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Whoville

The entrance to Whoville in the How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Special).

Whoville-0

Whoville (alternatively spelled Who-ville) is the central location of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" and "Horton Hears a Who!" -- The Grinch lives high above them with his dog Max on Mount Crumpit, watching them frequently. The inhabitants of this place are the Whos, very few of whom are named. One of the only differences among them is their size, ranging from small to large. In Halloween is Grinch Night, the Grinch also comes down on Grinch Night/Halloween. In Horton Hears a Who!", Horton hears Whoville on a speck, in great danger. He goes to great lengths to prove the Whos exist. Ned became king as he saved everyone from the help of Horton.

There are two separate versions of Whoville: One contained within a snowflake, and another (in Horton Hears a Who!) in a speck of dust (although they are most likely the same.). The three dominant things they have in common is that they are both home to the Whos, the town's microscopic size, and slightly whacky architecture. The question of whether Seuss intended the Grinch and Horton to exist in shared universe is probably academic.

Whoville appears to have an incredibly thick cloud layer that can only be pierced by an equally incredible amount of sound; namely, Horton talking with a raised voice, or every single Who directing a large amount of sound at a single point on this barrier (Mayor Ned McDodd yelling in pain will do as well).

The Whoville citizens seem to have a civilization (and physical resemblance) like that of humans. Whoville has also been mentioned in one of the trailers of the Netflix series Green Eggs and Ham, when the narrator says Glurfsburg is just past Whoville. 

Notable Locations[]

  • Main Square: The center of Whoville, it is located just outside the Mayor's office and council chambers
  • Mount Crumpit: Located just north of Whoville, its primary inhabitants are the Grinch and his dog Max. Nearby is the Whoville dump.
  • Star-Studying Tower: Found within walking distance of Whoville. In the TV special, it was used to contact the Jungle of Nool by Dr. Whoovy. In the the film, the building is abandoned. There used to be a staircase that led up to it, but now it can only be accessed through a balance mechanism and a large slingshot. The tower's primary occupant is JoJo McDodd, who uses it as his sanctuary and a place to invent. The building also contains the Symphonophone, which is essentially a large music box.
  • Mayor's house: This is where the mayor and his family live. Its exact location varies.

Inhabitants of Whoville[]

Mentions of Whoville[]

Appearances of Whoville[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • On the infamous uncropped 35mm film scan version of the 2000 live-action film How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the indoor and outdoor scenes of Whoville is zoomed out to a much farther distance.
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