WALMART shoppers say the retailer's new Grinch-themed Christmas ad completely goes against the beloved story's original message.
Welcome to Grinch's Walmart was uploaded on YouTube last week, paying homage to the classic 1966 holiday film How The Grinch Stole Christmas!
The minute-long commercial shows the Grinch going back to his dastardly ways and stealing presents from the town of Whoville, just like in the film.
In the ad, the residents had their presents delivered via Walmart trucks, which the Grinch was able to nab to ruin the holiday cheer.
He took all the stolen gifts back to his home in Mount Crumpit and began to unbox them.
The narrator of the commercial says: "'This is odd,' thought the Grinch, 'I no longer feel mad.'
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"He giggled, he wiggled, he felt a tad glad. Turns out what's-its and what-have-yous aren't half bad."
In the end, like in the movie, the Grinch's heart was warmed and he knew he had to return everything back to the Whos.
However, not everyone was excited about the fact that the gifts changed his tune about Christmas.
In the original film, the Grinch steals all the presents and decorations from Whoville in an attempt to ruin Christmas, much like in the ad.
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The Whos end up coming together to sing Christmas songs, with or without presents, making the Grinch realize that it wasn't about the material possessions that made the holiday special.
"Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store," said the narrator, voiced by Boris Karloff, at the end of the movie.
Shoppers were quick to point out the glaring difference on social media, saying that Walmart's commercial goes against everything the film was trying to represent.
"Very impressive animation, but wasn't the whole point of The Grinch that Christmas isn't just about trinkets and doo-dads?" one person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Actually Christmas does come from a store. Walmart specifically," another viewer said.
A third wrote: "It might look good but it completely goes against the message of the original, it's so sinisterly cynical."
"I love the animation but the commercial misses the point of original’s message so badly it hurts," a fourth person said.
In response the backlash, some viewers stood up for the company.
"It's a commercial. Calm down," one user wrote.
"tHiS rUiNs ThE EnTiRe MoRaL oF tHe SpEcIaL," another user said mockingly.
The Grinch was first introduced to audiences in 1957, with the book, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, written by Dr. Seuss.
The book was adapted as a TV movie almost 10 years later in 1966.
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It officially won the hearts of many with the live-action adaptation of the movie in 2000 with people holding the story in high regard.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Walmart for comment.
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