Nice article on the Grinch by way of MedicMike:
Linda Jones explained, “Making character animation without any CGI enhancements is an expensive proposition, but my father insisted on doing it correctly and using the best animators–Maurice Noble, Auril and Richard Thompson, Hall Ashmead and Phil Roman. Good character animation costs $110,000-150,000 per minute. Factor that by 20 and you realize the money involved. I recall there was a Variety review at the time claiming The Grinch was the most expensive animation made for CBS-TV. After 30 years, its success is proof it was not waste of money.”
…”Chuck says a good film must have a point of view for the audience. Everyone watching can identify with Max. Even though the Grinch is mean, Max still loves him unconditionally. Max became the audience’s point of view.” Chuck Jones also points out that, “Max represents all of us. He is very honest, very decent, and a very put-upon dog. Dr. Seuss described him as ‘Everydog–all love and limpness and loyalty’.” Max’s agape teaches us to be kind to everyone because deep down inside we are basically all the same.
