Mayor Augustus Maywho is the main antagonist of the 2000 live-action adaptation of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. He is the greedy and self-serving mayor of Whoville and the archenemy of the Grinch. His main goal is to marry Martha May Whovier and to keep himself popular. Though initially shown as a minor neutral character, he is later revealed to have bullied the Grinch since childhood, making him responsible for the Grinch's hatred of Christmas and the film's plot.
He was portrayed by Jeffrey Tambor.
What Makes Him a Hate Sink?[]
- In school, he bullied the Grinch and made fun of him for his facial hair.
- He and the other students (with the exception of Martha May) cruelly laughed at the Grinch when they saw that he cut himself shaving.
- His bullying is what led to the Grinch becoming the grouchy and Christmas-hating hermit that he is.
- He is rather bossy toward his assistant, Whobris.
- When Cindy nominates the Grinch for Holiday Cheermeister, he lies that there is a rule against that.
- When Betty Lou Who wins the Christmas light competition (in a scene only viewable on television airings of the film), he names Martha the winner anyway, simply because he plans to propose to her, denying Betty her rightfully earned victory.
- When the Grinch accepts the award for Holiday Cheermeister and actually starts to have a good time at the celebration, Augustus ruins everything by giving him a razor to remind him of when he made fun of him all those years ago. He follows this up by proposing to Martha right in front of the Grinch while knowing of his crush on her. This leads to the Grinch rampaging about and destroying the Christmas tree. In the same scene, he admits to having squandered the taxpayers money to get Martha a new car.
- He blames the incident on Cindy, shaming her for what happened, ignoring the fact that it was entirely his own fault that the Grinch burned down the Christmas tree. Although it was the Grinch himself who did that on purpose, it does not erase the fact that it was the mayor who provoked him years ago.
- When the Grinch steals all the presents from Whoville, he once again blames Cindy and shames her for everything.
- He suggests using Pepper Spray on the Grinch even after he returns everything he stole and apologizes.
- He was created for the film to make the Grinch more sympathetic and provide a reason for why the Grinch hated Christmas beyond being annoyed by the noise the Who's in Whoville made when singing carols and playing with toys and instruments. He serves the role of providing a character the audience can dislike and blame for the Grinch turning out the way that he did. He effectively serves as the true antagonist since he's ultimately responsible for all the conflict due to his mean actions.
- Though the Grinch makes peace with him in the end, he never actually apologizes to the Grinch, nor does he learn anything like the other Who's, who learned to stop being so materialistic.
External Wikis[]
- Mayor Augustus Maywho on the Villains Wiki.
- Mayor Augustus Maywho on the Dr. Seuss Wiki.
- Mayor Augustus Maywho on the Universal Wiki.
- Mayor Augustus Maywho on the Christmas Specials Wiki.