Lesson Four
“You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” Soundtracks and Musical Sores for Animated Films
Relevant Content Standard – Students will recognize, identify, and describe the use of imagery and figurative language such as metaphors and similes in a story or an adapted animated film’s storyline. Vocabulary Words – adjective, composer, figurative language, lyricist/song writer, metaphor, musical score, simile, soundtrack
Feature films and television shows often include songs and music. Opening songs for TV shows are called theme songs and can become more popular than the show itself. Some of the most popular theme songs are those for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Cheers, Friends, Golden Girls, and The Addams Family. The Cosby Show is an African American sitcom that aired for eight seasons on NBC but had seven different theme songs – some of which were instrumental. Sanford and Son starring the late comedian Redd Foxx also features an instrumental theme song. Theme songs for other African American television shows like The Jeffersons, Good Times and A Different World have also been very popular. The instrumental theme songs for shows like Dallas and The Young and the Restless are widely recognizable, and the baritone singing voice of Chuck Norris in the theme song for Walker Texas Ranger sets the mood for a show with Texas-sized law enforcement.
Then there are the popular animated show theme songs like those for The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Scooby-Doo: Where Are You? Even The Simpsons, with its mostly instrumental theme music, is well-known amongst television viewers. But a theme song in the introduction of a television series is not the only place and time in which music has a significant role in a feature presentation. The soundtrack or the musical score can set the mood, “drive” the pace of the action, and interject emotion into a film or TV show’s storyline whether it be by the voices of singing characters or as transitional background music between scenes. Music adds depth and can serve to unify the scenes in a story and provide the viewers with a more memorable experience.
The song titled “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” is featured in the animated television special of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The TV special was adapted, directed and co-produced by cartoon animators Chuck Jones and Ben Washam. Wikipedia states the following about the TV special:
Based on the 1957 children's book of the same name by Dr. Seuss, it tells the story of the Grinch, a grumpy green creature who tries to ruin Christmas for the townsfolk of Whoville. He disguises himself as Santa Claus, dresses up his dog Max as a reindeer, and steals all of the Christmas presents, decorations, and symbols of Christmas from in the houses of the people who live in the town. However, he is caught by Cindy Lou Who and discovers that the Whos are celebrating the holiday with joy, realizing that Christmas means more than material possessions. The Grinch's heart grows three sizes, and he returns everything to the Whos and to all of the residents in Whoville. The story ends as he joins the Whos during their Christmas dinner and celebration.
The TV special originally aired in the United States on CBS on December 18, 1966. It still airs on TV each year during the holiday season. It is narrated by Boris Karloff, who also provided the Grinch's voice. Thurl Ravenscroft was an actor and bass singer who performed the song "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch", with lyrics written by Dr. Seuss himself. Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, wrote the words and was the lyricist for the song. The music was composed by Albert Hague. A composer is a person who writes music.
Although it is not the only song in the show, it is the most memorable. The original TV soundtrack released in 1999 includes Trim Up the Tree, Welcome Christmas, You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch, Christmas Why Can't I Find You?, and C'mon there's no such thing as a stupid question. A soundtrack is a recording of the musical accompaniment of a film. It is compiled from pre-existing songs or pieces of music that are chosen based on their relevance to the story. This means it is a recording that includes all of the songs that are featured in a film or a theatrical presentation – those that have lyrics (words) and those that do not (instrumental songs). A musical score, or “the music” for a film or show, is a formalized representation of a musical composition, using a standardized notation system to convey the pitch, rhythm, and length of notes for various instruments. It enables musicians to accurately reproduce the composer’s intended sound. A musical score is different from the soundtrack. It is an original composition specifically created for a show and closely follows the narrative. Musical scores are often created by a group of musicians who work with the director to tailor the music to the visual content.
The story of The Grinch and the song “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” both include lots of figurative language. Authors use figurative language to write stories using words or phrases, or figures of speech, that enhance their writing and communication so that readers can think of images and imagine how the things that are being described in a story might look and feel. The words used often deviate from their literal meanings, creating imagery based on how things are described and to what they are compared. The main example is in the title of the story and its main character. The word grinch was made up by Dr. Seuss and it is a description of a certain type of individual. Dr. Seuss describes him as a character by calling him The Grinch, while in the song, he is referred to as Mr. Grinch. However, in the way that the story is written, Seuss lets us know that a grinch is someone who is old, grumpy, mean and goes to great lengths to satisfy his desire to spread his grumpiness. He is someone who will even engage in criminal activity as he is said to be found breaking in and entering into homes to steal Christmas trees and presents from inside the houses of the residents of Whoville. Throughout the story and in the lyrics of the song, we get a good description of The Grinch with the adjectives and figurative language that Dr. Seuss chooses to use.
Other types of figurative language used in this story are metaphors and similes. A metaphor is a direct comparison between two unrelated things, suggesting that one is the other. For example, in the lyrics of the song “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” when it says “You really are a heel,” he is being compared to a person’s heel, which is on the bottom of the foot. A reader can imagine the dirty, smelly heel of someone’s foot when they read this. Another example is when it says, “You're a bad banana with a greasy black peel.” Again, the Grinch is being compared to a spoiled banana, which is something that a person would not want to eat. In both comparisons, the writer is not being literal, but rather, he is being figurative. He uses imagery to compare two things so that the reader gets a clear and vivid understanding of the description of The Grinch as an individual and a character in the story.
Another type of figurative language used in the story is a simile. Pronounced SIM-uh-lee, it is defined as a comparison of two things using the words "like" or "as." Examples in the song are when it says, “You're as cuddly as a cactus,” and “You're as charming as an eel.” In these examples, The Grinch is being compared to a cactus tree, which has dangerous prickly spines. The spines protect them from being eaten by animals and from losing water. The spines make it so that no one would want to cuddle with them. Eels are natural predators that have blood that is toxic to humans. They are known by some to be the snakes of the ocean and are able to swim backwards. Some of them can also deliver electric shocks to other animals when they want to kill and eat them or when they are defending themselves. This means that eels cannot be described as charming and The Grinch is compared to them. Therefore, the singer is saying that The Grinch is actually not charming at all. Listen to the words of the song as you read them below.
“You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch”
Performed by Thurl Ravenscroft Written by Theodor S. Geisel, Composed by Albert Hague You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch You really are a heel You're as cuddly as a cactus You're as charming as an eel, Mr. Grinch You're a bad banana with a greasy black peel You're a monster, Mr. Grinch Your heart's an empty hole Your brain is full of spiders You've got garlic in your soul, Mr. Grinch I wouldn't touch you with a 39-and-a-half-foot pole You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch You have termites in your smile You have all the tender sweetness Of a seasick crocodile, Mr. Grinch Given a choice between the two of you I'd take the seasick crocodile You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch You're a nasty-wasty skunk Your heart is full of unwashed socks Your soul is full of gunk, Mr. Grinch The three words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote "Stink, stank, stunk" You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch You're the king of sinful sots Your heart's a dead tomato Splotched with moldy purple spots, Mr. Grinch Your soul is an appalling dump heap Overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment Of deplorable rubbish imaginable Mangled up in tangled-up knots You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch With a nauseous super naus You're a crooked jerky jockey And you drive a crooked hoss, Mr. Grinch You're a three-decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich With arsenic sauce.
How many other metaphors, similes and adjectives (describing words) can you find in the lyrics of the song?
“You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” has become a memorable and popular song. IN fact, the soundtrack to the Grinch TV special won the Grammy Award for Best Album for Children at the 10th Annual Grammy Awards, which took place on February 29, 1968, recognizing achievements in the music industry for the previous year. That is a major accomplishment for a story that had been written by Dr. Seuss a decade before then. The success of the story continues today as it is still being aired on television every year during the Christmas holiday season.
Have fun learning!