You’re a Mean One, 2020: Photos with the Grinch Coming to Malls Across America This Christmas

PARAMUS, NJ – It’s been a year to say the least and even as the holidays approach, some may be feeling more grouchy than usual.  If taking those traditional cheerful holiday photos with the family is exactly what you don’t feel like doing, there’s now an alternative! Today, Kilburn Live, a market leader in the Live Entertainment industry, announced a new partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, a global leader in educational entertainment, to create “The Grinch’s Grotto,” an imaginative take on holiday photoshoots that will give guests a fun way to show off a bit of their grumpiness during what is still the most wonderful time of the year.

Presented in partnership with retail leaders such as Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Brookfield Properties, Macerich and Turnberry, “The Grinch’s Grotto” will launch on Black Friday across a limited number of flagship malls throughout North America including ones in Los Angeles, Chicago, DC, Dallas, Houston, San Diego, Miami, Northern California and the New York Tri-State area. More locations and partners are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Guests will enter these free-standing locations for a one-of-a-kind visit with The Grinch in his special cave for a photo-shoot and other special surprises that are both intimate and in true Grinch fashion – socially-distant.

“If there was ever a year where The Grinch really would take over the holiday season, it’s 2020,” said Kilburn CEO Mark Manuel. “It’s been said even the meanest soul is moved by Christmas and at its core,this Dr. Seuss story is about finding your own way to redemption which is what inspired us here. It is great to be once again collaborating with our partners at Dr. Seuss Enterprises on this project. Through these challenging times, we still wanted to find a way to give families some joy this holiday season in a lighthearted and fun way. After all, 2020 has been a tough year, but it can’t take away our ability to smile and laugh which are oftentimes the first steps of continued hope.”

Complete with a burlap sack full of presents, a Grinch stylized holiday tree,and a backlit fireplace with hanging stockings just as depicted in the book, this true-to-form experience will place guests inside the classic tale in one of the most authentic ways possible. Guests will also be given the opportunity to pick a sign with their choice of a favorite 2020 slogan to be placed in their photo with the Grinch. Sample slogans include, “You’re a mean one, 2020” “2020: “Stink, Stank, Stunk,” “2020 – How The Grinch Stole, Well, The Whole Year” and some positive ones including “The Grinch still can’t steal Christmas!”

“Dr. Seuss famously wrote ‘Christmas Day will always be, just as long as we have we'” said Susan Brandt, president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. “This unique experience was created with that mindset and will give fans the opportunity to wallow a little bit in their grumpiness, but also remember how the holiday spirit can bring out the best in anyone—even a Grinch. The Kilburn team is excellent at capturing these types of moments and bringing them to life and we’re sure that this will be something special this holiday season.”

In New Jersey, the Grinch’s Grotto will pop up at the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus.