In the town of Whoville, the human-like people called Whos are filled with excitement about celebrating Christmas. However, the only one who is not amused is the cantankerous and green-furred Grinch, who lives in his cave with his dog, Max.
Meanwhile, 6-year-old Cindy Lou Who notices that her mother Donna is overworked trying to take care of herself and her twin baby brothers, Buster and Bean. Initially deciding to send a letter to Santa Claus to help her mother, Cindy encounters the Grinch. He sarcastically tells her that, if the matter is so urgent, she’ll have to talk to Santa face-to-face about it. She takes this response literally and attempts to go to the North Pole to talk to Santa, but when Donna tells her that it would take a month to travel there, she instead decides to try trapping Santa with the help of her friends.
