I'm sure Money Island had the same problem but they managed to re-create a beautiful special edition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKHDwdeYuQE
Edit: You can switch between the 4:3 original too
Man, they screwed up so much with the first Monkey Island special edition. A lot of the backgrounds looked very rushed, often looking like a very cheap flash game, andGuybrush's model was horrible. A complete mismatch for the mysterious and warm vibe of the original game. Mind, I still think the original looks great. Steve Purcell (of Sam & Max/Pixar fame) did a lot of the backgrounds, and he was very smart with his compositions and use of color. For the remake the clearly went for someone less talented (or, more likely, with a lot less time). The voice acting was wrong for the game as well. A lot of awkward pauses between lines, and the script was never written to be read out loud. Most of the jokes just work a lot better when you're just reading it. Applying the design philosophies of the third and fourth game (which was made by entirely different people) just didn't fit at all - it killed a lot of the jokes. The first two games just didn't go for that saturday morning cartoon vibe. I love Dominic Armato as much as the next guy, and he's the definitive Guybrush voice for me, but there's a big difference in tone between each game in the series.
The second remake was better at least. The art was a lot closer to the original, and they got rid of the awkward pauses in dialogue as well. Still, nothing can beat the originals in all their pixely glory for me. One thing they did both do right was the soundtrack.
As for Grim - I never really expected them to remake all the backgrounds in 3D. Idle Thumbs did a great episode on why certain things people might be expecting are very unrealistic. I'm not to bothered by that picture - it's still early in development and things like this need to be seen in person. Even if they screw it up, I'll be happy to play it as a point & click with developer commentary (and a fully orchestrated soundtrack). I don't need much more.