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09/23/2003: New Article: Halloween Is Grinch Night, plus Reader Mail! :o

Wow, been a while since a full-length article, so here it is. Halloween Is Grinch Night, the 1977 television special that cast new horrors for a new holiday on the friendly Whos of Whoville, gave us one last look at an animated Grinch before Jim Carrey shattered the image forever with that burping-green-smoke scene in the live action film. I had to can the planned movie review, as it was shaping up to be around three times longer than the Grinch article. It’s on the backburner until I decide it’s just and right to spend 40 hours writing about a movie sixteen people will care about, so for now, just enjoy your silly Grinch.

Oh, if you haven’t noticed, I’ve been keeping my promise with the Halloween Countdown. The past three entries take a look at Oozeified Body Parts, Freaky Froot Loops, and the one I personally find the most interesting, Mattel’s late-70s Gre-Gory the Vampire Bat. I’m definitely digging the Countdown thing so far; I just hope I don’t go broke by November spending all of this money on expensive spider rings and expensive cotton spider webs. Just so you know, I’m stocked up to carry us well into mid October, so if I’m going to fuck up with the Countdown, at least it won’t be for a few weeks.

While I’m here, let’s do some quick Reader Mail. I don’t know why I capitalized it; it just felt right.

“JACKIERAY” asked: “HOW MUCH IS AN ORIGINAL FAKER DOLL FROM THE 80S WORTH TODAY?”

REPLY: I DON’T KNOW JACKIERAY MAYBE 50 GRAND GIVE OR TAKE, AFTER ALL, IT’S “TODAY!”

Derek M.C. writes: “Okay, Hey Matt, Loved the article. Went out bought Unicron, assembled him with some ease, my only problem is (and I pray you can help me with my Giant Planet Eating Robot) how the hell do I correctly attach the big guy’s wings? could you send a picture I mean that little diagram doesn’t help AT ALL! it’s like attaching the wings *Two arrows*. So “would you be a dear” as my mother would say, and show me/tell me and possibly about 50 others of us who bought him how in the world to attach those friggen wings!”

REPLY: Motherfucker, he’s right, I should’ve included a tutorial on that, as the same shit had me stuck for an hour, literally. There’s a part in the article where I talked about how surprised I was that I didn’t break Unicron, and that step in his transformation process is the reason why. I don’t know, or more sincerely, don’t feel like trying to explain how it works, but my suggestion is this: with that part of the process, skip the instructions and just look at the damn box. Seemed to work for me.

I was more motivated to do Reader Mail five minutes ago, so let’s skip the rest for now. Instead, here’s some pictures of my latest Halloween find, Snyder’s “Snack Sack,” a pumpkin-themed bag full of trick-or-treat sized pretzel packs. As you can guess, I didn’t think this warranted an entry on the Countdown.

Well, I didn’t think it warranted an entry on the Countdown until after I took the pictures. Bummer.

Why does Matt never smile in photographs? Doesn’t he listen to outdated McDonald’s’ slogans?

i dont know how much of a big deal the grinch is in the states, maybe he’s your version of Del Boy or something, but I thought his film he did was utter crap.

tha halloween countdown & site makeover is crunk man, halloween always been my favorite holiday, or season, whatever it is.. peace.

Think of how dark one’s soul must be to surround themselves with Fun Dip, Ecto-Cooler, and Transformers. What demons require these devices to bring forth balance. It’s scary to think that there could be an evil counterpart to Fun Dip.

You’re doing a great job, Matt. The Countdown kicks ass. As long as it doesn’t end early *coughChristmasAdventcough* it should definitely be one of the best things written for XE. Brilliant.

Hey Matt, your "Today is Sept. [x]" sign on the main page is really helping me keep the date on my school notes in order. Otherwise, I’d just write down any old date. "What’s the date? Meh. June 16, 1782. Yeah. That sounds close."

Also, there’s a guy in my late-night sociology class who looks like Matt. A lot. I’ve refrained from asking him about Unicron or some such X-E-related thing. But just barely. He seems to be smiling on the inside also, though, so I might bring it up.

I just have to say that "…here you’re getting enough slime to really fuck up the upholstery." is one of the most brilliant things you have ever said. Thank you.

On that note, I remember "Oozified Body Parts" only under a similar name. Known to me as "_________ in Ooze". I had a light, puke green can of Eyeballs in Ooze and a what was similar to wht you’ve got. I know that Bugs in Ooze existed.

Where did you find such a treasure? I vaguely remember purchasing mine at Dutch Wonderland years ago…

It’s ironic you put up the grinch thing, since that damn song has been running through my head all yesterday.

I always like the bit about the Euphamism. Rather than make a euphamism for outhouse, they called it a Euphamism. Priceless.

Wasn’t there some kind of special where The Grinch met The Cat in the Hat? I’m pretty sure my little mind nearly exploded at the sight of those two literary titans, onscreen together.

Did anyone see this? I have a vague memory of a few minutes of grinch, followed by turning it off/completely losing interest during the montage sequence.

The Grinch stole Christmas in 20 minutes. My guess is that there were a few minutes of start (to get you interested) 15 minutes of non-grinch related montage (which will bore any kid to tears). I don’t think I saw the end, and assumed it completely lost any relation to the Grinch

I remember "The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat." I’d say that it was even worse than this cartoon, but that’s pretty tough to say. At least the Cat in the Hat cartoon gave us a glimpse into the Grinch’s mysterious past… aw, who am I kidding? The Grinch stopped being an ass because Catty sang him a song about his mother and then the Grinch’s mom appears in a weird drug-induced dream to say "There, there, son! Now clean up your room!" … I’m serious. That really happens. And the whole time the Grinch is crying his bloodshot eyes out. You know what? The Cat cartoon was better, because that scene alone is still, to me, one of the funniest moments of my life!

I have been waiting for years for someone to identify that damn bat. In the 70’s, every toybox (but mine) contained that rubber guy with the suction cups, a Shogun Warrior jumbo Great Mazinger and that strange bat that when you squeezed it, blood ran through little veigns that you could see through a carefully placed window. I’m surprised that it cost $12.00. I assumed it must have been cheap to become such a prolific stocking stuffer whose novelty wears out faster than a Darda Demon’s spring motor. It seems like there may have also been a werewolf or perhaps a vampire with clear skin through which you could watch blood course.

My wife got me fruit loops last week and they were not spooky. I’m a little pissed.

I can die now. Turns out there was another figure with the pulsing blood gimmick.

The best scene from "Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat" is when he completely warps reality at that restaurant with that wacko machine of his. Now THAT gives the Dimension of Horrors scene from Grinch Night a run for its money!

I don’t know if this is a good thing or not, it appears that cartoon network is coming out w/ a "Clone Wars" series, obviously based off of Star Wars. It looks like it’s going to be relying (I know it’s not spelled like that, but I’m too lazy to look it up) hevily upon the amazing display that Yoda produce in the Episode 2.

Hi! I am the cow that goes moo. I am the only person in the world qualified to do the corn dance. I am the star of the El Chupacabra Happy Hour. Know me, for I am me!

I’ve already stocked on my scary cereals for this year. One of the items were these orange "Scary Pumpkin Bagels" that were just like regular bagels, only died orange. Um, yeah.

If you dress up like an alien for Halloween, make sure to say "Nano Nano" when going a middle-aged person’s house. You’ll get double candy that way.

That Star Wars cartoon is supposed to fill in all the story between Eps. II & III. It’s being done by Genndy Tartokofski(sp?) who created Dexter’s Lab & Samurai Jack. I’m planning on watching it, but only because I have the sinking feeling that it will be the last entertaining thing released in the Star Wars Trilogy/Sextilogy.

Oh, if yo’ ass haven’t noticed, I’ve been keeping my promise wit da Halloween Countdown." The past three entries take a look at Oozeified Body Parts, Freaky Froot Loops, ‘n da one I personally find da most interesting, Mattel’s late-70s Gre-Gory da Vampire Bat, know what I’m sayin’? I’m definitely digging da Countdown thing so far; I just hope I don’t go broke by November spending izzall of this paper on expensive spider rings ‘n expensive cotton spider webs n’ shit. Just so yo’ ass know, I’m stocked up carry us well into mid October, so if I’m going fuck up wit da Countdown, at least that shiznit won’t be fo’ a few weeks n’ shit.

yeah u attached the wings to unicron onto the back of the black parts that seperate his shoulder from his chest. keep up the great work matt….

did anyone else think that the evil grinch haunted dimension looked like an episode of "samuri jack"?

Do any of you remember a toy pen in the 1980’s called the "Bloodsuckers"…or something similar? I had one that looked like a bat and as you tilted it upward it appear to suck blood from your arm into it’s tail section. I can’t find any info. on the net about it, but I know that it existed. Might be a good item for the Halloween Countdown calendar…

Boy, those new Go-Bots sure are ugly. I miss the days of painted animation cels.

WOOOO…. Halloween is almost here. Thanks Matt for all the info on the wonderful things this time of year brings. Though i wonder what would happen if you mixed it all together.

I believe I saw "Grinch Night." And if I did it was at the age of ten or so across the street with our Hindu neighbors. The only thing I remember is that damn "Dollar and fifty cents" song. I never could make any sense out of that song because the guy singing it is saying, "I wouldn’t go outside for a dollar and fifty cents" because it’s all spooky with the grinch out there. Yet I wouldn’t go out of my door for a dollar and fifty cents even if there wasn’t any spooky crap. You know though, if there were spooky crap I might actually go outside my door. But a buck fifty to step outside my door–just ain’t worth the value. That is unless I would continually get another dollar fifty every time I stepped outside. Imagine how much you could make in an hour . . .

Though I’ve never seen "Grinch Night," (and it doesn’t look like I’m missing much more than a weird ghost montage and a semi-clever bathroom gag), my family taped "The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat" during the late 80s.
It’s…really, really strange, and certainly not up to either the Grinch’s or the Cat’s first efforts. The aforementioned scene in the restaraunt where the Grinch turns his distortion machine loose on the unsuspecting restaraunt patrons is by far the best moment.

Among the specials my family recorded when I was a kid are three Disney Halloween epics we’ve watched every year since (I think) 1988. The first two, a cute showcase for Jonathan Winters and "Ichabod Crane and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and a collection of spooky Disney shorts called "Scary Tales Halloween," came off of Fox (complete with classic 80s commercials for Wendy’s and the now-defunct Suzy Wan dinners). The third special, "Disney’s Halloween Treat," was a more complete Disney Channel version of "Scary Tales," including an extended sequence in which the Magic Mirror from "Snow White" introduces villains from Disney’s early films, from the comic ("The Rescuers’" Madame Medusa) to the genuinely scary (Malificent from "Sleeping Beauty").

Unfortuantly, I’ve never seen the Jonathan Winters/"Sleepy Hollow" special anywhere else (and I don’t think Fox ever ran it again), but I’m sure some variant on "Scary Tales"/"Disney’s Halloween Treat" is avalible on video. The longer film from which "Sleepy Hollow" derives, "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad," has had several video re-releases in the past few years, though I’m not sure if it’s made it to DVD yet.

hey flavin, i remember those bat things, but i can’t for the life of me remember thier names, they were pretty damn cool though,
Halloween is definelty the best holiday, hence the only on you don’t have spend with the fam

OK, im getting frustrated, i cant seem to find halloween food. no cereal, no pringles, no pillsbery cookies, no pretzels. Halloween food is the best kind, how can one be spooky with out it

OMG, Photog was in the Grinch movie. Look at the spread of pictures in the haunted-hell-land, and look at the upper, right picture. It is a group of primitive Photog’s trying to steal the kids soul. Bitner is such a theif.

who’s del boy? hes a cockney chap with a manky yellow motor who tries to flog dodgy gear down the nags head, along with his gormless brother, Rodney, who’s a bit of a plonker. luvvely jubbely

And none of that made sense ‘tin man. Anyway, the ghostbuster slime that came with the little glow in the dark ghost was always my favorite slime.

Just a thought, but takeover ad + well-configured HOSTS file = hilarity ensues. Watch as 127.0.0.1 returns all kinds of wonderful advertising!

Gre-Gory reminds me why those of us who say things were better 15-20 years ago are full of it. The best we could do for fun on an October night was a rubber bat and a tabletop Electric Football game? Give me Madden 2004 any day and twice on Sunday.

Del Boy translation: He was a character in a popular British sitcom called "Only Fools and Horses" played by David Jason. If a tenuous link to Hallowe’en is needed, the actor also provided the voice of Count Duckula.

Just so you know, I’m stocked up to carry us well into mid October, so if I’m going to fuck up with the Countdown, at least it won’t be for a few weeks —- Which must be why it says Sept. 23rd when it’s clearly well into the 24th….

I always wondered if I was the only one who thought Fruit Loops taste and smell like Chinese moist towelettes. Its good to know I’m not alone.

I have no memeory of "The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat" BUT I do remember having the Grinch’s mom as an imaginary friend. Which is kind of sad…

well, I personally have never eaten a Chinese moist towelette(or a towelette of any nationality for that matter), but they do have a lemony scent similar to Froot Loops

Hmm..a movie about the Grinch NOT getting into Whoville. Thats like the home video of me NOT learning how to ride my bike. Seems like you should record over it and do it right, but it just never happens.

I would be way more into the "Snack Sack" if it didn’t say ‘36 fat free treats’ on the side. Imagine being 8 years old and come home with a big ole’ bag of ‘Fat free treats’. I think I hear the prepubescent suicide rate going up..

Before anyone gets TOO excited about the Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoon, you should probably know that each "episode" is going to be about three minutes long.

‘Hoy, Starwenn… I’m curious about that "Scary Tales" thing you mentioned. I’ve had a tape of that second special, the Halloween Treat one, for years, but I remembered something else along the same lines– in particular, the fact that the host was a talking jack o’ lantern on a platter. Is this the same special? Or did I hallucinate the gourd puppet? Anyone know?

Is it me or did that house of horrors scene remind you of being on ludes? Unless its just me.

Hey, Matt, do you bite the heads off fans who IM you randomly? I’ve heard rumors.

G’Tron, you didn’t hallucinate the talking pumpkin. He was the narrator/host for most of "Disney’s Halloween Treat." Wish Disney still ran that special, or at least updated it with newer villians and spooky Disney cartoons. My parents still have the tape, but (as you can imagine), it’s barely viewable after being watched every September and October for fifteen years.

I’ve been trying to find a copy of Disney’s Halloween Treat for my wife for years. Would anyone be willing to make me a copy? I’ll gladly pay shipping, tape, etc. This would definitely be one of those "goodness of your heart" deals. Hey, it’s Halloween! I’ll check back on the board, and thanks very much…

I remember watching that thing years ago - it was on right after that old movie Frankenweenie, where that fucked up kid brought his dead dog back to life. I only saw that Grinch special once - and even though I was 7 or 8 or something, I still thought, "What the hell is this?"

I saw this too. Yeah, it was weird as all get out. One thing that stuck in my mind was the balloon with a face at the ends of the montage, and how it deflated when Eukariah noticed the change in the wind and stopped being scared.

! oh man, I used to watch this movie all the time when i was a wee kid. The best is when he says “its a wonderful night for eyebrows” and they like fly or somthing.

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