4. The Film Turned The Grinch Green - How The Grinch Stole Christmas
I had a few facts for this list on Jim Carreys The Grinch (chief among them that the make-up was so good Ron Howard mistook Carrey in costume for a cheeky stuntman), but not only can I not bear that films ascension as a Christmas classic (its a real mess), it unforgivably paved the way for the utterly dire The Cat In The Hat. As a childhood fan of Dr Seuss, however, I have plenty of time for the 1966 adaptation of the same book. Short and sticking incredibly close to the source (with the addition of some padding yet fitting songs), its a window into how to correctly adapt Seuss. What those exposed to the special after the fact wont immediately realise is that this film made one massive deviation; they made the Grinch green. Thats right, one of the characters most distinguishable physical characteristics has nothing to do with the original book. Originally published in red, white and black, the colour is never specified, but theres certainly no suggestion at all that its green. This isn't Hobbit level sacrilege though; Dr Seuss (credited under his real name, Theodore Ted Geisel) was a producer on the short, so must have at some point approved the decision.