Mayor Augustus Maywho is the mayor of Whoville and the main antagonist in the 2000 film, How
The Grinch Stole Christmas. He is in no way connected the Mayor of Whoville from Horton Hears a Who!.
He was portrayed by Jeffrey Tambor.
Role[]
Augustus was once a school bully to The Grinch as a child, due to the attraction that his love interest, Martha May Whovier, displayed towards him, which the Grinch subtly reciprocated. Out of jealousy, Augustus told him that he had no chance with her, insulting him due to him having a beard, provoking mocking laugher 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.
Years later a now adult Augustus became Mayor and was quick to attempt to dismiss any mention of the Grinch during Christmastime, the word alone being taboo to him in public. He was willing enough to satisfy Cindy Lou's curiosity as to why the Grinch was thus forbidden, with nobody else nearby aside from his attendant, hoping that it would make her understand why it was right. When the contrary happened, however, and Cindy Lou attempted to appoint him as the holiday Cheermeister, he attempted to dissuade the public from listening. Cindy Lou's words won out, however, and he reluctantly accepted it, though he insisted that the Grinch would never come down from his hideout.
Once again, however, Cindy Lou's intervention proved him wrong, and the Grinch came to receive his award. Augustus tried 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, with nothing working. Finally, however, he succeeded by giving The Grinch a shaver, reminding The Grinch about his childhood humiliation, and then proposing to Martha right in front of him, which prompts him to go on a rampage and ruin the Christmas celebrations, starting by shaving Augustus's hair right down the middle. Once the rampage is completed, 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 makes Augustus kiss the rear end of his dog, Max, and uses a cable to attach the end of his bed to a police squad car.
In the morning, Augustus awakens to the police car pulling his bed out of his house and through the town into the town square. Augustus 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, Augustus 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.
Videogame appearance[]
Mayor Maywho appears as an antagonist in The Grinch and Dr. Seuss: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the 2 videogame adaptions of the popular 2000 feature film.