Back in the 70's, McDonalds aired commercials that featured hero clown Ronald McDonald and his gang of buddies Mayor McCheese, the cop Big Mac, The Professor and whatever the Hell Grimace is supposed to be battling it out with the evil Hamburglar and just as evil Captian Crook to protect and eat those tasty hamburgers and Filet O' Fish sandwiches. The problem was at the same time a show titled "H.R. Pufnstuf" was on the airwaves and the McDonaldland characters beared a strong likeness to those on the show. The "H.R. Pufnstuf" creators, Sid and Marty Krofft, sued and no matter how hard Ronald tried, the evil Krofft's could not be defeated. In 1983, McDonald's lost the war and were forced to stop using most of the characters in thier commercials.
Bravely, despite lawsuits and all that crap, in 1976 McDonalds along with Remco released the McDonaldland toyline. It featured seven figures that were fully poseable and had a lever in the back that would make their heads move around and the clothing was removable so you could finally find out what exactly Ronald wore under his clownsuit. They also included exciting accessories for the figures like Captain Crook's sword and the Professor's big wrench. No true McDonaldland fan could be without the playset that had the Apple Pie Tree, a train with a paddy wagon to lockup the bad guys and it just wasn't complete without a little cardboard McDonald's to finish out the scenery. I personally have to wonder what kind of kid wanted to play with toys like these, think about it, at the time their were some great toys on the shelves. And some actually chose to play with Grimace?
Awhile back, a judge dismissed a lawsuit about McDonald's causing some overweight guy to become fat. If I was the lawyer in the case I would have used these toys as evidence, as no fast food chain has any reason for marketing their characters as a mainstream toyline. It was McDonald's way of forcing its' way into the minds of the youth of America, insuring the burger baron future success. As for the toyline, it has become highly collectable, sought after by overweight and mentally challenged people across the land. Figures still in the original packaging fetch top dollar on ebay. Myself, these toys scare the shit out of me. I haven't liked clowns since "Poltergeist" and Grimace just confuses the hell out of me. Check back later for a closer look at these evil McDonaldland characters.
- Derek
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