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McDonaldland

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For the video game, see M.C. Kids.
McDonaldland
AgencyNeedham, Harper & Steers
ClientMcDonald's
Release date(s)1971–2003

McDonaldland was a fantasy world used in the marketing for McDonald's restaurants during the 1970s through the 1990s. McDonaldland is inhabited by Ronald McDonald and other characters such as the Hamburglar, Grimace, and Mayor McCheese. In addition to being used in advertising, the characters were used as the basis for themed equipment in the "PlayPlaces" attached to some McDonald's outlets, small recreational activity rooms intended for young children. The McDonaldland commercials featuring the full cast of characters were dropped from McDonald's advertising in 2003, but Ronald McDonald himself is still seen in commercials, Happy Meal toys, and other marketing.

The concept of McDonaldland was sufficiently similar to the 1969 television show H.R. Pufnstuf that the producers, Sid and Marty Krofft, successfully sued McDonald's for plagiarism.

History

Early years (1970–1972)

McDonaldland was created by Needham, Harper & Steers in 1970–71 at the request of McDonald's for its restaurants. The first commercial aired in January 1971. The early commercials were built on an upbeat, bubblegum-style tune and feature a narrator; many have plots that involve various villains, like the Hamburglar, Evil Grimace, and Captain Crook trying to steal a corresponding food item but are constantly foiled by Ronald.[1]

In 1976, Remco created a line of six-inch (15 cm) action figures to celebrate the characters.[1]

Lawsuit (1973)

Further information: Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions Inc. v. McDonald's Corp.

In 1973, Sid and Marty Krofft sued McDonald's by claiming that the entire McDonaldland premise plagiarized their television show. The Kroffts also claimed that the character Mayor McCheese was an infringement on their copyrighted character "H.R. Pufnstuf" (a mayor himself). At trial, a jury found in favor of the Kroffts and McDonald's was ordered to pay $50,000. The case was appealed by both parties to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The appeals court, in the 1977 decision of Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions Inc. v. McDonald's Corp., reassessed damages in favor of the Kroffts to more than $1,000,000.[1][2] As a result, McDonald's was ordered to stop producing many of the characters and to stop airing commercials featuring the characters.[1]

Popularity (1980–1998)

In the 1980s and 1990s, the McDonaldland commercials remained a popular marketing device. The characters that remained following the lawsuit were Ronald McDonald, Grimace, Hamburglar and the French Fry Gobblins (renamed the Fry Guys and later the Fry Kids with the addition of the Fry Girls) while Mayor McCheese, Officer Big Mac, Captain Crook and the Professor were used until 1985. (However, they did return for a Sears advertisement in 1987). Birdie the Early Bird would join the lineup soon after representing the restaurant's new breakfast line in the early 1980s. Some of the characters' physical appearances were revised in later commercials (notably Hamburglar, Grimace and Birdie). From then on the characters lived in reality and interacted with real-life people, but commercials still took place in "McDonaldland". Soon after the Happy Meal Gang and the McNugget Buddies were prominent features in the commercials (representing the restaurant's Happy Meals and Chicken McNuggets respectively, being the menu items that mainly appealed to kids) along with Ronald.

Merchandise featuring the McDonaldland characters included a kid-friendly magazine titled "McDonaldland Fun Times", which published six issues a year. A direct-to-video animated film titled The Adventures of Ronald McDonald: McDonaldland Treasure Island was released in 1989, featuring much of the McDonaldland characters from the 1980s. Video games featuring the characters were also released, such as M.C. Kids and McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure.

Later years (1998–2003)

From 1998 until 2003, Rugrats creators Klasky Csupo and McDonald's released an animated direct-to-video series exclusively on VHS titled The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald. The series depicted Ronald, Grimace, Birdie, the Hamburglar and a few new characters, like Ronald's pessimistic dog Sundae. These videos would begin in live-action in what resembled a futuristic McDonaldland. Whenever the characters would enter down a tube or other means of travel, they would become animated. In all six episodes, Ronald goes on adventures with his friends and they learn new things along the way.

In the early 2000s, McDonald's experimented with the possibility of animating the characters to improve ratings. Various spots featuring the Hamburglar and other characters alongside celebrities were planned but were canceled. A conflict emerged between agencies regarding whether to continue using the characters or to follow through the desire of ad agency Leo Burnett by elevating the "I'm lovin' it" campaign and phasing out the characters, resulting in McDonald's choosing the latter option and completely retiring the McDonaldland characters.

Legacy

In recent years, the McDonaldland premise has largely been dropped out of advertising campaigns and Happy Meal toys. Despite this, the characters continued to appear in McDonald's PlayPlaces, decorative seats for children's birthday parties and bibs, though only Ronald McDonald, Birdie, Grimace, Hamburglar and the Fry Kids appear in them. They also appeared on some soft drink cups until 2008 and still appear as cookies in pouches titled "McDonaldland Cookies".

Today, the characters still appear on the windows of some McDonald's restaurants. Modern commercials nowadays depict Ronald McDonald alone in real-world situations with children, whether he visits a local McDonald's restaurant or to visit sick children at a Ronald McDonald House. The other characters still appear, but rarely: Grimace had a non-speaking appearance in an advertisement for Monsters vs. Aliens Happy Meal toys, while the Hamburglar appeared in an adult-oriented commercial advertising the Big Mac.

Characters

  • Ronald McDonald – The primary cultural icon and official mascot of McDonald's. He is a clown with red hair and a big red smile who wears a yellow jumpsuit and red shoes. While his suit has gone through various changes over the years, it has basically remained the same.
  • Hamburglar (performed by Frank Delfino from 1971–1992, Jerry Maren in some commercials, Tommy Vicini from 1992–2003,[3][4] voiced by Larry Storch from 1971–1986, Howard Morris from 1986–2003, Charlie Adler in some commercials during the mid 1980s and in The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald, and Carl W. Wolfe in some commercials during the 1990s[5]) – A pint-sized burglar who was introduced in 1971 as one of the first antagonists of the commercials where he often attempts to steal burgers from Ronald. Originally, Hamburglar spoke in a gibberish language which had to be translated by Captain Crook. He was reintroduced in 1985 as one of the main protagonists where he spoke in normal sentences. In 2015, McDonald's brought back the Hamburglar as part of the promotion of a new sirloin burger.[6]
  • Grimace (performed by Patty Saunders from 1971–1983, Mauri Bernstein in some 80's commercials, Terry Castillo-Faass from 1983–2000, voiced by Lennie Weinrib from 1971–1986, Frank Welker and sometimes Larry Moran from 1986–2003,[5] Kevin Michael Richardson in The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald) – A large purple monster who was first introduced in November 1971 as the "Evil Grimace". In Grimace's first appearances, he was one of the original main antagonists and was depicted with two pairs of arms which were used to steal sodas and shakes. "Evil" was soon dropped from Grimace's name and he was reintroduced in 1972 as a protagonist where he only has one set of arms. He was then a rather clumsy, but still amiable monster from then on.
  • Mayor McCheese (performed by Billy Curtis from 1971–1979, Jerry Maren from 1980–1985, voiced by Howard Morris impersonating Ed Wynn in the commercials,[5] Bob Joles impersonating Wynn in The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald) – An enormous cheeseburger-headed character who first appeared in 1971 and was removed in 1985. He sported a top hat, a diplomat's sash and a pair of pince-nez spectacles and was portrayed as McDonaldland's bumbling and incompetent mayor. He was the subject of a lawsuit filed by Sid and Marty Krofft for similarities to H.R. Pufnstuf; specifically, both were characters with enormous heads who served as the elected leader of a fantastical setting.
Officer Big Mac climb-in jail playground.
  • Officer Big Mac (performed by Jerry Maren, voiced by Ted Cassidy[5]) – Introduced in 1971 and was dropped in 1985, he is similar to Mayor McCheese in appearance that he has a large burger for a head. In his case, his head is a Big Mac (minus the vegetables and special sauce) rather than a cheeseburger. Officer Big Mac is the chief of police and as such he wears a constable uniform with a disproportionately small custodian helmet resting atop his head bun. As the main source of law and order in McDonaldland, Officer Big Mac spends most of his time chasing Hamburglar and Captain Crook.
  • Captain Crook (performed by Robert Towers, voiced by Larry Storch in 1971–1983, Tim Blaney in 1984-1985[5]) – A pirate captain who was introduced in 1971 as one of the main antagonists and was dropped in 1985. Captain Crook steals Filet-O-Fish sandwiches and often interprets Hamburgler's gibberish. He was revised in 1984 with a Muppet-like appearance and later became simply known as "The Captain" where he has a parrot and operates the S.S. Filet-O-Fish.
  • The Professor (portrayed by Lou Wagner, voiced by Andre Stojka) – A scientist who is McDonaldland's inventor and researcher. He was introduced in 1971 and has invented different devices throughout McDonaldland like the Psychedelic Electronic Hamburger Machine (which made only pumpkins for some reason), the Dinner Gong, an invisible car that helped Ronald McDonald get to McDonald's to meet with the kids, a magnetic bat, and the Chicken McNugget Dip-O-Matic. In his first appearances, he was a bespectacled man with a beard, neck-length hair, and a hat. In the 80s, he was a bespectacled man with a moustache, a long nose, and a helmet with a lightbulb on it. The character was dropped in 1985.
A blue Fry Kid is seen sitting on a McDonald's sign in Greenfield, Wisconsin.
  • Fry Kids (various voices in the commercials, Kath Soucie, Paul Greenberg and Nika Futterman in The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald) – Introduced in 1972 as "Gobblins", the Fry Kids are small, shaggy, ball-like creatures with legs and no arms who try to steal other characters' French fries.
  • Birdie the Early Bird (performed by Felix Silla 1979–1986, Patty Maloney 1986–2001, voiced by Russi Taylor in the commercials,[5] Christine Cavanaugh in The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald) – A yellow bird wearing a pink jumpsuit, flight cap and scarf who was introduced in 1980 as the first female character. Made to promote the company's new breakfast items, she is depicted as a poor flyer and a somewhat clumsy person in general.
  • The Happy Meal Gang – Introduced in 1979, they were joined by the McNugget Buddies in 1984 and the Happy Meal Box and the Under 3 Toy in 1992. They consist of The Happy Meal Hamburger (voiced by Bob Arbogast and later voiced by Jim Cummings[5]), the Happy Meal Fries (voiced by Jeff Winkless and later voiced by Bob Bergen and then Tress MacNeille[5]) and the Happy Meal Drink (voiced by Hal Smith and later voiced by Bill Farmer[5]).
  • Uncle O'Grimacey (performed by Robert Towers, voiced by Lennie Weinrib[5]) – Introduced in 1977 for an advertising narrative of McDonald's both in celebration of Saint Patrick's Day and to mark the annual appearance of the Shamrock Shake, he is depicted as Grimace's uncle.
  • CosMc (performed by Tommy Vicini, voiced by Frank Welker[5]) – An alien who appeared in commercials during the mid-1980s. CosMc was a character in the video game M.C. Kids.
  • The McNugget Buddies (variously voiced by Hal Rayle, Frank Welker, Katie Leigh, Greg Berg, Pat Musick, Don Messick, and Pat Fraley in the commercials,[5] Pamela Adlon, Lisa Raggio and Charlie Adler in The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald) – A bunch of anthropomorphic regular-sized Chicken McNuggets who were introduced in 1984.
  • Bernice (performed by Tim Blaney and Tony Urbano) – A strange creature that was introduced in 1992 and that ate inedible things like the script in the three-part "Ronald McDonald Makin' Movies" commercial.
  • Vulture – An unnamed vulture who spoke in a monotone voice.
  • Sundae (performed by Verne Troyer, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) – Ronald's dog who has appeared only in The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald where he was animated with puppetry. The animatronic Sundae was created by Optic Nerve Studios, Inc. Troyer was assisted in performing Sundae by puppeteers Mark Garbarino, Bryan Blair, Russell Shinkle and Shaun Smith.
  • Iam Hungry (voiced by Jeff Lupetin[5]) – A short-lived McDonaldland character who was introduced in 1998 and was dropped in 2001. Self-proclaimed as the "Vice President of Snacking", the character is a floating, fast-moving green fuzzball with orange arms and a monstrous face who has a big appetite.
  • Mike the Microphone – A one-time character created especially for the Kid Rhino albums Ronald Makes It Magic and Ronald McDonald presents Silly Sing Along.

In other media

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Bellomo, Mark (2016-10-04). "A Brief History of McDonaldland and the Toys (and Lawsuit) It Spawned". Mental Floss. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  2. ^ Weil, Roman L.; Frank, Peter B.; Hughes, Christian W.; Wagner, Michael J. (2007-01-02). Litigation Services Handbook: The Role of the Financial Expert. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470052686.
  3. ^ "Frank J. Delfino; Actor Played Hamburglar". Los Angeles Times. February 22, 1997.
  4. ^ "Frank J. Delfino, Television's Hamburglar". San Jose Mercury News. February 23, 1997.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "McDonald's vocal credits". voicechasers.com. Voice Chasers. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  6. ^ Katie Lobosco, "McDonald's has a new Hamburglar", CNNMoney (May 7, 2015).

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