There's only one man capable of capturing the Grinch's braggadocious smarm and charming wickedness in the upcoming animated retelling of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and that man is Benedict Cumberbatch. Just look at the resemblance:

Lucky for us, the cosmic energies have aligned and given us our dream casting. Cumberbatch, known for channeling otters in his spare time, is officially voicing the Christmas-hating mean one whose soul is an appalling dump heap overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment of rubbish imaginable mangled up in tangled up knots. (Although we bet Cumberbatch is cuddlier than a cactus.)

Chris Meledandri, CEO of Illumination Entertainment, announced the brilliant casting decision on April 13 at CinemaCon.

"Choosing the actor to voice The Grinch, we were determined to make a choice that would not only define this version of The Grinch as absolutely singular, but most importantly, we were looking for a voice to express comedic wickedness while embodying vulnerability," Meledandri told the crowd. "It is that vulnerability that allows us to create a character that is not only highly entertaining, but also has an irresistible appeal."

The animated Grinch remake is expected to hit cinemas in November 2017, 17 years after the release of the live-action adaptation starring Jim Carrey.