Of course, an elder lesbian is there to help along the way. By the end of the film, Pigeon Lady and Kevin have become a sort of ramshackle chosen family for each other, and Kevin once again outwits his nemeses. Whereas Kevin’s mother simply returns to the house in the first film to reunite with Kevin, she has to use her knowledge about her son this time, trying desperately to locate him among roughly 16 million New Yorkers. When they reunite under the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, there’s a permanent shift in their relationship that effectively ends Kevin’s misadventures on our screens. We’re all trying, desperately, to feel as though our parents understand us – and in that moment, Kevin’s mother does.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
And so, dear readers, we’ve arrived at the most deeply relatable non-canonically queer character ever created. If you’re queer, you either are a Grinch, or you know a Grinch: They set aside specific times in the day for self-loathing and are in love with a middle-school crush who spoke to them precisely one time. Maybe we’re not quite as green or furry, but the parallels between the Grinch’s own journey and that of the queer community are as bountiful as the Who-ville Feast. Grinch is not the villain of Dr. Seuss’s story. He’s hurt, and gruff, but he just needs a little love. After all, it’s not easy being Pantone 370 C.
For those naysayers who hate this iteration of the classic, let me say, that’s why I love it; the unsettling edge perfectly captures the innate feeling of otherness, of isolation and rejection, that manifests as malice against a society that rejects you. Seeing middle-school-aged Grinch hurt himself trying to shave after being teased about his body-covering fuzz continues to make me tear up today.
Also, on a lighter note, there are two other very important queer-coded characters in the film: Cindy Lou Who, a young girl who finds kinship with the Grinch, and Martha May Whovier, a proud Grinchsexual. By the end of the film, the Grinch is not only accepted by the Whovians, but more importantly, he’s accepted for who he is, green and all.
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