When my wife and kids decided to watch The Grinch on the night before the night before Christmas, I was reluctant to join them. I mean, the original cartoon from 1966 -- starring Boris Karloff as the voice of both the narrator and the Grinch himself, and featuring the masterful Grinch song by Thurl "Tony the Tiger" Ravenscroft -- is a classic, but the 2000 live-action remake starring Jim Carrey is, well, awful. What could this new animated version offer?

It's actually pretty good.

This modern animation is pleasantly stylish and extremely colorful, full of action and visual effects that simply weren't possible in the 1960s. And the story, while embellished beyond the limits of the original Dr. Seuss book, isn't grossly altered like it was in 2000 (with, among other things, an extraneous love interest). The heart of the story remains intact.

The expanded story is narrated by Pharrell Williams. Benedict Cumberbatch voices the Grinch. Cameron Seely gives us the wee tot Cindy-Lou Who (only slightly older than she was in the original cartoon), while Rashida Jones is her overworked mother Donna Who. Other characters of note include Cindy-Lou's best friend Groopert (Tristan O'Hare) and the would-be chum Mr. Bricklebaum (Kenan Thompson).

This Grinch isn't quite as evil at the start of the story. He shows some uncharacteristic tenderness toward his dog Max, for instance, as well as the overweight reindeer Fred. And his hatred for Christmas gets a backstory that makes sense. While the story is padded to fill 90 minutes of screen time, the additional storytelling is cute and fits in with the original material quite well. Only the music annoyed me, particularly the remake of that perennial favorite, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," here arranged by Danny Elfman and sung by Tyler the Creator.

Overall, The Grinch is a fun Christmas movie that's great to share with the kids. It doesn't replace the original cartoon, but it's far superior to the live-action version, and I don't think I'd mind watching it again next Christmas.