'Grinch's ultimatum'
An attempt at interpreting this bizarre video.
A video was uploaded on a YouTube channel PilotRedSun on Christmas Day of 2016 that seemingly touched a lot of people and scratched an itch they didn’t even know they had up until that point. The video in question is named Grinch’s ultimatum, it currently has 3.8 million views, and before you read on, you should definitely watch it.
Really take it all in.
What just happened?
The Protag is portrayed as an angry, bitter man who decided to spend his Christmas holiday watching TV, and when that didn’t pan out, he resorted to violence. He was entirely unimpressed by Santa Claus’ appearance, and he immediately chose the Grinch option. He rejected what was expected of him, which was to pick the obvious 'good' option.
Choosing to become a Saint would have meant being under the thumb of God, becoming a part of God’s choir, and remaining an NPC. All the normies stared at him because he successfully un-NPC’d himself, and they are confused! Perplexed! Who is this guy and what is he doing, this isn't the norm! He is dancing when he is supposed to be miserable! He broke the shackles of being an NPC with physical movement, and wearing a slick leather jacket. Simple as.
Coincidentally, research from 2024 found that the best cure for depression is dancing, and even though the video predates it by 8 years, perhaps the creator was onto something.
The name of the video, Grinch’s Ultimatum, suggests the protagonist is the Grinch from the start, and Claus merely offered him an out, a way to embrace his true self. Ultimately, there was no real ultimatum. Just a permission given by a childhood magical character.
What Claus did is a common tactic in getting toddlers to do your bidding - you offer them two options to choose from, so they get to feel like they are somewhat in control of their life. The Protag being Grinch from the very start meant nothing until Claus actually offered him to become one.
And yet! We see him doubting his new personhood, we see him wondering whether he is a monster afterall - this time ‘truly’ becoming one - and you are left thinking that he might not have had the choice at all.
Would he have been happy pretending to become a saint(e)?
Probably not. Just did not seem like his thing, really.
This short scene showed us that he made the choice to be real to himself, and to others. He ain’t no saint, he did not lie to himself, and because of that, he was finally able to experience the true range of emotions (colors), not just easily addictive lonely bitterness.
The Music
The soundtrack is actually the weirdest part of this piece of art, yet it fits perfectly with the visuals. The flute, that we get to hear twice, elevates this video to an iconic status.
If you end up watching this video a few times, the song will cling onto your neurons forever. Even if you somehow manage to forget the tune, re-watching it will bring forth strange feelings of nostalgia.
The Art
Most of the animations are rather simple and repetitive, with many use cases of basic functions, but the messages are rather clear. The Grinch dance is the most animated part of the video.
Using simple colors with no shading, janky chicken-scratch lineart, and the fact the entire video was drawn in MS Paint was perhaps the best way to allow for the complicated thoughts and emotions to rise up within the viewer without muddying the water.
The Impact
The very first time I watched Grinch’s Ultimatum, The Dance stirred many indescribable emotions within. When he broke out in the disjointed loop dance, the Grinch Guy became me, and I became the Grinch Guy.
It was incredibly hard to put all this into words. I had two choices, and writing this article was the Grinch choice. Simply had to do it.
Grinch’s Ultimatum lives in my head rent-free. It is often referenced in our household. Whoever he reaches is touched on an esoteric, primal level. Touches the soul, for the lack of a better word. This isn't post-ironic millennial zoomer trash, it is very deep and sincere, and it transcends cultures and language barriers.
Unsurprisingly, it went on to spur an entire slew of fan videos of different fictional characters and real people that faced similar circumstances.
Like the Disco Elysium one, the YandereDev’s Ultimatum, or the Lex Fridman’s Ultimatum.
UsernameV2 compiled an entire playlist of all Ultimatum videos that people have made over the years. There are currently 167 videos in the playlist.
To conclude.
Don’t just be a mindless normie. Be true to yourself, even if it means becoming Grinch. Also, create art, create something - it will speak to someone, even if it’s done in MS Paint.