christmas spirit and stop singing, they would be in danger of disappearing because the "giant" creatures would no longer be put on hold. current. the existence of who. It's not such a far-fetched thought. In Horton, Who lives is threatened every second. Oliver points out that the Horton strippers wanted to put whos dust in boiling oil. To defend the existence of Whos, Horton is tied up, beaten and "mistreated".

Knowing how dark this story is, could a possible plot of Grinch to destroy the Whos seem so implausible?

"No, I do not believe in this theory, not once," Cumberbatch told HuffPost. "Annihilation?" I think he really really wants to stop Christmas because it's one of the loudest and most joyous things, they do not sing in self-defense to be identified, but out of pure joy and unbridled think that's the thing he does not think he can participate in. "

The actor added, "There is a deep sadness in him … and he also has a misconception of Christmas. He thinks it's the Christmas material trap that's the heart and soul. [The singing is] always the thing that transforms him when he sees how happy they are without the things he thought would make them happy. "

Of all the theories, Cumberbatch seemed to think that it stinks, stinks, stinks more than the others. But we continued.

In Grinch's stories, including the new film, his name is usually Mr. Grinch, the Grinch, or simply Grinch, which drives some fans to assume that "Grinch" is the character's last name. His name, as a result, could be "the. "

Cumberbatch, who is no stranger to the people who chant his name, opposes with all his heart.

"I do not think he has a name," said the actor, saying that, like Madonna, Grinch is a genre to be.

"Something like that, yes. Eminem. Exactly."

If you can be sure of something, it's because the Grinch has so much hatred that it will invade homes and steal children's gifts. So, how can we believe that he has the right to acquire a little dog named Max and take care of him afterwards?

In the movie Jim Carrey, we are told that Grinch's home, Mount Crumpit, is the destination of Whoville's garbage. So, Max is he found in the trash like a puppy? Is this how the Grinch finally found it?

"It's a good question," said Cumberbatch, considering the theory. "I do not really know the answer. Maybe Max met the Grinch, not the other way around. Maybe Max just got lost one day and they became friends?

"Everyone says that Grinch is nice, maybe too kind – well, nobody says too kind, but he treats animals well," he added. "It's a sweet theory. Maybe Max has been forgotten. "

The alarming size of Grinch's heart seems to be at the heart of all his anger issues. At the end of Seuss 'story, when his heart sinks into the Whos' song, he goes to the holiday glee and becomes essentially Mr. Christmas.

Would everything have been solved when he had just seen a cardiologist?

"I think hearts are the size they have in Whoville for love, not for physiology and biology," said Cumberbatch. "I do not think it's a medical issue, and who can say that it's not [gone to one]. It's cold enough for a guy who lives in the mountains, so something is wrong with his heart. The traffic is not good. "

Perhaps the weirdest theory among fans suggests that these adorable "who are who are the ones who should worry about."

Have you ever thought that it was strange that the Grinch eats something called Who Hash? A Twitter user did it and, in a long thread, formulated a hypothesis as to the true identity of the mysterious "roasted beast" that Grinch eventually carved during the Christmas dinner.

People who eat another who?

"Whos are not cannibals," Cumberbatch said. "They are not vegan either. Certainly not vegan. It's not a huge herbal beast, that's for sure. I think it's a kind of non-denominational piece of meat. It could be kosher, it could be pork, it could be anybody. "

Here. Thank you for your time, Mr. Cumberbatch. You seem to be a very caring and attentive Grinch, who is clearly against cannibalism and mass genocide. Merry Christmas!