I recently watched The Grinch for the first time this holiday season and this caught my attention. As a student of history, it naturally piqued my interest. So I did some research and you won’t believe what I found out. /1 pic.twitter.com/xksowmJBa9
— Trevor Williams (@MeLlamoTrevor) November 22, 2022
This is going to blow your mind.
In a brief scene in the 2000 film How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Grinch dresses Max the dog as a reindeer and explains to him his motivation as an actor. He does so while wearing a US Navy cap. This odd scene has long been described by fans as a reference to Rob Reiner's headgear in the documentary This Is Spinal Tap or to the mannerisms of Ron Howard, who directed the Grinch film--or both.
It's neither.
Trevor Williams researched the tragic life of the Grinch prior to his Christmas adventures. There's a huge clue in the scene: the name of the ship Whoville, which was a Gleaves-class destroyer that served in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
I had no idea that the Grinch was a very highly decorated war hero who decided, upon the end of his service, to move to the town for which his ship was named--a town that rejected him, despite his courage and sacrifice on their behalf.
You'll never look at the Grinch the same after reading this thread.
-via Debby Witt