Grimace was originally drawn with four arms in McDonald’s advertising.
McDonald’s introduced Grimace in 1971 as one of the characters in its McDonaldland advertising world. Early versions looked substantially different from the friendly, simple purple character familiar to later audiences. The original Grimace was portrayed as a large purple creature with four arms and a more mischievous role connected with stealing milkshakes.
McDonald’s later redesigned Grimace, removing the extra arms and changing the character into a softer, friendlier figure. In the revised portrayal, Grimace became Ronald McDonald’s companion rather than a villainous milkshake thief.
People sometimes confuse Grimace’s original appearance with the later design because the modern version dominated decades of advertising and merchandise. The four-armed design is specifically part of Grimace’s early branding history, before the character’s personality and appearance were simplified.