Why Grimace

On June 12, 1971 the McDonald’s corporation released a character different from any they had before. To contrast their happy-go-lucky cast of characters they released a villain; Evil Grimace. This character stood for everything the company typically rejected and changed the brand's image forever and 34 years later, I was born. My devotion to this character has left many of my friends and family puzzled and caused them to ask me the same question; “Why Grimace?”

At surface level, this obsession must seem ingenuine or superficial– rest assured it is not. As previously mentioned, Grimace was originally introduced as his alter ego, Evil Grimace. It was only one year after his release that he was reintroduced as a goofy fool, opposed to a terrorist. Soon after his transition McDonald’s put out a new villain, commonly known as The Hamburglar. Why Grimace? Because there is something so beautiful, tragic, and relatable about feeling the need to portray an intimidating and mean version of yourself in hopes of being accepted, only to realize your error from your near blindness.

Why Grimace? Because for me, Grimace was the door for seeing myself for who I truly was.

I first became interested in Grimace the summer I turned 18. Having just graduated from High School, I was filled with a lot of fear. I could feel my youth ending and my friends slipping away as they prepared for their own new lives. This fear led to anger, resentment, and defensive responses to those around me. I found myself driving around alone very often and one of these days I found myself at the local McDonald’s.

“Hi, welcome to McDonald’s! Would you like to try our new Grimace shake?”

One thought entered my head, Why Grimace? How could this purple, pompous, irrelevant freak, possibly benefit me? His grin made me roll my eyes and his voice made me snarl. But, I was craving something sweet and they were out of vanilla shakes, so against my better judgment, I ordered the Grimace shake. This decision changed my life, because after this first shake I was absolutely hooked. I needed to know everything there was to know about this purple creature. I stopped asking Why Grimace? And started asking How did Grimace…? And What did Grimace…?

Once I learned the lore of his transition from outlaw to lover, a true graft, I felt my chest tightened. If Grimace could make amends with the people in his life, so could I. Suddenly, my anxiety that I would never let people in enough to truly know me was eased. It was never too late, that’s what Grimace was telling me. I felt like I could make a significant change in myself for the first time in years. I started going out more, doing nice things for my loved ones, and more than anything, talking about Grimace. To this behavior, my family simply asked Why Grimace?

The best way I could explain the effect he had on me is to say I had been trapped in a fun house since graduation, only being able to see warped versions of myself. Surprisingly, it wasn’t until I looked into a painting that I was able to see myself for who I was, and that painting was of Grimace.

So you might ask me Why Grimace? And to that I say; who else?