as a kid the happy meal toy was one of the best parts about a trip to mcdonald's but sometimes
that toy was a bit of a letdown now let's take a look at the top 10 mcdonald's happy meal toy
fails michael jordan fitness fun when you were a youngster in the 1990s the
anticipation of receiving your happy meal was sometimes overwhelming and it wasn't
necessarily about the food it was all about the toy after all why would they name it a happy meal
if the toy you got wasn't perfect unfortunately your dismay was shared by children all across
the world when they realized that the toys at the bottom of the red box weren't going to cut it call
it the realization of each age but you anticipated grandeur when you parted those m-shaped handles on
that burger meal yes mcdonald's occasionally disappoints yet we can't say we blame michael
jordan for simply being a bystander in this happy meal toy gone wrong since 1979 the goods featured
in the happy meal have been hit or miss depending on the generation the times and well if it was
something people could readily obtain in a gumball dispenser or in the aisles of a gas station
mcdonald's toys certainly highlighted some of the fads and trends of the times fitness was all the
rage in the 1990s especially after the late 80s fitness craze and the rise of aerobics because of
the now familiar fitness buzz mcdonald's decided to join in and the reception was not quite as
enthusiastic as expected mcdonald's was one of the fast food restaurants to jump on board the fitness
trend and they chose a line of michael jordan toys to do so michael jordan fitness fun a basketball
baseball small football and frisbee were among the toys offered and they were all okay but the
problem was with the other half of the items there was a jump rope that was the perfect size for a
newborn and a 30-second timer that timed nothing but how long a child's disappointed reaction would
endure until they eventually abandoned the toy which is probably now under the seat of the car
forgotten for eternity barbie what mcdonald's did to barbie in 1991 was cringe-worthy to say the
least they eventually made amends but the initial mcdee's barbie was simply a solid block of plastic
for those who had real full-sized barbies and took pride in making sure their hair style was perfect
never twisted pressing their outfits between the pages of sick books to avoid creases and making
sure their shoes were never missing or mismatched seeing a solid formed barbie was a no-no
okay no one expects mcdonald's to be giving out realistic looking full-size barbies with every
happy meal but these barbies were basically only good for looking at on a shelf not to play with
but we can't say mcdonald's didn't try with creepy painted on eyes frozen in time hairstyles and a
painted on dress this barbie was like staring at an emotionless shell of what may have been
they were nice to look at but they didn't really do anything fun at all mcdonald's didn't realize
that kids required hair to brush and clothes to change until 1993 when they overhauled
and perfected all of its barbie toys with that said we'll just disregard the first two years
101 dalmatians who came up with the idea of making 101 distinct toys knowing that every 90s kid on
the globe would want to own and collect every one of them in reality that meant getting 101
happy meals plus the additional happy meals you'd need to buy if you got a double you
could trade dalmatians with your friends unless they had the same ones as you which was a very
real possibility in the 1990s in which case you were stuck with a few misfit dalmatians these
toys were popular which just added to the reality of the pain they were cute little miniatures that
perched on the edge of your desk as a reminder of your failure to obtain the entire mcd's collection
of dalmatians this is a sad case of too many kids who couldn't possibly collect them all
mcdonald's came up with a wonderfully designed toy that was high quality and genuinely looked
like what it was representing we're not sure if mcdonald's understood what they were doing
or if it was just an unintended trial by fire but it was a tough pill to swallow in any case
you only had a limited amount of time to gather as many as you could before mcdonald's moved on
to the next new item and if you were a big lover of the dalmatians you were left combing the
schoolyard for anyone who might have the missing plastic puppies needed to add to your collection
dinosaurs tv show toys the television show dinosaurs ruled abc for four years bringing
hilarity to some and an unreasonable terror of talking dinosaurs to others
it was a normal 90s sitcom but it included extinct and somewhat creepy creatures mcdonald's obviously
leaped at the chance to put a special product in their happy meal boxes resulting in this odd
toy the toy appears to be fine at first glance with some really stunning face characteristics
and accessories to go with each figure this toy didn't speak which is a great benefit for parents
but they did have one other feature they moved or maybe we should say sometimes they moved remember
this is a mcdonald's toy so there's no robotic technology going into their happy meal toys
in this case a tube is hooked to the rear of each toy and a button is linked to that tube
it was designed to make the toy move when pressed whether this was earl's arms or ethel's head but
unfortunately many of them remained stuck it was a little unnerving to some children and most are
glad that the toys didn't stick around for long ronald mcdonald let's face it ronald mcdonald was
horrifying to any kid who had a clown phobia it's one thing to be a fan of the most popular burgers
and fries on the planet it's quite another thing to grow up in the 1990s and have to
face a terrifying looking burning red-haired clown every time you go to mickey d's this
is totally understandable which is why we're bringing up this toy from 1996 that terrified
many people when they took it out of their happy meal box ronald mcdonald himself in all his bendy
flexible splendor is the toy in question that's right kids could bend this toy in whatever
direction they want it because what's more fun than positioning ronald on top of the box so he's
looking down at you while you eat your fries this item no matter how well intentioned was a complete
failure on every level we're not criticizing ronald mcdonald or his namesake charitable
efforts and making a difference in the world but this item looked like an extra from a horror movie
this toy could only have come from a stephen king novel the devilishly wild eyes melancholy clown
makeup and rather sinister grin are confirmation enough toothpaste everyone understands the
importance of brushing your teeth after a meal but mcdonald's wanted to really reinforce that thought
that's right in addition to providing a tripping hazard in the form of a jump rope in an attempt
to get kids to hop on the fitness craze mcdonald's also attempted to promote proper oral hygiene this
promotion began back in 1983 and nearly a decade later mcdonald's brought the famed toothbrush and
paste idea back for a second round based on the company's belief that every child should practice
healthy oral hygiene we can't argue with them on this point every child should have a healthy
mouth the problem is that removing a travel sized colgate tube from your happy meal has a different
effect than say getting something like a real toy to play with after you've dined most kids
would probably agree that a small toothbrush and another bottle of toothpaste to throw in
the bathroom cabinet put a damper on their trips to mcdonald's the kids were perplexed maybe it
was some sophisticated hoax or perhaps mcdonald's struck a deal with the big toothpaste corporations
tamagotchi in 1997 tamagotchi happy meal keychains drew mixed reviews tamagotchis
were all the rage and you couldn't be hip without one or a bunch if you neglected to feed them or
jiggle them for rewards your tamagotchi died and you had to start again most 90s kids now have
real life tamagotchis called infants and some even have pets that resemble tamagotchi life
it was tamagotchi or bust in the 1990s though mcdonald's recognized the trend and decided to
take it a step further by offering children a key chain duplicate of the tamagotchi the
small key chains were the cutest thing ever and they came in little egg-shaped containers that
looked exactly like a genuine tamagotchi package breaking the hearts of many children who believed
they were going to receive a new digital pet you knew you had to open them up to uncover your
wonderful tiny keychain inside once you observed a giant egg-shaped crack through the center the
excitement and amazement lasted about two seconds before you realized you had nowhere to store it
and no way to show it off 10 year olds don't usually have any keys to carry around with them
nickelodeon game gadgets nickelodeon was the king of television for youngsters in the 1990s
rugrats doug hey arnold all that are you afraid of the dark kablam ren and stimpy so many good shows
it was a 90s kids hollywood age and it showcased all the programming that made it easy to be a
great couch potato these nickelodeon shows provided solace when kids were homesick
or just pretending to be and offered kids something to do with fellow like-minded
pals unfortunately mcdonald's used nickelodeon's drawing power knowing that kids would go to any
length for the show's namesake even if it meant suffering through some subpar happy meal toys the
nickelodeon game gadgets were originally exciting until you held one in your hands and realized that
indeed these were nothing but gumball machine grade toys the gadgets were little more than
cheap plastic gimmicks that only served to highlight nickelodeon's neon logo and left
a trail of grief in their wake as they made their way back home to each child's house the following
are the toys that were offered applause paws which were applauded solely for their regret loudmouth
mike which allowed children to express their disappointment verbally gotcha gusher squirter
which allowed kids to vent their resentment and anger through sad water fights and blimp game
which simply reinforced the fact that mcdonald's had failed on this series of happy meal toys
yo yogi yogi bear cartoons may have been popular in the 1960s but kids didn't see what
was so fascinating about a bear riding about on a scooter in the 1990s kids wanted toys relevant
to the times in their happy meals and many were still perplexed as to why mcdonald's believed
yogi bear would bring such delight the youth of the day were still obsessed with saturday morning
shows like ah real monsters or watching repeat episodes of where in the world does carmen san
diego how many clues could you get right it was a perplexing period since the yogi toys themselves
weren't terrible but they were on a spectrum of neutrality and blandness this was a mcdonald's
toy that didn't bring joy or sorrow but it also didn't fit in with the other toys yogi bear and
his companions will always be a lovely addition to our 90s collection shelf but this small bear
carried far more personal importance for our parents than for children who grew up in the 90s
rescue toys solving problems and puzzles has always been fun for kids no matter what
generation you grew up in in the 1990s one such happy meal offering were space rescue toys these
weren't so easy to put together and the time and work necessary to complete them was considerable
the effort required to make them function properly greatly outweighed the effort required to just
throw them away from the exterior the toys appeared to be high-end but as you looked
more closely you understood you were in for an adventure and not the kind you find in space
when you found out that not only did these space rescue toys not operate but they also made no
sense your expedition would finish in frustration and result in lost time they were strange weirdly
shaped gadgets that were supposed to be futuristic but were really only used as paperweights for
schoolwork the longer kids gazed at them trying to find out what was lacking to make them work
the more the fact that they were so terrible became a distraction the worst part was the
neon drawing pad which was supposed to be wiped clean after each drawing but ended up
permanently ingrained with the holy inappropriate artwork you wanted to show your little brother
before your parents noticed thanks mcdonald's hungry for more just tap or click another video
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