There are several different types of Grinch fans. I do not want to regard any of them as being more legitimate than the other, only different. There are variations on all of these but here are the basic categories I’ve discovered in speaking with Grinch lovers.

The Purist: This type of Grinch fan only loves the book. Only the original book and illustrations will do. They often view the 1966 Chuck Jones animation with disdain, viewing it as “an abomination” (as I’ve seen it described) and not worthy of the original book. Purists believe it was a disgrace to reduce such a classic story to nothing more than a "Bugs Bunny gag fest". This type of Grinch fan is usually a fan of other Dr. Seuss books, and regards any animated version of any of the stories to be negative, even if Dr. Seuss himself wrote the animated version and oversaw the production. This is extreme, but more common than you may think.

The Chuck Jones Animation Purist: This type of Grinch fan is somebody who may or may not have read the book at all, but loved the 1966 cartoon. In speaking with this type of Grinch fan, you realize that they generally don’t care if the animated version of anything matches up to the original book version of anything, and they usually don’t care about any arguments given by the Purist type. These are people who usually grew up with the annual network presentation of the animation and looked forward to it each year, but were never compelled to read the book. Of course some people loved the book as well, and felt the cartoon was a wonderful adaptation.

The Animation-Book Purist: This is the purist who feels the book and animation, which Dr. Seuss was directly involved with, are both totally legitimate works and are both classics in every way. They discount anything else, such as other Grinch cartoons, Jim Henson’s Grinch from the Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss series and the movie.

The “Only-If-Seuss-Did-It” Purist: This sort of purist is the type who only appreciates cartoons and books done by Dr. Seuss and discounts absolutely anything done after his death, such as The Wubbulous World series by Henson, the Grinch movie and other non-Grinch stuff like “Daisy Head Maisy” which was animated after his death. This type of purist feels anything touched by Seuss is good, but no one else could do anywhere near as good a job as interpreting these characters. They usually loved the 1971 and 1982 Grinch cartoons by Dr. Seuss as well.

The Movie Purist: This is a more rare breed. Usually, this type wasn’t such a big fan of the Grinch or Dr. Seuss but enjoyed the movie anyway, or might have been a big fan of somebody in the movie or who made the movie (such as Ron Howard or Jim Carrey fans). I know one such person who was never a fan of the Grinch or Dr. Seuss, but enjoyed the movie for it’s humor and visual effects. Most of the people I know who loved the movie, however, were big fans of the Grinch and Dr. Seuss and simply added this to their list of all the other things they like.

The Non-Purist “Loves-All-Things-Grinchy” Type: This is the type who enjoyed everything - the book, the 1966 cartoon, the 1971 cartoon, the 1982 cartoon, the retelling in “In Search of Dr. Seuss”, the Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, the movie and anything else Grinch related. I, the author of this website, am this type of Grinch fan. I see creativity and value in all of the above and I recognize the talents of those who worked on each thing. I love anything to do with the Grinch. I know several fans like this, so I am not alone.

So in the end, the question is.......which type are you?