Look at the dog's face! :'(

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Actually, since it's a cartoon and the Grinch is suppose to be portrayed as mean and short of "evil", it's "appropriate" how he treats the dog. (It'd be even meaner if it happened in real life, but no dogs were probably injured in the making of the cartoon.) I think they changed the dog in the new version (the one with Jim Carrey) to a larger dog. And since they changed quite a few things in that, stuff with the sleigh doesn't use as much air time.

Also, during the part of the 40th Anniversary of How the Grinch Stole Christmas that aired on ABC on December 12, 2006, the team mentioned that whole part with the dog and the sleigh was comical-filler in order to fill the time needed (I think 30 minutes, since reading the book only took about 20 minutes).

But also, the Grinch becomes a good person and in the end the first person who gets a cut of the "roast beast", is the dog.

Edit:
Also about how the Grinch reacts to the dog when the dog thinks he is going for like a sleigh ride is one of the best moments. His three seconds of "o_o" and ":/" (I lack words to properly convey his facial expressions) is priceless to me.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0058536/board/thread/47695112

the above thread discusses Santa's attitude on the Rudolph board. another on the same message board : 'Santa is such a Prick' (excuse the language)

but the thing with Santa: he dismisses rudolph simply because he is different (red nose), doesnt appreciate the elves singing for him, and only warms up to rudolph after he sees a way to exploit him (lead the pack through the xmas eve storm).


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Still, I think the way the Grinch treats Max wouldn't be tolerated if it were made today. In my opinion, the way he whips Max to make him run with a sleigh that is much too heaby for him, grabs him by his scuff to growl in his face, and generally treats him-well, like a dog-is animal cruelty, especially since it's so clear that Max is upset/scared by the treatment he is receiving. The poor thing looks like he's about to burst into tears! I'm no PETA member, but I think it's disgusting the way Max is treated. Like I said before, I almost can't watch the cartoon because of it, and I cringe whenever Max is onscreen.
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i think the Max/grinch thing may have been inspired by the tom and jerry model of cartoon animation. maybe obvious, but the grinch is treating max much like tom would treat jerry when he had the upper hand. i see your point, but i don't see it myself any different from the sort of suffering that Wile e coyote would go through. only max's is due to the hands of the grinch, and the coyotes is usually due to his lack of foresight, etc.

also, i don't know think rudolph will be aired again on network tv. but you can rent it!