I feel like I have been taking Grimace for granted all of these years. It never even occurred to me what he actually was. Like what did his character represent? It honestly never crossed my mind until I ran across a Tweet.
Then I found myself on a weird rabbit hole of data, that you are about to go on too.
Grimace Early Days
It all began in 1971, when Grimace first emerged on the scene as a four-armed milkshake-stealing villain. This original version, known as “Evil Grimace,” was quite different from the friendly, spherical character we know today.
Wait, Grimace was evil? WHAT!!!!
NONE of us liked that though and that concept was deemed a failure. I mean right! He scared the crap out of kids and some of us adults too.
Design Changes
So McDonald’s went back to the drawing board and decided to redesign Grimace to be more approachable and friendly. I mean, cheers to them for not giving up because now we all love the thing, whatever he is.
Don’t worry we will get to THAT later. The most notable transformation was the reduction of Grimace’s arms from four to two, altering his overall appearance. They almost made him a brother purple, and his body grew rounder and plumper, contributing to a cuddly and affable demeanor.
Character Development
As time went on, Grimace evolved from a milkshake-stealing antagonist to a lovable, bumbling sidekick. He began using the phrase “duh” to start sentences, which further endeared him to generations of McDonald’s fans. I know that this Gen X gal became a fan. So it clearly worked.
This character development allowed Grimace to take his place among the other notable McDonald’s mascots, such as the Hamburglar, Ronald McDonald, and Birdie the Early Bird.
The Merch
Now, McDonald’s is famous for its merch! I mean hello Happy Meal but I was today year old when I realized that I could buy a Grimace floaty for my pool.And I missed out on this one but McDonald’s did a birthday celebration for him and released a special purple shake in his honor. How fun!
Now McDonald’s is releasing a limited edition Grimace Ugly Christmas Sweater.
I am starting to think that I should have my next birthday party at McDonald’s. Wanna come?
But WHAT Is Grimace?
So what do you think Grimace actually is? Before today, I had never given this any thought at all. Well, it turns out that there is some debate on this topic. Some folks from McDonald’s say that he is a tastebud.
That is a bit weird but alrighty!
.@margo_padilla Great question! #Grimace lore says he is the embodiment of a milkshake or a taste bud. What do you think? #AskAnArchivist
— McDonald's Corporation (@McDonaldsCorp) October 30, 2014
But then some folks at corporate walked that back a bit and said this “Whether he’s a taste bud, a milkshake or just your favorite purple blob – the best part about Grimace is that he means different things to different people,” the spokesperson said. “Whatever he is, we’re just proud our bestie makes people happy.” – source
In the end, I think that Grimace is whatever we want him to be. Personally, thinking of him as a tastebud is weird. I think that Grimace is a milkshake. Whatever Grimace is, I am just grateful that he no longer has 4 arms.
What do you think?