This Week in Pop Culture: November 10 - 16, 2018

The latest adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas , an animated film simply entitled The Grinch, took in $66 million dollars at the box office this week. This time around the title character is voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, who suppresses his English accent but nonetheless gives the Green One a crisp politeness that contrasts with his curmudgeonly nature.

Get ready for another adventure with Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the whole gang from Toy Story. The teaser trailer for the fourth installment in the series debuted this week. The full trailer will accompany the movie Ralph Breaks the Internet, which will be released on November 21st, with the movie itself debuting in June of 2019. The Toy Story toys are anthropomorphic characters because they speak, behave, and feel things the way that humans do.

Wildfires raged in California this week, claiming the lives of more than 40 people. In addition to the terrible loss of life, the property damage is immense. Malibu, an exclusive enclave of the rich and famous, was among the communities devastated by the blazes. Singer and political activist Neil Young lost his homes and has taken to the internet to express his hope that the public will take action on climate change, which many believe has contributed to the magnitude of these fires.

There are many high-profile testimonials coming out on Instagram and Twitter about the experience of the California wildfires. Actor Gerard Butler posted an Instagram video of the remains of his house in Malibu and thanked the firefighters on his Twitter account.

The People’s Choice Awards were held this week. Avengers: Infinity War won multiple awards in the movie categories and Shadowhunters : The Mortal Instruments took home several of the TV awards. Ellen Degeneres took home the award for Best Daytime Talk Show, while Best Late Night Talk Show went to The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Kacey Musgraves took home the Album of the Year award at the Country Music Awards in Nashville. Eclectic is used here to describe the wide variety of sounds and influences that she incorporated into the tracks on this record.

Breakup anthems are a classic pop genre, and Ariana Grande has scored her first number one song with her bye-bye to boyfriends track Thank U, Next. Grande’s love life has been almost as publicly hyped as her music, so it's not surprising that this track is so popular. Her latest breakup was with Pete Davidson of Saturday Night Live fame.

Legendary comic book creator Stan Lee died his week at the age of 95. Because comics are often sources for blockbuster movies and popular television shows, Stan Lee has had a major impact on just about every aspect of pop culture for generations already, and his creative legacy will live on for many years to come.

As Game of Thrones fans say: Winter is Coming. The final season of the epic adventure show is set to air in April on HBO. This season consists of only six episodes, but according to reports, each one runs over an hour. The final stretch is said to be true to author George R. R. Martin’s intended ending, even though the final book in the series has not yet been released. HBO recently announced that a Game of Thrones prequel series is in the works and will star Naomi Watts.

One of Booklist's picks for YA readers this week is The Storyteller by Traci Chee. This is a sweeping novel of prophecies and kingdoms that ties up all the loose ends in an epilogue that answers lingering questions about the fate of the riveting characters.

The final season of the Netflix adaptation of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events premieres on January 1, 2019. Neil Patrick Harris stars as Count Olaf. Penultimate is a handy word, because it saves you from saying "next to last" all the time. As luck and the alphabet would have it, this is the penultimate entry on this list for the week. There is also a word for "next to next to last": antepenultimate.

Pop artist Lorde has accused hiphop artists Kanye West and Kid Cudi of copying the set design from her tour. The dispute revolves around a clear box which is suspended over the stage and displays the performer. Both Lorde and West have worked with the same set designer in the past, but it's unclear whether this designer gave the same idea to both artists. Lorde came right out and accused West of stealing. Kanye West has not responded to this, or other charges of plagiarism.