KidsMealToys

McDonald's Madagascar 2

2008-12-30T06:03:00.002+08:00

I like to move it, move it!

The song is synonymous with this hilarious movie, which according to reviews, is great family entertainment! And this time around, the same toy line is coming out as that of the Philippines'. The figures have no points of articulation, but voice out their movie lines when they are moved.

Merry Christmas, from my family to yours

2008-12-23T18:44:00.000+08:00

Jollibee's Streetfighter II

2008-12-16T06:59:00.000+08:00

Oooh this is nice. Toys from the Street Fighter II series! Reminds me of the "old" PS1 and PS2 days when played Street Fighter for hours and memorized the moves. There are three characters to collect: Ryu, Blanka, and Ken. They are more than just toys for display, however. They are fancy school accessories too. Erasers, pencils, notepads. Very cool.

McDonald's Madagascar 2

2008-12-13T06:51:00.000+08:00

Happy Meal in the Philippines is currently celebrating Madagascar 2 which is showing in theaters! Wow. I'd like to have some of these. I'd better contact my friends to buy me a couple.

McDonalds' Endangered Animals

2008-12-10T06:38:00.002+08:00

McDonalds' Happy Meal in New Zealand currently features Endangered Animals with the cooperation of the Australia Zoo. The toys themselves are part of a bigger effort for kids to learn more about these animals that need our protection. The happy meal site (happymeal.co.nz) shares fascinating information about the featured animals.

I am not happy with the toy, though. We had the red-tailed black cockatoo. It was a small stuffed toy. Not much you can do with it. Jo-Lo has also set it aside after just a few minutes of holding on to it.

Jollibee's Justirisers and Lil' Bratz

2008-11-17T14:54:00.002+08:00

The Justirisers is composed of three characters with special powers akin to the Power Rangers. Essentially, this is Japanese concept is being bought by a US company for rights to produce and air these Japanese-inspired costumed heroes. I have seen a couple of episodes of Justirisers from Cartoon Network, and it is reminiscent of the Masked Riders.

I assume the Lil' Bratz are fashion accessories for girls. The Bratz franchise comes from a line of dolls that are radically different from the Barbies with their perfect figures and dainty clothes.

McDonald's Madagascar 2

2008-11-13T14:45:00.003+08:00

These toys are coming out in celebration of Madagascar 2's release in theaters in the Philippines.

Eight toys are featured in this set:
1. Alex
2. Marty
3. Gloria
4. Melman
5. King Julien
6. Skipper
7. Mason
8. Moto-moto

McDonald's Ben10 and PowerPuff Girls

2008-11-10T12:42:00.002+08:00

McDonald's is currently offering Ben10 action figures. There are three to choose from, each with a solid color (red, blue, or yellow). I'm not familiar with the transformations Ben makes but I can recognize the one with four arms.

The figures are made of translucent plastic and are rather sturdily built. But there are only three points of articulation: the head and the arms but I guess kids don't care much for articulation. :-). The toys look nice and detailed though, with a photo of Ben inside.

I think the toys for the girls look nicer. They're the lovable PowerPuff Girls! I just might try to buy some for collecting purposes.

Burger King's iDog

2008-10-24T07:24:00.002+08:00

Burger King currently has an iDog toy offering with a chance to win an iDog, which is basically an mp3 speaker in the form of a...um... dog.

The toys themselves come in dfferent colors and shapes, not just dogs. We actually have a turtle and a cat now. The toys are quite simple, really. Push a button and it toggles on a series of lights. Simplicity aside, the toys are sturdily-built and nice display items.

McDonald's Transformers Animated

2008-10-12T15:21:00.002+08:00

McDonald's has come up with toys from Transformers Animated featuring Optimus Prime, Megatron, Ratchet, and Bumblebee. The toys feature simple transformation features; just parts of the vehicle stretching out to form fused legs, sides branching out to form arms, and a swiveling head. But hey, they're for kids and Jo-Lo likes his Bumblebee. Solidly- built toys.

There are also Littlest Pet Shop toys for the girls.

Happy Meal New Zealand's website is at www.happymeal.co.nz

McDonald's The Clone Wars toys

2008-10-07T11:48:00.002+08:00

This set of toys were available last month in celebration of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars showing in theatres. I celebrated by buying six Happy Meals to get all six toys at once! It cost me 601 pesos. The toys are now in safekeeping with my other collection back in Baguio...

Jo-Lo loves his Ben10

2008-08-26T19:41:00.003+08:00

The Jollibee Ben10 toys line has this disc thrower that attaches to your wrist and you get two discs. At the squeeze of the trigger, off flies the disc! Jo-Lo loves it.

Next up: Star Wars items! Yay!

Wendy's Casper

2008-08-21T13:43:00.003+08:00

Wendy's is currently offering a line of friendly ghost items for their Kids' Meal. It is intended to be a celebration as well for the release of the Casper DVD.

Unfortunately, we spotted this poster when we were already leaving their store in Makati's Park Square 1. I did not see the actual merchandise displayed.

McDonald's Fuwa Around the World

2008-08-15T12:45:00.003+08:00

The Fuwa are actually mascots of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. It is a Chinese term for "good-luck dolls". There are five of them: Bèibei, Jīngjing, Huānhuan, Yíngying, Nīni. As with the other mascots of the Olympics these characters symbolize different aspects of culture and aspirations for success.

McDonald's has come up with a "Fuwa around the world" Happy Meal offering. Each Fuwa stands on a pedestal and engaged in an olympic sport. Mine's the panda in weighlifting mode and represents Europe.

A bonus feature of these toys is that the bottom of the pedestal opens up to reveal a rubber stamp. No need for the ink; it's included. I think each stamp represents the continent it represents, because mine makes a rather blotted impression of Europe. :-).

The characters look solid, and I'm sure it will look nice if they are displayed side-by-side. Plus, it's an Olympic commemorative figure!

My action figure collection

2008-08-11T13:17:00.001+08:00

I hauled out some stuff that were hidden in boxes and remained that way ever since I moved most of my things to Baguio a couple of years ago. I am repacking them to send to my parent's house where they will stay for the time being. This is my simple treasure trove:

Star Wars Metal Cards. This was given to me by David, a good friend who I met only briefly.
Some anime-related stuff
Gundam SDs!
I started my movie tumbler collection with League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and then it grew from there.
A testament to my fascination with robotics: R2D2 figures from the Star Wars movies.
Star Wars action figures from the Jollibee Kiddie meals

I have some unopened Star Wars figures as well.
Vintage and not-so-vintage Voltes V items!
M&M dispensers
More more more Star Wars stuff
A couple of Masked Riders. David also gave these to me in the 90s.
The Han Solo figure (which needs assembly and painting) was a gift from Arnold, a colleague and fellow model builder enthusiast (but that was sooo long ago...)

See the transparent Star Wars vehicles? Believe it or not, those were given to me by my former boss, Renan Velonza. He knew I loved Star Wars, and so every time he would go out of the country, he would go to a Toys R Us outlet and buy me one of these transparent figures.
More Voltes V items
They say that people are natural-born collectors. I also collected stamps, shells, and rocks. What about you? What is your treasure trove?

[cross-posted at www.nickballesteros.com]

Jollibee's Ben 10

2008-08-08T15:21:00.005+08:00

Jollibee is currently offering toys from the Ben 10 cartoon series. I have caught a few episodes on Cartoon Network. There's this boy that has a power button in the form of a watch which he slams on when he wants to transform into an alien being of which he has many choices. See my paparazzi shot below.

Well, the toys are not anything like that. It has a nice variety though. Flying discs, a plane, pincers. I bought the clamp toy which is supposed to "clamp" on to things when you pull the lever. It's not toy-store grade clamp which can really has a strong grip. In fact, the Ben 10's hands don't even touch each other. I hope Jo-Lo will still have a kick out of it, though.

Oh, and there are toys for girls too!

McDonald's Coca-Cola Olympic Glass

2008-07-31T14:21:00.002+08:00

McDonald's had a Coca-Cola Olympic Glass promo which you can avail of upon adding 20 pesos to your value meal. This glass, unfortunately, became a very popular item that it's become out of stock in just a matter of days. We have actually been trying to get one for each of us at the office but to no avail.

Incidentally, my colleague was able to buy two in a McDonald's branch near their area. And she gave me one! Thanks Pauline!

80s toys making a comeback

2008-07-23T19:11:00.003+08:00

We interrupt this KidsMealToys blog for a Toy Newsflash!

I stayed here in Manila last weekend, and while doing my groceries at SM Makati, I decided to visit Toy Kingdom to check if they already have Wall-E toys on sale.

Nope, still no Wall-E. But guess what I discovered... 80s toys making a comeback! Gremlins and ET galore!

Ummm... unfortunately, this ET set was the last one, and I bet it's already sold. I would have wanted to buy it too, but at 999 pesos was a tad too expensive for my budget.

McDonald's Detective Conan Happy Meal

2008-07-14T13:22:00.005+08:00

Well well, what do you know. The day I post this blog, it's already a day too late. The Detective Conan toy offer has already lapsed.

Anyways, the Detective Conan Toys are actually puzzles and games. There are six to choose from. The nice thing about these is that they are packaged to look like books, so you can actually make them stand next to each other or stack them up like books. Open one up and you get to solve the mystery therein. So in effect, you get to be Detective Conan (from the anime series) for a moment.

Detective Conan Happy Meal
Available at all McDonald's restaurants up to July 21, 2008

Eight (6) premiums to collect!
1. Mystery of Reflection
2. Challenges from Conan
3. Twisted Lens Mystery
4. Secret in the Mirror
5. Detective Boys' Mission
6. Shadows of the Truth

Available Happy Meals:
- 5pc McNuggets Happy Meal, P99
- 1pc Chicken McDo Happy Meal, P94
- McSpaghetti Happy Meal, P78
- Burger McDo Happy Meal, P68

We bought two Happy Meals to get puzzles 3 and 5 (below).
Mine was the Twisted Lens mystery (colored yellow). There are a couple of cards in it with a gray background. You get a see-through bit of plastic that you slide over the cards and rotate tentatively until you see figures emerge from the gray area! That was a nice bit of puzzle; we actually did not get it the first time.

Anyways... I like displaying things and the Conan collection is not exactly display material. Puzzle 5 was a nice innovation for inquiring minds, and surely the other toys are too. But it's something that gets forgotten after a while. At least, the plastic book case can still be recycled to contain other things.

Jollibee's Inu Yasha Anime Collection

2008-07-11T17:46:00.002+08:00

Jollibee has come up with action figures from the anime series Inu Yasha. Well, I have watched only a couple of episodes of Inu Yasha so I'm not familiar with the series but I know enough of my anime to see nicely-executed figures from the run-of-the-mill ones.

These figures double as fun school items: Inu Yasha has a memo pad in it, Sesshomaru is a stamper, Kagome is a pen cologne (cologne not included), Kikyo is an ultra lip shine (don't know if the lip shine marterial is included though).

First off, I do appreciate the fact that the faces were painstakingly machine-painted on. But for me, the figures do not stand out. They are rather stiff, considering that Inu Yasha is an action-fantasy series. But I guess it's a fun series to collect if you're a kid, since it's not just a figure to display.

KFC's The Dark Knight

2008-07-10T12:49:00.002+08:00

The second BatMan film to star Christian Bale will hit the theaters real soon, and expectations are high. This film will likewise be memorable because this is the last screen appearance of Heath Ledger, who plays BatMan's nemesis the Joker.

KFC has come up with promotional products for the upcoming movie. Its Bucket Meal, for example, comes with BatMan-themed bucket and four tumblers.

The Chuckie meal is also available with BatMan items. There are three to choose from: a Rubik's cube, a watch, and a frisbee. Jo-Lo is not fond of watches, and he has a rubik's cube already, so I got the frisbee instead. The frisbee is quite light and will surely find it difficult to fly on a windy day. Nevertheless, the toy looks nice and the BatMan sticker on it looks real cool.

Jollibee's Kids Next Door Spinners

2008-06-26T12:46:00.004+08:00

Jollibee Kids Meal currently features toys from the Cartoon Network series Kinds Next Door. These are spinners, and there are three kinds in all. One's a watch, another is a yoyo, and the third one... I don't know yet. Anyway, I wanted to know what this third something was, so when we ordered merienda at the office, I requested for the toy that wasn't the watch (Jo-Lo doesn't like watches that much) and not the yoyo. Guess what... they sent me the yoyo.

So here it is, one of the featured toys. It looks quite sturdily built, and like other yoyos, it comes with a string (duh). So what's different with this spinner? It comes with spikes that becomes visible when spun and retracts when the yoyo returns to your hand! Cool, huh?

Well, I have only watched a couple of episodes of Kids Next Door but it's a nice adventure series. And for sure this set of toys will entice more viewership.

More Kung Fu Panda madness!

2008-06-20T16:14:00.003+08:00

We can't seem to get enough of Kung Fu Panda! We watched the movie for a second time last night, and here are the other Happy Meal Toys I have acquired for the past couple of weeks!

Tai Lung does a mean flip, while Master Shifu walks hurriedly along.

Master Viper can twist about, though with some difficulty, and Master Monkey twirls his baton like an expert marjorette!

It's Master Mantis with killer arm slash action!

Sadly though, I don't think I can complete the set because Master Tigress is out of stock in many stores, and I don't like Master Crane because it can't stand on its own.

McDonald's Kung Fu Panda Happy Meal

2008-06-08T01:00:00.000+08:00

In celebration of the upcoming movie Kung Fu Panda, McDonald's is offering character toys from June 3 to July 7, 2008. There are 8 characters to collect:
1. Master Crane
2. Master Mantis
3. Master Monkey
4. Master Tigress
5. Master Shifu
6. Po
7. Tai Lung
8. Master Viper

When we heard of this news, we bought ourselves a Happy Meal for the toy. I got Po, the panda who is also the main character for the movie and voiced by Jack Black. As a display figure, Po is nice. It is textured and the painting is vivid and nicely executed. As for the gimmick, it is similar with the Finding Nemos where there is an on/off switch and a push of the button will create a sound from the movie. This figure is a nice display item.

Sadly, we cannot say the same with the one my friend bought. The Master Crane could stand on its own two feet. Or are we doing it the wrong way? Some buttons at the back simply lets its wings do karate chops. We're thinking of buying the other figures though, even if we haven't watched the movie yet because they look nice. At least, for those that can stand.

McDonald's Squiggly Toys

2008-06-04T09:52:00.000+08:00

When I see a nicely-made set of kids meal toys, I endeavour to buy the entire set. Like this one from McDonalds. They're like those squiggly (for lack of a better term) things that you put on your car's dashboard that wiggles as the car moves. Although my set did not end up at a dashboard but nicely displayed at our living room in Baguio.

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends Snack Attack by Jollibee

2008-05-27T18:23:00.000+08:00

I have caught just a couple of episodes from this Cartoon Network series, so I have been acquainted with the characters there.

Jollibee is currently offering character toys from this cartoon, as featured in snack companions. Wilt is a straw, Mac is a "lunchbox" (consider the irony of the name) where your yumburger can comfortably sit until consumed; Kazoo is a tumbler, and Eduardo is a Face Tag. I got the Face Tag for Jo-Lo, who likes things with gimmick. Eduardo's eyes roll! There is a button at the left side of its head that, when pushed, makes the eyes roll horizontally. You're supposed to get "eye expressions" but it's not so accurate; most of the time what you see are the whites of his eyes! haha.

This figure comes with a piece of paper where you write your details in, then slide at the back of Eduardo and voila! the name tag function. I would suggest taping or gluing the paper though.

Finally, Eduardo can be a repository of small things through the access hole at the bottom, with a sealing mechanism similar to piggy banks. Although described that you can put in candies in it, I highly doubt it because the hole is too small.

Eduardo is nicely made, though, and looks great hanging out with the lunch box.
Toy promo ad credit: Jollibee Kids website

Wendy's Garfield Around the World

2008-05-27T18:17:00.000+08:00

I spotted this one at Wendy's Buendia as I grabbed breakfast last weekend. Unfortunately, the toys did not hold as much aesthetic value for me as the Snoopys of McDonald's so I passed this one up. I still love love LOVE your iced tea though, Wendy's!

Burger King's Secret Robotzz

2008-05-21T12:24:00.000+08:00

My officemates and I watched a movie last week at Glorietta and bought some burgers and fries at Burger King to take with us. I noticed their Kids Meal promo with the words "Secret Robotzz" enticing people to buy. I like robot toys and gave this a go. Since there were different designs, I specifically asked for a robot.

The ad did not really say much except that these are "Secret Robotzz" and that they are "amazing collectable toys". I should have seen the warning sign when they misspelled "collectible." I was, of course, excited to receive a box about the size of a playing card with a really nice and colorful design.

I opened the box and got a tin can. Oooh. This looks really nice! So pretty with the rabbits and squirrel and bird on a tree! I can't wait to see the secret robotzz inside!

I opened the tin can and ... there was nothing inside! I checked the cardboard box and it said "no content inside of tin". So... this tin can was the toy?

I felt duped.

McDonald's Action Man ATOM: Alpha Teens on Machines

2008-05-14T17:31:00.000+08:00

McDonald's current offering is for Action Man ATOM. Now frankly, though I am quite updated with the cartoon world, this particular series has escaped me. So this post is chiefly for reviewing the toy.

We were able to acquire the Thunder Quad and the Alpha Vehicle at the office. The toys look pretty solid and can withstand playtime until the next Happy Meal Toy comes in. The package comes with the car, some stickers, and a key which you insert into the rear of the car. One press of the button on this key sends the car roaring off! This novelty of putting the car into motion makes this toy especially nice, because it's a variation from the usual pull-back and cars which you simply push around.

The paint job, though, could be better. But overall, I'm sure my kid will love having this toy when I give it to him this weekend.

Aesthetics: ***
Playability: ****
Concept: ***
Tie-in: ***
Overall score: ***

Promotional poster borrowed from McDonald's Philippines