McDonaldland Virtual Tour

Lets travel back to early '70's for look at the magical land that is home to that hap-hap-happiest of hamburger clowns, Ronald McDonald. McDonaldland, with Triple Thick Milkshake Volcanoes, Hamburger Patches, French Fry Fields, Apple Pie Trees, & a Fillet O' Fish Lake, was home not only to Ronald Mcdonald, but also to such diverse personalities as Mayor McCheese, Officer Big Mac, The Grimace, Captain Crook, Hamburgler, and The Mad Professor. There they all have exciting adventures which mainly consist of enticing kids to get their parents to take them out to eat at McDonalds.

Of course it is all blatant commercialism aimed directly at impressionable children and a direct rip-off of Sid & Marty Kroft's H. R. Puffnstuf, but I digress...

Ok, lets take a tour... Look closely...

Not only will you find Apple Pie Trees, The Hamburger Patch, and the French Fry Thatch with Goblins,...but you'll also see the Triple Thick Shake Volcanos, Filet-O-Fish Lake with two Filet-O-Fish, Captain Crook's Red Boat, The Golden Arch Bridge, and The McDonaldland Train. There are even directional signs on the top of large striped straws. Oh,...and up on the top of a mountain is a train tressle and a Castle (which in concept belonged to the Evil Grimace.) Yes, the Evil Grimace, he reformed later, unlike Captain Crook and Hamburgler who continued to be villainous. Finally, there is a McDonalds restaurant in McDonaldland which also serves a portal between the magical land and the real world.

Now lets meet the inhabitants of McDonaldland, shall we?

Ronald McDonald - The primary inhabitant of McDonaldland, he is a clown with red hair and a big red smile wearing a yellow jump suit with comically big red shoes. He also wears a red and white striped shirt underneath with yellow gloves.

He exists to peddle fast food to the children who visit McDonaldland and to maintain relationships and interact with other characters. Being a clown, he possesses innate magical abilities and has a talent for legerdemain and prestidigitation.

Hamburgler - A short troll-like old man dressed in convict stripes with a wide brimmed hat and domino mask who speaks entirely in gibberish. His sole purpose in life is apparently stealing hamburgers (sometimes cheeseburgers.) He is constantly being pursued by the incompetent Officer Big Mac. Despite being a villain he is still friends with Ronald McDonald and the other inhabitants of McDonaldland.

Grimace - A large dim-witted purple blob-like creature of indeterminable species. He was was originally an evil being with two pairs of arms out to steal milkshakes at any given chance.

At some point he lost a set of arms and reformed. He is now just a well-meaning simpleton, whose clumsy antics provide a comic foil to Ronald McDonald. He still retains his love of milkshakes, though.

Mayor McCheese - A humanoid with an enormous cheeseburger for a head, he sports a top hat, a diplomat's sash, and a pair of pince-nez spectacles.

He is the giggly, bumbling, and somewhat incompetent mayor of McDonaldland. He is sometimes shown to be the magistrate of the McDonaldland court when Hamburgler or Captain Crook get caught and put on trial.

Officer Big Mac - A humanoid somewhat similar to Mayor McCheese but he has a large Big Mac for a head instead of a cheeseburger. He is the chief of police and as such he wears a constable uniform with a disproportionately small custodian helmet resting atop his bun head.

As the main source of law and order in McDonaldland, Officer Big Mac spents most of his time chasing the Hamburglar and Captain Crook.

Captain Crook - Captain Crook is a pirate and is similar in appearance to the famed Captain Hook from Peter Pan.

Unlike the Hamburglar, he spends his time trying to steal Filet-O-Fish sandwiches from citizens of McDonaldland while avoiding being caught by Officer Big Mac. He often translates for Hamburglar. Captain Crook uses ships and waterways as means to escape being captured.

The Mad Professor - A quiet bearded somewhat absent-minded scientist-type character in a lab coat, his bulging pockets are filled tools and scientific apparatus.

He serves as McDonaldland's local inventor and researcher. In addition to dabbling in time-travel, he is also the creator of the McNugget Buddies.

Fry Goblins - Differently-colored, shaggy, ball-like creatures with long legs and no arms, almost resembling a pom-pon with legs and eyes.

They like to to steal and gobble up the other characters' french fries. They are also called Fry Guys or Fry Kids.

In 1976, Remco toy company produced a line of 6-inch-tall remarkably detailed action figures to celebrate the iconic McDonaldland characters.

To complement these seven figures, Remco also made a beautifully detailed McDonaldland playset. Compared to the actual studio set, Remco’s set is astonishingly accurate.

Finally here is the vintage McDonalds commercial that intoduced McDonaldland: