Grimace was originally called the “Evil Grimace” when McDonald’s introduced him in 1971.
The early character was portrayed as a large, purple figure with four arms who stole milkshakes. McDonald’s later changed the concept, removing the extra arms and dropping the “Evil” identity. Grimace became a friendly, simple character whose main role was to enjoy McDonald’s food and participate in the company’s family-oriented advertising.
This redesign is an important part of McDonald’s branding history because it shows how a character can be reshaped when an original personality does not fit a brand’s desired tone. The friendly version became much more familiar than the early villainous one.
Some accounts describe Grimace’s exact species differently, and McDonald’s has often kept that detail deliberately vague. The stable historical fact is his transformation from a milkshake-stealing antagonist into a friendly purple mascot.