The Christmas Tapes

In the town of Whoville, the Whos are filled with excitement about celebrating Christmas. However, the only one who is not thrilled is the grumpy, cantankerous and green-furred Grinch, whose heart is "two sizes too small". He lives in his cave with his dog, Max, and only goes into Whoville to buy groceries. One day, 6-year-old Cindy Lou Who notices her single mother Donna is overworked trying to take care of herself and her twin infant brothers, Buster and Bean. Cindy Lou initially decides to send a letter to Santa Claus to help her mother, but after an encounter with the Grinch, who sarcastically tells her that, if the matter is so urgent, she will have to talk to Santa face-to-face about it, she decides to go to the North Pole to talk to Santa himself. When Donna tells her that a round trip to the North Pole would take a month, she instead decides to try trapping Santa with the help of her friends. Following a failed attempt to sabotage Whoville's tree-lighting ceremony, the Grinch experiences several flashbacks to his unhappy childhood. Overwhelmed, he resolves to steal Christmas from the Whos to alleviate his distress. He and Max acquire a fat reindeer, whom the Grinch calls Fred, and steal a sleigh from his neighbor Bricklebaum. After a test run, the Grinch and Max discover that Fred has a family, and the Grinch emotionally agrees to let Fred go home with them. On Christmas Eve, after making a Santa Claus disguise and crafting dozens of gadgets to help him with his plan, the Grinch and Max, who pulls the sleigh in Fred's place, go down to Whoville to steal the decorations and presents. He soon encounters Cindy Lou after falling into her trap. Her request to help lighten her mother's workload and her advice about listening to the Whos' singing to alleviate his sadness touches the Grinch's heart. Despite this, the Grinch continues his mission, unable to let go of the loneliness Christmas brought him. The Grinch and Max head back to Mount Crumpit to dispose of the gifts. The Whos wake up and are shocked and disappointed to see that the presents and decorations are gone. Cindy Lou believes that she is to blame because of her trap, but Donna tells her that Christmas is not centered on presents and that Cindy Lou is the greatest gift she has ever received. The Whos join to sing "Welcome Christmas", rendering the Grinch puzzled to see that they are celebrating Christmas despite his thefts. Seeing Cindy Lou and remembering her guidance, he immerses himself in their singing, causing his shrunken heart to triple in size. Afterwards, the sleigh begins to fall off Mount Crumpit, and the Grinch attempts to save it. He succeeds when Fred and his family come to his aid. After securing the sleigh, the Grinch and Max slide down back to Whoville in order to return the stolen items, and the remorseful Grinch apologizes to the Whos before returning to his cave. Feeling sorry for the Grinch, Cindy Lou later invites him and Max to celebrate Christmas at her house which he awkwardly attends. When seated for dinner, he realizes that it was not really Christmas he despised, but rather his solitude and bitterness over being neglected. With this, the Grinch finally accepts the Whos' friendship and enjoys Christmas with them with a toast.