Disney has given its longtime partner, the Golden Arches, a devastating kick in the McRibs. The entertainment company is ending its McDonalds Happy Meal tie-ins — at least for children’s movies. Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest will be the last Disney kidflicks to be promoted via trans fat. (They’re leaving open the possibility of McMarketing films aimed at adults, so get ready for the Miramax Meal.)
How to explain the move? Disney’s not saying, but Pixar boss Steve Jobs (Disney’s largest shareholder) has, in the past, wondered aloud about the consequences of selling Finding Nemo via cheeseburger. (It should be noted: Nemo himself contains life-giving Omega-3 triglycerides.) It’s not such a small world after all: Kids are fatter than they’ve ever been, and, increasingly, the blame is falling on fast-food corporations. Maybe that’s a cop-out (citing bad parenting, it seems, is like blaming the tides for beach erosion), but it’s a cop-out plenty of parents are probably happy to get behind: Don’t blame us! Blame the lard-peddling, bottom-swelling bottom-liners who mesmer-market our children into bad eating habits!
Jobs had better tread lightly. Just this week, he has made enemies of McDonalds and the Beatles. If I were him, I’d be checking my McMansion to make sure it can’t be easily Hamburgled.
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Do kids even eat Happy Meals any more? I always assumed they were for immature GeneXers who think pretending like it’s still the 1990’s is cool (like me).
Americans are always on the go. Unless they are in a high paying job where they can go to business lunches, the average person will flock to a fast food joint because they have no time to make a sandwich. Plus when they get home, they have no time to cook or can’t cook so they tell their kids to “get into the car” or they call in for take out. When a parent gets home they need to cook or just learn how to. McDonalds while it is fun for kids cannot and should not be eaten on a regular basis. Neither can other fast foods. Parents should learn to treat thier kids to McDonalds as a special reward or make it a special occasion. McDonalds is not to blame for child obesity. In the mean time, parents need to watch the “food channel” and take notes.
Are they going to Burger King or stopping Tie-ins altogether?
Speaking of Disney, did they ever even react to the Disney Vault? It was a scathing satire of Disney founder Walt Disney on Saturday Night Live, last month.
My name is Scott Brown and I’m the wittiest blogger on the face of the planet…
To answer somebody else’s question, Disney doesn’t have any tie-ins with Burger King. That chain only sells merchandise relating to Nickolodean/Paramount or 20th Century Fox movies.
Wow. It’s really sad that I know that.
Isn’t Steve Jobs a vegetarian, or something similar? That might at least partly account for this decision.
As Mike said, it’s also possible that they’re just switching to Burger King. Disney has partnered with Burger King before in the `90s; I still have BK-branded Pocohontas cups in my kitchen, and somewhere I still have a few BK/Disney Kids Meal toys, too!
So does this mean that the days of the Happy Meal containing a cheap plastic car with a zip cord are returning?
Disney should pair up with Subway.
Dude, I miss being a kid. None of my meals ever come with a free toy anymore.
Exactly, Disney should pair up with Subway.
When my Mom treated me to McDonalds the toys were from Mattel. It was the cool stuff like Play Dough which was originally a toy by Kenner that was sold to Mattel. It think that Disney now owns Mattel, but the toys were so much better in the 80’s.
Toy companies are now so replete of new ideas that they have also gotten onto the same “Reissue” trend as the movie studios. As recently as a year ago, the “hot” toys were Transformers, Gi Joe, Power Rangers, Star Wars Figures, He Man, Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears and My Little Pony. All of those toy lines are from a different era! Where are the new toys? The new ideas? Clearly the lack of an independent Mattel, an Atari and Parker Brothers owned by Hasbro and a defund Mego toy company have all led to the demise of cool toys. Now this BS with the Happy meals? OH THE HUMANITY!
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