Around 1980, McDonalds teamed up with Diener to release a series of plastic toy figures with their Happy Meals. They had a bunch of different types in that release, but none are as well remembered as The Space Creatures. 8 brilliantly colored figures (in 5 colors) that have been cherished for nearly 30 years.
You can find more of Sean’s work at his website and look for more of his work to appear here on the Retroist regularly.
Oh, I remember these well. Especially the blue bat-winged one. They came in McD’s happy meals? I didn’t remember that.
Dude! Get out of my brain!
I have a complete set of these guys (all 8 guys in all 5 colors) along with the next generation of them (the UFOs, spaceships and aliens series). It’s amazing what you can acquire with eBay, a credit card, and a little bit of patience … ;)
all your brain are belong to us
Did a little research. Not only did these come in Happy Meals, but they were also sold in blister packs. Some had little suction cups on the bottom of them so they could stand upright.
So I believe that these were the crux of a major incident in my early life. I had seen a blister pack of these in the store and asked Mom to buy it for me. When she wouldn’t, I asked my Dad, a property manager, for a job to earn some money. He made me go out and pull weeds. I did so, learning in the process how hard it is to pull weeds with your bare hands, especially when they have stickers. After doing the job and getting paid, I made Mom drive me back to the store so I could purchase the blister pack. She did with no small annoyance and said, “I should have just bought them for you in the first place.” Yeah, Mom, you should have.
I believe I had all four in the top row. The man-bat was my favorite. There was also a jungle creatures series, and I had the hippo.
Thanks for helping me recover a memory that would have been lost, Sean!
Wow! I’ve never seen these, but I do have the last one on the bottom right but its a blue eraser…they must have used the same mold…
I love this. Definitely remember a couple of those creatures. What a fantastic site. Coming back here :)
I’m pretty sure I STILL have that Metaluna Mutant looking one in the upper left corner. Another great piece of art, Sean!
Thanks Vic!