The Grinch — Classic cartoon Grinch in Santa hat with sinister smirk

The Grinch

2018character / image and video memeclassic

Published October 1, 2026

The Grinch is the green, Christmas-hating Dr. Seuss character from the 1957 book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! who went through a chaotic meme revival in late 2018 after Illumination's animated remake. Trailers, promo art, and a leaked Smash Bros. box photo spun him into reaction clips and jokes about him joining Nintendo's roster.

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Overview

The Grinch is a large green creature invented by Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, for the 1957 children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!1. In the story he tries to ruin Christmas for the town of Whoville by stealing every gift and bit of food, only to discover that the holiday is really about togetherness and give it all back1. His sour face and strutting posture made him an easy character for internet users to crop, caption, and reaction-GIF.

As an internet meme, The Grinch mostly refers to a wave of jokes built around Illumination Entertainment's 2018 animated remake, which starred Benedict Cumberbatch as the title character3. The film's promo images, trailer stills, and odd marketing beats were turned into image macros, short Twitter edits, and sincere thirst-posts framing the Grinch as a confident, hairy green menace45. Separate Urban Dictionary entries from the same period half-jokingly call him a "gay icon" and a "skinny legend," showing how the character got pulled into stan-Twitter voice9.

Two clusters of jokes dominate: short clip edits that match Grinch footage to unrelated audio or dog-behind-a-fence setups6, and the gaming-side jokes about The Grinch secretly being a fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate3.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter / 4chan (Smash leak sleuthing)
Date
2018

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was written by Dr. Seuss and published by Random House on October 12, 1957, and Seuss later said the ending was the hardest part because he did not want it to sound preachy1. The character was first adapted to film in Chuck Jones and Ben Washam's 1966 TV special featuring Boris Karloff and the Thurl Ravenscroft song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"2, followed by Ron Howard's 2000 live-action version with Jim Carrey3.

The meme-era Grinch kicked off with Illumination's 2018 CG remake. Trailers released in the back half of 2018 were widely circulated and clipped, and by late November short Grinch edits were common on Twitter47. The viral boost came on October 24, 2018, when a French Snapchat user named Eric Bricard posted a photo of what looked like side box art for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which also contained unreleased promotional art for the Illumination Grinch; the Grinch material helped internet sleuths confirm the leak was real and tied Bricard to a Bandai Namco display partner3.

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How It Spread

Illumination started seeding promo material for The Grinch through 2018, including the official @grinchmovie Instagram, which posted brand tie-in jokes like a National Guacamole Day gag in September 20183. Trailer-based edits circulated steadily on Twitter and YouTube that fall, with short clips using Grinch footage as a reaction to everyday situations467.

The clearest viral spike came out of the Smash Bros. leak on October 24, 2018. The leaked image showed a Battlefield-stage template never seen in public and included unused Grinch promo art, and a 4chan user matched the obscured Snapchat username to an Eric Bricard who worked at the French marketing firm Marina Workshops, a known Bandai Namco partner3. Because the Grinch art was next to the Smash roster, Twitter users ran with jokes that The Grinch himself was behind the leak or was a secret unlockable fighter, with Twitter videos spoofing him joining Smash racking up views in November 201858.

The meme kept circulating as a seasonal Christmas-time rerun. Each December, trailer clips, Cumberbatch Grinch stills, and the "Grinch for Smash" joke resurface on Twitter and YouTube37.

Timeline

1957-10-12

Random House publishes How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss.

1966

Chuck Jones and Ben Washam direct the animated TV special with Boris Karloff narrating.

2000

Ron Howard's live-action film starring Jim Carrey is released.

2018-09-16

The @grinchmovie Instagram posts a National Guacamole Day tie-in as part of Illumination's marketing push.

2018-10-24

French Snapchat user Eric Bricard posts a photo of Smash Bros. Ultimate side art that also includes unreleased Grinch promo material, kicking off the Grinch-in-Smash jokes.

2018-11

Twitter edits of The Grinch 'joining' Super Smash Bros. Ultimate circulate widely.

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How to Use This Meme

The Grinch is typically used as a short reaction clip or image macro. Common conventions include matching Grinch footage to an unrelated caption ("me walking past a fence, the dogs behind the fence:"), captioning stills from the Cumberbatch trailer in stan-Twitter voice, or jokingly listing the Grinch as a secret Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter36.

Frequently Asked Questions