User blog comment:PerhapsTheOtherOne/Speculative Spitballing: Goliath/@comment-9464517-20150612173646/@comment-9464517-20150612235033

I can see how they felt. Quite honestly I also feel that the design is, frankly, ridiculous. Yes, it is true that other types of Grimm are clearly inspired by our own real-world animals, but they are creatures such as bears, wolves and wild boar - in mythology, folk and fairy tales, these are all creatures associated with fear, deception, brutality and evil.

Elephants, on the other hand, are more readily seen in popular culture as comedic in nature. Very rarely is an elephant portrayed as frightening in mainstream fiction. Ask someone to name a famous fictional elephant and they would likely suggest something like the elephants from The Jungle Book or Dumbo - not exactly paragons of terror! The same could be argued for bears, but they are usually heavily stylised in their comical adaptations (e.g. Baloo, also from The Jungle Book, or Paddington Bear), and in any case Ursae do not resemble real-life bears all that closely. Goliaths, on the other hand, do bear very close resemblance to elephants (ears, tusks, stature etc.) and so can be more readily associated with their real-life counterparts.

The point I'm trying to make is because elephants can be so readily subconsciously associated with friendliness and comedy, and because Goliaths so strongly resemble them, the instinct in many people's minds (such as my own, I must confess) is to not treat them very seriously. Due to the assocations one can easily form in one's mind, they too may seem friendly and comedic, harshly juxtaposing Oobleck's warning that they pose an unimaginably great threat to the kingdoms.