Mayor Augustus May Who is the mayor of Whoville and the main antagonist in the 2000 film version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, not present in the original book or the other two adaptations. He does not seem to be the same mayor of Whoville seen in Horton Hears a Who!, and is not to be confused with Mayor McGerkle from the 2018 animated version.
Role in the film[]
Augustus was once a school bully to the Grinch as a child, due to the attraction that his proclaimed girlfriend, Martha May Whovier, displayed towards him, which the Grinch subtly reciprocated. Out of jealousy, Augustus told the Grinch that he had no chance with her, insulting him due to him having a beard, provoking mocking laughter from everyone in the classroom. The next day, he insulted him over the gift he made for Martha, and over the poor shaving job he did, making everyone in the classroom laugh at him again. This sparked the Grinch's hatred of Christmas, and his self-imposed exile at the peak of Mount Crumpit.
Augustus is quick to attempt to dismiss any mention of the Grinch during Christmastime, the word alone being taboo to him in public. He does eventually answer Cindy Lou Who's questions as to why the Grinch was thus forbidden, hoping to make her think he was in the right. When Cindy Lou instead attempts to appoint the Grinch as the holiday Cheermeister, Augustus attempts to dissuade the public from listening. Cindy Lou's words win out, however, and he reluctantly accepts it, though he still thinks the Grinch won't come down from his hideout.
Once again, however, Cindy Lou's intervention proves Augusuts wrong, and the Grinch arrives at the party. Augustus tries relentlessly to make the Grinch leave, first by reuniting him with his clingy adoptive nannies, then stuffing him with the various kinds of holiday treats and overwhelming him with the activities of the jubilation. Finally, he gives the Grinch a shaver, reminding him of his childhood humiliation, and then proposes to Martha right in front of him. This prompts the Grinch into a rampage where he ruins the Christmas celebrations, starting by shaving Augustus's hair right down the middle. Afterward, Augustus passes the blame onto Lou and his family, and then immediately stirs everyone into the Christmas spirit again, claiming that it should be Grinch-less.
During his burglary that night, the Grinch comes across the sleeping mayor dreaming about Martha. Seeking his revenge, the Grinch uses a cable to attach the end of his bed to a police squad car. The next morning, May Who awakens to the police car pulling his bed out of his house and through the town into the town square. May Who immediately realizes that the Grinch was responsible for the chaos, and is quick to blame Cindy for the incident, stating that the Grinch had ruined Christmas. But her father, Lou Who, reminds everyone that they have the Christmas spirit in them and that Christmas isn't about presents, much to the Mayor's chagrin, and everyone begins to sing.
Shortly afterwards, when the Grinch, having had a change of heart, comes down from the mountain and returns the present, May Who expresses his desire for his persecution, which is quickly quashed when the policeman instead accepts the Grinch's apologies for his actions. He looks around for someone to support him, only to find Martha handing him back the ring he gave her, stating that her heart belonged to the Grinch. Reluctantly, he acknowledges no hard feelings with the Grinch, in the Christmas spirit, forming an unsteady reconciliation between them.
Personality[]
May Who is a rude, greedy, arrogant, judgmental, and pompous mayor of Whoville. It is revealed that he was a school bully who picked on the Grinch in his childhood over his shaved face, which is what motivated the Grinch to hate Christmas in the first place.
Appearance[]
May Who is a tall and obese Who with gray hair, thick black eyebrows, and brown eyes. He usually dresses in a navy blue blazer over a white dress shirt. He wears a crimson vest and cravat, navy blue slacks, and black dress shoes. During the winter, May Who wore a long black coat with a white scarf, and gray gloves. During the Whobilation, May Who wears his traditional outfit, but wears a red cape with a green interior and white collar, and a red sash with medals on it.