Disney's The Rescuers Down Under At McDonald's Germany: Bernard und Bianca im Känguruland

 

The 1977 Disney animated feature The Rescuers was a huge hit in Germany.  When it was time for McDonald's in Germany to promote the 1990 sequel, The Rescuers Down Under, they had an exclusive promotion: small, plush dolls of Jake, Bernard, Bianca, and Wilbur.

This set of plush was available in December 1991, according to the book McDonald's Happy Meal Toys Around the World by Terry and Joyce Losonsky.  These plush were sold in addition to a separate set of Happy Meal figurines that were available in the rest of Europe.

The Rescuers Down Under was a box office flop in the United States in November 1990, where it was buried by the release of Home Alone.  Of course, now Disney owns Home Alone, as part of its purchase of 20th Century Fox.

In Germany, though, The Rescuers characters were indeed still popular.

In the late 1980s, McDonald's had quite a few promotions selling small plush items, especially around the holidays.  In the United States, this included Ornaments of characters from Cinderella, Oliver and Company, and The Little Mermaid (sold as a promotion for Gift Certificates).

McDonald's did two different Happy Meal toy promotions for The Rescuers Down Under.  In the United States, there were four different Happy Meal toy camera viewers (Bernard/Bianca, Jake, Wilbur, and Cody), in addition to a PVC toy of Bernard for children under three years old.  In Europe (including Germany), there was a set of four bendable figures (Bernard, Bianca, Frank the Lizard, and Wilbur).

I'm not sure if these plush German McDonald's Rescuers Down Under toys were sold loose (I have never seen any in a package).

In the United States, the 1990 release of The Rescuers Down Under was the last Disney Animated film to be promoted by McDonald's for a while.  Burger King promoted Disney films in America starting in 1991 with Beauty and the Beast.  McDonald's continued to promote Disney films in Europe.  McDonald's promoted Disney films in the United States once again with the 1997 release of Hercules.

Donald Duck, Dragons, and Dinosaurs: Disney's Animal Kingdom 1998 McDonald's Happy Meal From Asia

Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida is about to celebrate its 20th Birthday.  The park opened in April 1998, and in addition to being an Animal Kingdom sponsor, McDonald's released Happy Meal toys promoting the new attraction in the United States and International markets.  In Asia, the McDonald's promotion featured Disney character toys with an accessory and a backdrop.  It is interesting to go back and see how much has changed in twenty years.

Donald Duck is set for adventure on the Discovery River Boats.  It looks like he's spotted a Dragon!  This toy set is interesting, because it represents the earliest casualties of Disney's Animal Kingdom.  The Discovery River Boats only operated for a few years.  The boats floated past a cave containing an unseen dragon, who was supposed to be the star of an upcoming land, Beastly Kingdom.  The Mythical animals section was planned from the start, but legend has it that Universal's Islands Of Adventure park's opening in 1999 killed the Animal Kingdom concept of a dragon coaster.  Ironically, Universal's Dueling Dragons coaster was recently shut down and will be replaced by a new Harry Potter attraction.  Disney's Animal Kingdom finally got its own mythical creature land, full of dragon-like banshees, when Pandora: The World of Avatar opened in 2017.  Pandora sits where the dragon themed land was supposed to go.

Dinoland USA was formerly sponsored by McDonald's.  Here we can see Goofy making friends with a dinosaur.  At the time, Dinoland's main attraction was called "Countdown to Extinction."  But it was renamed "Dinosaur" to promote the 2000 Disney movie of the same name.  The park opened the county fair type Dino-Rama expansion in 2001.

For 2018, Dinoland will get some new entertainment hosted by Donald Duck.  "Donald's Dino-Bash" celebrates the relationship of birds and dinosaurs.

Minnie Mouse makes a new friend in Gorilla Falls Exploration Trails.  Gorilla Falls is another Animal Kingdom attraction that had a big change early on.

Gorilla Falls had a name change to "Pangani Forest Exploration Trails" not long after opening.  The Gorillas were not always guaranteed to be seen, so a new name was given to the trails.  The name returned in 2016.

Kilimanjaro Safaris is Animal Kingdom's headliner attraction.  Here, Mickey takes a trip on a Jeep to see some elephants.  The Safari has changed a great deal over the years.  Initially, the ride had a plot about poachers killing an Elephant, and riders had to help save her animatronic baby.  The entire poacher story was (thankfully) eventually dropped.  New animal species have been rotated over the years, with some of the newest being Hyenas and African Painted Dogs (both added with the addition of Night Safaris in 2016).

I first visited Disney's Animal Kingdom in 2004.  At the time, I wasn't a big fan of the Safaris (I thought the poacher story was lame).  In the Summer of 2017, I visited and couldn't believe the dramatic changes (for the better) that Kilimanjaro Safaris now has.  It is definitely my favorite attraction at Animal Kingdom.  What made it so great, I think, was that a massive storm hit while we were on Safari.  The animals were very active, with giraffes galloping at full sprint for cover under a section of tall trees.  There was something very "animal" about it.

Happy 20th Birthday, Animal Kingdom!

Safari McDonald's Happy Meal From 1996: Not Disney's Animal Kingdom

In 1996, McDonald's restaurants outside of the United States released a Safari Happy Meal featuring Ronald McDonald and Friends.  This set is interesting because it (coincidentally?) captures the essence of Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World in Florida (which opened in 1998).

McDonald's has a history with Disney's Animal Kingdom, releasing a Happy Meal in 1998 to promote the park (check it out at Disney's Animal Kingdom McDonald's Happy Meal).

The Safari Happy Meal features a Tree, something that the actual Disney's Animal Kingdom Happy Meal did not even have.  It seems like McDonald's could have easily swapped the Ronald McDonald characters with Mickey Mouse and Friends.

The Hamburglar searches the Tree of Life, I mean the Tree Top, for a burger and fries.  This would have been a good toy for Goofy bird watching Zazu from The Lion King.

Ronald McDonald leads a tour on a Jeep.  It is easy to imagine this as a Mickey Mouse toy on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride.

Ronald is driving with a lion popping in and out of the vehicle.  Simba from the Lion King could have been cast in this role.

Birdie the Early Bird pilots an Alligator Raft.  This toy could have corresponded with the Discovery River Boats from the early days of Disney's Animal Kingdom.

This toy would have been a good vehicle for Minnie Mouse and the Crocodiles from The Rescuers.

Grimace hitches a ride on a Safari Elephant.  All the vehicle toys in this set have motion features.  Grimace moves his body and the Elephant moves its head.

This could have been a good toy for Donald Duck and Delores the Elephant (a character from old Disney shorts like 1953's Working For Peanuts).

When Disney's Animal Kingdom opened in 1998, the American McDonald's Happy Meal promoting the park featured realistic looking animal action figures, and no Disney characters.  Outside of the United States, McDonald's did a promotion featuring Disney characters with an animal related prop and a cardboard background.

Fraggle Rock Test McDonald's Happy Meal: Dismissed Doozers

In April 1987, McDonald's Test Marketed a Fraggle Rock Happy Meal in the Charleston-Huntington and Bluefield Beckley areas of West Virginia.  Limited Test Market and Regional Happy Meal toys were a thing in the late Eighties and early Nineties.  I first became aware of this phenomenon reading Tomart's Price Guide to McDonald's Happy Meal Collectibles by Meredith Williams (from 1992).

Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock debuted on HBO in 1983.  The McDonald's Happy Meal is actually tied to the 1987 animated series that premiered on NBC in the Fall of 1987.  FYI, the animated Fraggle Rock was, like Muppet Babies, produced by Marvel Animation.

The Fraggle Rock Test McDonald's Happy Meal is rather fascinating.  There were four toys in the set.  Two are familiar to people who know about the Fraggle Rock McDonald's toys that were released nationally in March of 1988.

Gobo Fraggle was the first character released.  The carrot car in the Test had wobbling wheels.  The wobbling was eliminated on the Gobo and Red cars when the Fraggle Rock Happy Meal went National in 1988.  It should be pointed out that the Fraggles did not, to my knowledge, drive vegetable cars.

The Test Fraggle Rock Happy Meal was half Fraggle toys, half Doozers (the mechanically amazing construction guy creatures from the series).  Bulldoozer and Friends was the second toy in the set.  On the shows, the Doozers appeared to all be identical, until they took off their construction hats, revealing their individual appearances and personalities.

The Doozers are a natural fit for toy vehicles.  However, they did not make it to the National McDonald's Happy Meal.  Why?  Well, I imagine some folks were mighty disappointed that the only Fraggles in the Fraggle Rock Happy Meal were Gobo and Red.  You just know that the McDonald's toy designer folks LOVED the Doozers.

There was a special Doozer McDonald's Happy Meal box designed that did not even make it to the Test.  A prototype of the Doozer box was made, but never produced in large quantities.

The fact that the Doozers were dropped from the Happy Meal toy line is a crime against Muppets.  The Doozers actually freaking walked on the show in 1983.  I also love the fact that the comparatively larger Fraggles EAT the Doozer constructions.  Brilliant!

Cotterpin Doozer and Friends was Set 4.

Cotterpin was the red-haired, rebellious girl Doozer (performed, like Mokey Fraggle, by Kathryn Mullen).

When the Fraggle Rock McDonald's Happy Meal went National in 1988, Mokey and Wembley (with Boober) replaced the two Doozer toys.  Here we can see Cotterpin for a size comparison.  I should point out that the toys pictured are NOT mine.  I've never even seen the Test toys in person and they are extremely expensive.  The Cotterpin toy shown here is actually missing the front piece of the forklift.

As a fan of the Fraggles, I can understand how people were probably disappointed at the lack of all 5 main Fraggles in the Test.  The vegetable cars are pretty cute.  But dang, those Doozer vehicles are pretty Rev (Doozer speak for "cool").

Re-watching Fraggle Rock, the Doozers are my favorite part of the show.  They are actually inspired by bees and termites.  My favorites are Wrench and Turbo from the episode "Doozer Is As Doozer Does."

The Doozers may have had the last laugh.  The hard working, hard-hatted little guys got their own computer animated spin-off show called The Doozers in 2013.

Euro Disney Resort McDonald's Happy Meal

Once Upon a Time, there was a place in France called the Euro Disney Resort.  It opened outside of Paris in April of 1992.  McDonald's in Europe released Happy Meal Toys to promote the new Euro Disneyland theme park.  This set of vehicles is charming and highly animated.  It is also kind of unusual and fascinating.

The first thing to notice is that Mickey Mouse is nowhere to be seen.  My guess is that, aside from Chip and Dale (who are riding Frontierland's Big Thunder Mountain), they wanted European based characters.  Also, this set represents the lands of Euro Disneyland (Main Street, Frontierland, Adventureland, and Fantasyland) but does not include anything for Discoveryland (the park's version of Tomorrowland).  At the time these toys were made, McDonald's followed a formula of 4 toys for 4 weeks pretty strictly (especially for European sets).

Pongo from 101 Dalmatians rides in Main Street USA's fire truck.  Pongo's head moves from side to side when the car rolls forward.  The front of the vehicle and the bell in the back moves as well.

101 Dalmatians was one of the biggest Disney brands represented at McDonald's.  There were literally hundreds of different, individual 101 Dalmatians toys created for the restaurant chain during the 1990s.

Chip and Dale (as well as pieces on the train) bob around on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Frontierland at Euro Disneyland is also home to Phantom Manor, the park's Western version of The Haunted Mansion.

Captain Hook from Peter Pan represents Adventureland, home to Pirates of the Caribbean and Adventure Isle.

As with the rest of Euro Disneyland, the park's attractions were modified for the European market.  Adventureland was designed to sit next to Fantasyland, so there was a smooth transition from Adventure Isle (a pirate replacement for Tom Sawyer Island) to Peter Pan's Flight in Fantasyland.

Tigger takes a spin on the Mad Tea Party in Fantasyland.  This spinning teacup vehicle is, in my opinion, the most impressive of this set.  It is curious that a character from Alice in Wonderland was not used here.  Seriously, the Cheshire Cat would have been perfect (and would also represent Euro Disneyland's exclusive Alice's Curious Labyrinth attraction, which has a major Cheshire Cat landmark feature).

Tigger riding the Teacups strangely predicted the future of Disney Theme Parks.  When Shanghai Disneyland in China opened in 2016, the Winnie the Pooh Hunny Pot Spin replaced the Mad Tea Party concept.

Euro Disney Resort had a major image problem from the time it was announced.  Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons took merciless aim at the park's famous early struggles.  By 1994, Euro Disney Resort changed its name to (the much more romantic) Disneyland Resort Paris.

The New McDonald's SeaBiscuit: My Social Media Cartoons

Have you tried the new McDonald's SeaBiscuit?  Made with Fish, Eggs and Bacon, it's the Catch of the Day!  There's nothing quite like a fish breakfast sandwich.

Of course, this isn't real.  But maybe it should be.

Thanks to Social Media, it's easier than ever to to unleash ideas to the world.  Or at least to social media.

My experience with Facebook has often been "not great."  However, it is a fun way to show people silly ideas that pop into my head.

On Columbus Day, I noticed that nobody really wishes anyone a Happy Columbus Day.

You never see Columbus Day Greeting Cards.  I decided to change that.

When Hurricane Irma recently roared towards Florida, it was pretty scary.

I wondered how to capture the essence of a Hurricane as a cartoon.  Then I found the answer watching the weather forecast.  I had never paid attention to the symbol of a hurricane symbol before.  I can see the eye!

As Hurricane Irma ripped through Florida and Alabama, TV stations had a field day with weather coverage.

The buzzwords made me think of Hurricane Baby Names.

Then there was an item I heard about "Soil and Water Conservation."  Sounds kinda boring, right?  Well, I thought about mascots for such an organization.

Then I thought of their slogan.

You don't see many plant cartoon characters.  I came up with two.

These two mellow characters live in Colorado.

I recently came up with a character named Formula Juan Racer, based on a friend.

I have many more ideas for Formula Juan Racer and he is already a mascot for my blog.

For Halloween, I had to do something with Candy Corn.

Very corny, I know.

The success of Marvel's Black Panther got me thinking about the cartoon character The Pink Panther.

I thought about this at lunch, and had no paper, so I just grabbed the receipt for my sandwich and did a quick doodle.

I am not a political person.  I'm just mean.

I also think Twitter is stupid.

For Valentines Day, I came up with a special cartoon using a "puppet" character named Valentino (made of painted foam and pipe cleaners).

Coming up with Inappropriate Conversation Hearts was great fun.  I wanted all the facial features on Valentino to be hearts.  I think it looks pretty creepy, which is fun for the such a cloying, pandering holiday.

I also came up with an idea for a horror movie called Butterfly Kiss of Death.

The Butterflies destroy humanity.  Nobody suspects them.  It is the perfect crime.

Disney's Tarzan At McDonald's

In 1999, Disney and Edgar Rice Burroughs joined forces for the animated feature Tarzan.  The film was directed by Kevin Lima (A Goofy Movie) and Chris Buck (Frozen).  The radio-ready songs were created by Phil Collins.  McDonald's provided some promotional partner muscle.  There were 8 Happy Meal Action Toys and 3 different Sound Straws.  I'm pretty sure there was a Banana Milkshake somewhere to promote the movie, too.

Glenn Close provided the voice of Tarzan's adoptive gorilla mom, Kala.

Early in the film, Kala does battle with the ferocious leopard, Sabor.

Sabor kills Tarzan's parents and Kala's baby gorilla in the first few minutes of Tarzan.

The character of Sabor is a relentless predator.  When watching James Cameron's 2009 film AVATAR, the destructive, panther-like Thanator creature reminded me of Sabor.

Instead of simply swinging on vines, Disney's extreme sports Tarzan "surfs" through the trees.

You would think that Tarzan would have a beard, but I guess the gorillas taught him how to shave.

In Tarzan, Jane is a refreshing comical character.

One of the highlights of the film is the extensive "Baboon Chase" sequence, which starts with Jane sketching a Baby Baboon.

Jane's loving father is Professor Porter.

The Porter toy rides a bike, which is pretty impressive.

Clayton guides Jane and Porter, and he has facial hair, so you know he's the villain.

Clayton has a rather gruesome death by vines.

Terk the Gorilla (voiced by Rosie O'Donnell) sings a song called "Trashin' the Camp."

"Trashin the Camp" was also covered by 'N Sync for the film's soundtrack.

Tantor the Elephant was voiced by Wayne Knight (Newman from Seinfeld).

The Tantor McDonald's toy is appropriately LARGE.

Tarzan inspired different McDonald's Happy Meal toys around the world.

There are 10 toys in the Tarzan McDonald's Happy Meal set from Australia.

The Australian set of toys seems a bit "low cost" compared to the American set, but I think the Australian set is charming and unique.

Jane enjoys sketching detailed drawings of Jungle animals and a wild man wearing a loincloth.

Though the Australian set of toys isn't lavish, it is nice that it mixes materials.  Jane has a real paper sketchbook.

Baby Tarzan will always be in Kala's heart.

I think there was a missed opportunity with Kala's voice.  Carol Burnett could have voiced Kala, and performed her famous "Tarzan Yell", giving a new twist to the origin of the Tarzan Yell.

The Sabor action figure is easy to spot.

Sabor may very well be the most feral Disney character ever created.

Clayton seems tame compared to Sabor.

Clayton uses antlers in all of his decorating, in addition to Gorilla Fur accent pillows (we can assume).

The Australian Tarzan McDonald's Happy Meal has a tree full of Baby Baboons.

Though there was only one Baby Baboon in the film, some of the International McDonald's Happy Meals featured multiple baby baboons.  Perhaps they did this to represent the mob of baboons in the movie in a kinder, cuter way.

Professor Porter sets up an elaborate camp that is just waiting to be trashed.

The gorillas will have to teach Porter and Clayton how to shave, just like they taught Tarzan.

Terk enjoys playing songs using pots and pans.

Terk, of course, is a New Yorker, so she's seen STOMP on Broadway.

Some very interesting character choices were made for the Australian McDonald's Tarzan Happy Meal.  Tantor the Elephant is not represented, but Flynt the Gorilla has a toy.

Flynt and his friend Mungo are Terk's cronies.

Young Mungo was voiced by Jason Marsden (Max in A Goofy Movie).

The Mungo "record player" is one of the most elaborate toys in the Australian set, yet Mungo is one of the most minor characters in the Tarzan movie.  Things really are upside-down in Australia.

Would you fancy a spot of tea with your Happy Meal?  Jane, Porter and Clayton's local McDonald's in England had a different set of Tarzan toys.  The Tantor toy looks the same as the American set, but all the others are slightly different.  Kerchak is featured here, climbing a tree that is about a foot tall when assembled.

Three magnetic Baby Baboons can be attached to Jane.  Clayton has a cloth jacket.  Tarzan's pose and vine are a bit different from the USA set, as is Clayton's bike.  The Kala/Tarzan toy and the Terk toy are also significantly different from the American set.

The U.K. Tarzan McDonald's Happy Meal had some beautiful boxes.  If I remember correctly, McDonald's in the USA used simple bags.

In addition to the Happy Meal, McDonald's in the U.K. had a Jungle Chicken meal, a Jungle McDouble and a toffee and banana sundae.

Tarzan was one of the last hand-drawn Disney animated films to have a great deal of merchandise, including Jungle Bachelorette Party Tarzan and Jane dolls (includes stacks of tiny $1 bills).

I bet Barbie would ditch Ken in an instant if the Tarzan doll appeared near her toybox.

Years before the TV series Scandal, Tony Goldwyn played Tarzan.  I wonder if that information has or will inspire any sort of Tarzan/Scandal FanFiction.

Minnie Driver provided a very fun (and funny) version of Jane.

For the video release of Tarzan, McDonald's had a chain-reaction "Mouse-Trap" type set of McDonald's Happy Meal toys.  When joined together, the toys created a jungle playset.

I used this Tarzan McDonald's playset to create Disney's Animal Kingdom Pandora AVATAR McDonald's Happy Meal.  (Click the link to see that).

Quite a bit of Tarzan McDonald's Happy Meal toys were created.  I will be adding more here gradually.  Stay tuned!