# The Grinch 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. ## Origin 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 preachy[1]. 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 Carrey[3]. 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 Twitter[4][7]. 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 partner[3]. - **Platform:** Twitter / 4chan (Smash leak sleuthing) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2018 ## 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 back[1]. 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 character[3]. 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 menace[4][5]. 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 voice[9]. Two clusters of jokes dominate: short clip edits that match Grinch footage to unrelated audio or dog-behind-a-fence setups[6], and the gaming-side jokes about The Grinch secretly being a fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[3]. ## How to Use 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 fighter[3][6]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is The Grinch? The Grinch is a green, Christmas-hating Dr. Seuss character from the 1957 book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! who got a 2018 meme wave around Illumination's animated remake[1][3]. ### Where did The Grinch come from? Dr. Seuss created him for a book published by Random House on October 12, 1957; the modern meme spiked around the 2018 Illumination film and a Smash Bros. Ultimate box-art leak that included Grinch promo art[1][3]. ### What does The Grinch mean? Online, The Grinch usually points to jokes built on the Cumberbatch-voiced 2018 version, including fan edits, stan-Twitter captions, and the running gag that he is a secret Super Smash Bros. fighter[3][5]. ### How do you use The Grinch? People typically cut Grinch trailer footage into reaction clips, caption stills in stan-Twitter voice, or joke about him being added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[6][8]. ### Is The Grinch still popular? The Grinch is a classic seasonal meme; trailer edits and the Grinch-for-Smash joke tend to come back each Christmas on Twitter and YouTube[3][7]. ## References 1. [https://1stedition.net/blog/2006/06/dr_seuss_redbook_magazine_orig.html]() 2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hj3U18FHgQ]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-grinch]() 4. [https://x.com/i/status/1062810155895660545]() 5. [https://x.com/i/status/1065474097612640256]() 6. [https://x.com/i/status/1065488820496404480]() 7. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQV5Pr7pWtM]() 8. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCySGDkXFpI]() 9. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=The%20Grinch]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/the-grinch Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library