# What kind of creature is the McDonald's character Grimace supposed to be?: the mystery is solved **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 5, 2013, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404 "2013-10-05T00:15:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoned\_stoner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stoned\_stoner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoned_stoner)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/1 "2013-10-05T00:15:52Z")
“grimace was introduced in 1971 as the mascot for their new blueberry milkshake. he used to be blue with purple dots to look like the milkshake. he also used to have 4 arms and was a bad guy in McDonaldland who used to steal children’s milkshakes.” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/2 "2013-10-05T00:56:12Z")
Ahh, so they rebooted the character, like they did with the [Hammurderer](http://www.theonion.com/articles/mcdonalds-drops-hammurderer-character-from-adverti,127/). ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/3 "2013-10-05T01:09:26Z")
That still doesn’t explain what he is, just why he looked like he did originally. ---
**Author:** ![Stoned\_stoner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stoned\_stoner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoned_stoner)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/4 "2013-10-05T01:25:00Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > That still doesn’t explain what he is, just why he looked like he did originally. No, actually it explains that he’s a blueberry milkshake. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/5 "2013-10-05T01:31:04Z")
Okay, so the Hamburglar wanted to steal burgers, the Grimace wanted to steal shakes…weren’t there some creatures who looked like tribbles with long legs who wanted to steal fries? What was up with all the “Hey kids, the world is full of creatures who want to steal your fast food” ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/6 "2013-10-05T02:03:16Z")
> [@Stoned\_stoner](#): > > No, actually it explains that he’s a blueberry milkshake. No, he wasn’t. He was The Evil Grimace, who _stole_ milkshakes - he was no more a milkshake than the Hamburglar was a hamburger. (DD - those are the Fry Guys, AKA the Fry Kids (since there are now Fry Girls).) ---
**Author:** ![Stoned\_stoner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stoned\_stoner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoned_stoner)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/7 "2013-10-05T02:14:40Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > No, he wasn’t. He was The Evil Grimace, who _stole_ milkshakes - he was no more a milkshake than the Hamburglar was a hamburger “grimace was introduced in 1971 as the mascot for their new blueberry milkshake. **he used to be blue with purple dots to look like the milkshake.** he also used to have 4 arms and was a bad guy in McDonaldland who used to steal children’s milkshakes.” Ok, the quote clearly says he’s supposed to be a milkshake. Do you have any evidence to prove he’s something else? ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/8 "2013-10-05T02:23:16Z")
Years ago my Mom & I were traveling on the road and stopped at a McDonald’s to grab lunch. There were some characters in costume there - they must have been doing some sort of grand opening event maybe? - and my Mom is one of those folks who do not like people in costumes coming up to her. Well, wouldn’t you know it as we’re leaving old Grimace came over to say hello and my Mom took off sprinting for the door. Grimace ran after her - not sure why, she didn’t have a shake! Grimace got stuck in the door. It was pretty funny watching that poor guy/gal in the costume struggling to get loose, it took several folks to pull him back out. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/9 "2013-10-05T02:24:36Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Okay, so the Hamburglar wanted to steal burgers, the Grimace wanted to steal shakes…weren’t there some creatures who looked like tribbles with long legs who wanted to steal fries? > > What was up with all the “Hey kids, the world is full of creatures who want to steal your fast food” ideas? Originally the characters lived in a trippy alternate world that so greatly resembled the works of Sid & Marty Krofft, that a federal court told them to them stop. As a result of that suit, the characters transitioned to living in our world and a lot of the characters were dropped in the 80s, including another baddie, Captain Crook (oddly, not Grimace who IMHO is the most Pufn’Stufian character, but the Kroffts were more upset about Mayor McCheese). The new characters that McD’s introduced were friendly, like early bird, happy meal gang, etc. TL;DR - it was the 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/10 "2013-10-05T02:24:44Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Ahh, so they rebooted the character, like they did with the [Hammurderer](http://www.theonion.com/articles/mcdonalds-drops-hammurderer-character-from-adverti,127/). [The Grapist](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqgiEQXGetI) was pretty misguided. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/11 "2013-10-05T06:56:20Z")
> [@Stoned\_stoner](#): > > Ok, the quote clearly says he’s supposed to be a milkshake. No, it quite clearly says he was coloured like one. That is exactly NOT saying he’s supposed to be one. Mayor McCheese, Officer Big Mac, and the McNuggets don’t eat their own kind. Hamburgler’s not a hamburger, the Fry Kids are not fries, and Birdie the Early Bird is not an Egg McMuffin or Hashbrown patty. Why do you think the Evil Grimace is supposed to be the sole exception to the food-person cannibalism paradigm of McDonaldland? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/12 "2013-10-05T07:15:32Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > No, it quite clearly says he was coloured like one. That is exactly NOT saying he’s supposed to be one. > > Mayor McCheese, Officer Big Mac, and the McNuggets don’t eat their own kind. Hamburgler’s not a hamburger, the Fry Kids are not fries, and Birdie the Early Bird is not an Egg McMuffin or Hashbrown patty. > > Why do you think the Evil Grimace is supposed to be the sole exception to the food-person cannibalism paradigm of McDonaldland? It doesn’t say that he was drinking the milkshakes, only stealing them. I tend to think he was just the first step in a bizarre sort of underground railroad; stealing the shakes and starting them on their journey to a distant land where they could live free of bondage. ---
**Author:** ![Stoned\_stoner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stoned\_stoner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoned_stoner)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/13 "2013-10-05T07:48:46Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > No, it quite clearly says he was coloured like one. That is exactly NOT saying he’s supposed to be one. > > Mayor McCheese, Officer Big Mac, and the McNuggets don’t eat their own kind. Hamburgler’s not a hamburger, the Fry Kids are not fries, and Birdie the Early Bird is not an Egg McMuffin or Hashbrown patty. > > Why do you think the Evil Grimace is supposed to be the sole exception to the food-person cannibalism paradigm of McDonaldland? He’s blue with purple dots, the milkshake is blue with purple dots. What else is he supposed to be? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/14 "2013-10-05T07:56:32Z")
A Grimace. Just like the Fry Guys are Fry Guys. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/15 "2013-10-05T11:41:40Z")
> [@Stoned\_stoner](#): > > He’s blue with purple dots, the milkshake is blue with purple dots. What else is he supposed to be? He’s a Grimace designed to blend in with milkshakes. It makes it easier to steal them. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/16 "2013-10-05T13:16:24Z")
As I recall, as a certified Old Person who remembers too much Saturday Morning television, the “Fry Guys” were originally “Gobblin’s” who were likely to raid the fry patch. The shakes originally came from multi-flavored volcanoes. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/17 "2013-10-05T14:04:20Z")
**Stoned** , where did you get this quote? I remember Grimace having more arms, but not being spotted. Besides, _McDonald’s has never had blueberry milkshakes_. The McDonaldland characters were ripoffs of _ **HR Pufnstuf** _ characters. Grimace was based on Witchiepoo’s henchman Seymour Spider. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/18 "2013-10-05T14:15:14Z")
[Check out these commercials.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5dpZjWFSyw) Grimace was never spotted. However, I was wrong about blueberry shakes. In _ **1973** _, blueberry shakes were a limited time promotion. So Grimace was not colored that way because of blueberries. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/19 "2013-10-05T14:27:10Z")
It just occurred to me that early Grimace had a passing resemblance to Yarnek, the Excalbian. ---
**Author:** ![Stoned\_stoner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stoned\_stoner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoned_stoner)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404/20 "2013-10-05T15:23:11Z")
> [@bup](#): > > **Stoned** , where did you get this quote? > > I remember Grimace having more arms, but not being spotted. > > Besides, _McDonald’s has never had blueberry milkshakes_. > > The McDonaldland characters were ripoffs of _ **HR Pufnstuf** _ characters. Grimace was based on Witchiepoo’s henchman Seymour Spider. The quote was from a user on [wetcanvas.com](http://wetcanvas.com) who did some research on Grimace. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-creature-is-the-mcdonalds-character-grimace-supposed-to-be-the-mystery-is-solved/670404.md?page=2)