This article is about the animated special. You may be looking for either the book or the feature film.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a 1966 cartoon special directed by Chuck Jones. It is based on the children's book of the same name by Dr. Seuss, the story of The Grinch trying to take away Christmas from the townsfolk below. The special, which is considered a short film as it runs less than an hour, is now considered by most to be a timeless classic today. Boris Karloff narrates the film and also provides the speaking voice of The Grinch (the opening credits state, "That sounds of the Grinch by Boris Karloff. And read by Boris Karloff, too!").

The short was originally telecast on CBS, which repeated it annually during the Christmas season for many years, but it was eventually acquired by Turner Broadcasting, which now shows it several times between November and January. It has since been broadcast on TNT, Cartoon Network and The WB Network. Most recently, it has been shown on ABC, but with some scenes trimmed down because of time constraints.