How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (animation)/YMMV


 * Adaptation Displacement: Of the original book. Most notably, the Grinch's green coloring was an invention of the special -- a somewhat necessary one, as Seuss' original illustrations were in black and white with red accents (at the time the book was published, color printing was still rather limited).
 * Awesome Music: "The Villain Sucks" Song is a classic, and is easily the most famous part of the special.
 * It Was His Sled: The Grinch doesn't steal Christmas after all.
 * Magnificent Bastard: The Grinch, who should be all means by a repulsive creature, ends up being more charming than he has any right to be, partially by virtue of being "so smart and so slick", and very efficient at being bad. Boris Karloff doing his voice in the animated special certainly helps with his image.
 * Memetic Mutation: "You're a mean one, Mister Grinch!"
 * Nightmare Fuel: The face the Grinch made when he got his "idea" is not very child-friendly...
 * And when he sneaks into the bedroom, that creepy Slasher Smile he makes at the sleeping kids before he steals their candy canes. It was even edited out in broadcasts for some time.
 * The Woobie: Max gets treated pretty badly by the Grinch for much of the story, almost bordering on Kick the Dog.