The greatest happy meal Disney toys! (Excerpt from Mouseplanet)
Obviously there had to be a certain mouse, but I appreciate the inclusion of so many versions of our intrepid hero:
The many faces of Mickey. Photo By Rosina Liquori.
Known to most of us grown up Disney fans, but perhaps not widely known to most kids getting Happy Meals at the time were Panchito, Elliott, and Timothy Mouse.
Not part of the Fab Five. Photo By Rosina Liquori.
Newer characters were certainly represented…
One sidekick and two leading "men." Photo By Rosina Liquori.
…as well as animated characters that a child would know if they'd been to the parks, but might not know from the long "lost" Disney treasure Song of the South.
Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear. Photo By Rosina Liquori.
My personal favorites are Robin Hood and Little John.
Green is the new black. Photo By Rosina Liquori.
I've merely scratched the surface of the collection here. Starting with Steamboat Willie and The Three Little Pigs, Gepetto and The Blue Fairy, all seven of the Dwarfs, Jose Carioca, Baloo, Mowgli and King Louie, Simba, Timon and Pumbaa, Buzz and Woody, plenty of princes, princesses and villains all the way up to Milo Thatch and Kida, you'd be hard pressed to not find your favorite characters represented in the collection.
Official photo of 100 Years of Magic Disney characters toys from McDonald's Happy Meals. Reprinted with permission from McDonald's, photo by Simon
Marketing.
There are a few omissions, though. You'll notice that films from the supposed "dark era" of Disney animation, after The Rescuers and before the rebirth associated with The Little Mermaid, are not represented at all (sorry fans of Fox and The Hound, Black Cauldron, Mouse Detective, and Oliver). The only other glaring omissions are The Sword in the Stone, which is not one of the most popular films, but certainly a Disney classic, and most surprising of all... no Peter Pan! There has got to be a good story behind Peter, Hook, and of all characters, Tinker Bell, being left out of this collection. I haven't been able to chase that story down yet. I'll accept theories, rumors, or the straight facts if anyone out there has them.
Once again, you are in luck if you would like to acquire some of these 100 Years of Magic figures. They are readily available on many sites on the Internet. Most are priced somewhere between the original asking price of $1.99 up to around $5.00. There are scarcities, however. We haven't gotten Brer Fox yet. He's still eluding us, as are a few others. I've seen the entire collection selling for $250; which, if you're so inclined, isn't such a bad deal.
The original run of The 100 Years of Magic collection was from March 8 through April 4, 2002. There was a set of four drinking glasses available for purchase as well. The figures were given out in white bags, making each acquisition a surprise. If you hold the bag tight to the figure, you can read the label and some characters like Goofy are easily recognizable by their size and shape. If you're purchasing, try to make sure they are still in the package, as it will reduce the wear and tear on the figure and the label.
We only acquired a handful at an actual McDonald's during that spring. The rest were purchased second hand. I'll never forget being in Mickey D's toward the end of the run. I was trying to get a few more for my daughter before they went away. There was a little boy in front of me, who opened his little white bag and said to his mom, "Cool... now I have all 100!" He certainly beat me to the complete collection, but then again… that's a lot of McNuggets in one month.
Share your thoughts Basementeers: what do you consider to be The Greatest Happy Meal Disney toys ever!?
(And if anyone has the Maleficent from the collection pictured, PLEASE
IM me! LOL!)
