Restaurant Collectables: Muppet Treasure Island 1996/Muppets From Space 1999 Burger King McDonald's

After the sad and untimely departure of Muppet creator Jim Henson his beloved franchise, which had at the time of his death had three hit big screen adventures, turned to some of literatures finest classical stories to form the basis of their new revitalised movie series. The first of which was the fantastic Muppets Christmas Carol, a surprisingly faithful to the original Charles Dickens novel but with Muppet characters filing out the supporting roles along side actor Michael Cain, directed by Henson's son Brian who remained in the directors chair for the follow up Muppet Treasure Island! Another adaptation of a classic British author's works namely R.L Stevenson and his swashbuckling high seas adventurer, with Muppet Characters once again supporting the human stars such as the wonderful Tim Curry as the one legged scoundrel Long John Silver. MTI is light hearted and whimsical with plenty of laughs and typical Muppet style gags and songs but at the same time manages to capture the spirit of the book by retaining much of it's excitement and drama! After the return of the Muppets to Television with Muppets Tonight the focus shifted from classic story adaptations to something altogether more original and so Muppets From Space 


The Muppet movies weren't typically heavy on merchandise apart from Plush toys, Tie-In books/comic books and restaurant promotions but what had been put out had always been of a high standard especially so in the case of Muppet Treasure Island which had not one but two different sets of collectable toys put out in both McDonalds and Burger King but in different regions! USA consumers were treated to an very nice set of "Tub Toys"(which will feature first in this post)  courtesy of McD's whereas in the UK and Europe we got an equally brilliant set of toys supplied by Burger King (The complete reverse of what we saw with the Disney promotions produced around the same time) similarly with Muppets From Space there were two distinct restaurant promotions divided up between both regions and supplied once again in the UK and Europe by Burger King and Wendy's for our US cousins which included: Gonzo Sparker, Activity Book, Voice Changer, Kermit Keychain Clip, Electric Mayhem Bus View and Gonzo Puzzle for the U3! though like the movie itself neither set was quite as good as those produced for MTI though Breakfast Cereal brand Wheetos brought out a great set of little PVC figurines to make up for it!  Here we will be looking at all of the above mentioned Promotions (minus the Wendy's set) in detail:






Kermit as Captain Smollett: When cabin boy Jim Hawkins is placed in charge of the treasure map he sets out to assemble a crew for a voyage to Treasure Island where they hope to discover mounds of Treasure! Captaining the ship is none other than Captain Smollet (Kermit) a noble and honest captain who will have to deal with treachery from his cunning shipmates lead by the devious Long John Silver!

The high seas adventure theme of the movie lead McDonald's to make their toys "Bath Time" appropriate with each toy being able to float on water and each one even  has an additional feature for extra Tub time fun, Kermit for example doubles up as a water squirter! This toy is simple and elegant looking with a basic paint scheme and a very over used feature but is still very nice and clean looking just not particularly exciting!

Miss Piggy as Benjamina Gunn: Marooned on treasure island by boyfriend captain Flint Benjamina has been the caretaker of the treasure ever since and is also pretty friendly with the local swine!

This is a much more impressive looking toy than the Kermit figure depicting Piggy relaxing on a make shift throne with a bunch of grapes looking pretty pleased with life! She is surprisingly detailed throughout particularly on her raft which appears to be made of Bamboo and leaves all of which are really intricately sculpted! Piggy herself also looks fantastic and also has plenty going on about her overall it really is a wonderful looking toy but only has a very basic feature, the raft bobs up and down when waves are made in the water!

Gonzo as a cabin boy: When Billy Bones passes away leaving young bar boy Jim Hawkins with the much sort after Treasure Map he takes his best friends, Gonzo and Rizzo on a high seas adventure to Treasure Island in search of buried gold! While a board Jim befriends the chief cook Long John Silver (whom he had previously been warned about but who seems trustworthy enough) When Long John sails ahead to the Island he makes clear his intentions to young Jim and Gonzo and Rizzo along with Captain Smollet are held captive by the remaining crooked pirates! They soon hatch a rescue plan however and soon on their way to save Jim from the clutches of Silver and his crew! 

Another really nice looking toy featuring a very eager looking Gonzo seated in a rowing boat accompanied by a chest full of treasure, which when pushed down activates the mechanism which propels the boat when place in water! This brightly coloured but very nicely detailed toy is probably the most fun to play around with while having a wash! 

When Jim Hawkins is placed in charge of the treasure map he decides he needs a chart ship to travel to Treasure Island in search of the treasure, which is to be financed by  Squire Trelawney and his best friend Mr. Bimbo (who lives in his finger!)

Fozzie here is a pretty simple but nice looking toy, again he is intended to be played with in the bath tub with his gimmick being that his head rises up to the top of the barrel when placed in water! The barrel portion of the toy has the better detailing including some comical looking squid or octopus and a s tar fish clinging onto the side! 
Kermit as Captain Smollet: Taking on the role of the noble Captain is Kermit the frog who uses his amphibian reflexes to god use when battling scurvy pirates on treasure island, With help of course from His precious Mina!

This toy is a simple PVC Kermit figurine and Boat combo with no additional feature or gimmick other than the fact that you can peg Kermit onto his boat. Despite the lack of imagination this set is still very nice looking with a decent sculpting job on the figurine very much in line with the promotional materials put out around the time of the films release rather than being a true to the movie itself representation. Both figure and boat are nicely rendered and look great on display!

Long John Silver and Polly: The crew's Cook  the one legged Long John presents himself as a humble and friendly man of good intent when in reality he is planning mutiny! If you are familiar with this movie than you may have noticed that Long John here doesn't resemble his on screen counterpart very well which may or may not be deliberate as this toy has a distinct "Muppet" like appearance about him! This might suggest that Long Jon Silver had at some point been considered to have been portrayed by a puppet instead of a live actor (Tim Curry). Despite that fact this is still a really nice looking toy who comes adorned with Polly lobster, a treasure map and telescope it also has a "walking " windup feature which works very effectively!  

Miss Piggy as Benjamina Gunn: When the crew arrive on Treasure Island the burial spot where the treasure once lay is empty but Long John knows just where to find and seeks out the marooned Benjamina who had been left stranded on the island by old boyfriend! It turns out Captain Smollett is also an old acquaintance of Benjamina's which comes in handy for the captain who is ambushed by a band of natives who plan to roast the frog alive until    

Unlike Kermit this figurine has some articulation, she is jointed at the waist so you can put Piggy in a sitting position to better fit her into the oversized treasure chest  that accompanies her. there is really nothing else you can do with the toy other than store her in the chest but she is fantastically detailed and painted whereas the chest is generic looking and fairly plain!  

Gonzo and Rizzo as Cabin Boys: As with the previous Muppet outing everyone's favourite "whatever" and his Rat companion are at the centre of the story, accompanying friend Jim Hawkins on his high seas adventure! While Rizzo is busy turning the ship into a cruise liner for his rat companions Gonzo suspects that is all is not well with Long John Silver and the rest of the crew acting suspicious! 

The toy doesn't represent any particular scene from the film but seeing as Gonzo always had a thing for being fired from a cannon on the original series this toy design is very appropriate for both the movies pirate theme and Gonzo as a character. The toy is simple in design and detailing with the action feature also being pretty basic but fun at the same time, you simply pull it back and watch as it rolls fourth with Gonzo's head popping in and out as it goes along! 



Rizzo is A basic solid PV figurine sat astride the cannon looking as though he is about to launch his buddy Gonzo! He is a pretty decent looking representation and compliments the rest of the toy nicely!

Electric Mayhem Bus: Making its very first appearance in the original Muppet Movie the iconic vehicle makes a triumphant return in Muppets from space! When Kermit and the gang realize Gonzo and Rizzo are in trouble they hop on board the bus to their friends rescue! 

This is a pretty simple wind up toy were the majority of the detail is provided by decals which feature some psychedelic (not to mention inaccurate to the movie) looking designs plus various characters peering from the widows including Miss Piggy, Animal , Dr. Bunsen Honeydew & Beaker and Fozzie Bear in the driving seat. As the bus rolls along a very basic looking tiny Kermit figure pops up and down from the sun roof!

Rizzo The Rat: After Gonzo becomes convinced he is from another planet he and Rizzo set out to discover his origins but are captured by C.O.V.N.E.T agents and are experiment on with Rizzo ending up as a lab rat Shaw shank redemption style and encounters a talking sandwich in the process!

This is the best toy of the whole set and is actually a very good representation of Rizzo who does "sit ups" as you push the mouse trap along! This toys gimmick was inspired by a very brief scene  in the movie itself where Rizzo does some early morning exercises! 

Miss Piggy: When Andie McDowell's supernatural investigative reporter is unable to do her show, Piggy fills in and is soon on to an exclusive scoop when she finds out Gonzo has been in contact with aliens he claims are his long lost family!

If you are unfamiliar with this movie You may be wondering what this toy is suppose to be representative of! The toy is based on another brief scene were Miss Piggy stands in for a paranormal T.V host who presents her show from a set that is shaped like a meteor! And this is not a bad representation of said set piece which has a little Piggy figurine sat inside which can be operated like a figure puppet while the two sections of the meteor can be closed around her!  

Gonzo spaceship: After Gonzo finally makes contact with his species and escapes in time to greet them he finds himself in a bit of a dilemma, should he go with his new found family or stay with his best friends? The actual spaceship design from the movie hasn't been used here at all instead we get a completely different looking vessel that has a Gonzo head shaped object on the top! This toy is quite simple in its function you simply pull the tiny Gonzo figure who is attached to a string and the spaceship's head rotates while the figure retracts back up it also has a suction cup so you can attach it to a window or another flat surface!

Overall this simple toy works well and is nicely designed and well executed but like the majority of toys in this set its pretty standard fair as you might expect for a Kid's Meal giveaway!

Another tie-in promotion for The Muppets From Space came from UK Cereal brand Wheetos who gave away one of six 2" miniature figurines in their boxes of cereal including: Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Animal and Rizzo      

Kermit the Frog: These miniature figures are all very nicely detailed and feature several paint applications which isn't often the case with cereal premiums it has to be said! What's more the paint applications are generally very clean and seem pretty accurate to the on screen character and Kermit here is a great example of that!

Fozzie Bear: The details on Fozzie are fantastic particularly in the sculpting of the fur especially considering this figure is quite small! All the paint detailing is pretty cleanly applied also making for a very nice little collectable! 

Miss Piggy: Piggy is probably the most impressive of the three and this toy does a great job at capturing her on screen appearance! the intricacy of the paint work is quite astounding here particularly on areas such as her eyelashes and the sculpting is also pretty detailed for the scale! 


The last two Muppet theatrical movies of the 90's are considered by some to be the weakest of the entire series though are still incredibly enjoyable and entertaining in their own right! The premiums for both movies are probably the most extensive of any of the films and make fantastic additions to any Muppets collection from a time when Fast food and cereal toys were at their most impressive!

Restaurant Collectables: the Flintstones Movie 1994 McDoanld's

Back in the summer 1994 kids everywhere were going Yabba-Dabba-Doo for everyone's favourite "modern stone-age family" The Flintstones! At the time the iconic 60's cartoon series was the longest running of all time and remained very popular all throughout that run and its subsequent re-runs on cable T.V channels such as Cartoon Network. The 90's was the decade for making movies out of anything that was even remotely popular with kids particularly if it was based on a cartoon or kids show or featured dinosaurs especially after Jurassic Park stormed the biggest box office a year earlier becoming a multi billion dollar franchise! Steven Spielberg served as producer and Jim Henson's creature work shop supplied the beautifully rendered animatronic prehistoric beasties whilst T.V and film favourite John Goodman was ideally cast in the lead role with equally solid support from Rick Moranis as long suffering best friend Barney! The movie saw great success at the box office but received mixed reviews with most citing that whilst the movie looks fantastic and the creature effects are wonderful as is Goodman as Fred Flintstone the overall plot was a little too adult and younger children struggled to engage with what was going on outside of the cartoon antics!

There was a huge promotional campaign following the Flintstones release as well as a  large number of merchandise being produced including Action figures and play sets courtesy of Mattel but one of the most impressive tie-in's came from fast food chain  McDonalds who went all out to promote the movie via Flintstones themed Menu, with giveaways including Etched collectable drinking glasses and a fantastic range of toys made available through their very popular Happy meal's! There were several different sets of toys produced for several different regions and here we will look at both the U.S and U.K sets:

 

Fred/Bedrock bowl-O-Rama: After Fred receives a promotion at the quarry he decides to live it up and trades in the flint-mobile for a snazzy  new "Le Saber Tooth 5000" sports car! A sort of prehistoric take on a Ferrari only this vehicle is powered literally by a sabre Tooth engine! Both Fred and his sports car both represent their on screen counterparts very well  boasting a pretty good John Goodman likeness particularly for the tiny scale! All of the little detailing, that extends to the vehicles wheels, are very nicely accomplished also!  

Each toy comes with a miniature play set, in this case Fred's favourite haunt the Bowl-O-Rama which is a really nice idea and makes for a fun feature. The play set opens up in order to store the vehicle inside, there are also a set a decals that accompany the toy to add extra detail such as the Bowling lanes!

Wilma Flintstone: The matriarch of the Flintstone family Wilma is often told by her overbearing mother that Fred is no good, until he gets a pay rise and promotion at work that is! All of the luxury and lavishness that the Flintstones enjoy as a result of their new found wealth comes at a cost however, and their best friends the rubbles hit rock bottom temporarily fracturing their friendship! Wilma comes driving the classic Flintstone family car and comes complete with the family home which is just big enough to store the vehicle when its not in use. Once again this toy boasts another pretty good likeness and both the figure and vehicle have plenty of detailing but only minimal paint apps!

As with each toy the Flintstones home comes supplied with a set of stickers to add detail including that of the woolly mammoth dish washer  which can be seen at the rear of the house while the sabre tooth cat is at the front window! The house can be accessed by the vehicle by pulling a bone shaped tab at the side and removing the side portion of the house all of which is really nicely sculpted but has no additional paint applications.

Dino/Pebbles/Toy-S-Aurus: Excitable family pet Dino is extremely fond of his owner and  looks forward to being able to greet Fred when he arrives home from work! Dino is peddling along with Pebbles on their trike whilst making their way to the prehistoric version of Toy-R-Us which features in the background of a couple of sequences in the movie! Whilst the vehicle in this instance isn't as interesting looking as the others it does have a decent amount of detailing to give the impression it is made of wood both figurines are very nicely detailed particularly as they are quite small in stature, Dino especially is very nice looking and very close looking to the animatronic puppet used in the film! 

When deciding on which real life stores to use in the movie they obviously chose the ones which work the best as prehistoric puns! The reason for its existence aside the toy replica is pretty great looking and has a really nice aesthetic complementing both the characters it comes with and the other buildings in the set nicely!  

Betty/Bam-Bam/Roc Donald's: Barney Rubble and wife Betty are given a chance to have a child thanks to the generosity of best friends and neighbours The Flintstones, in the form of an adoption. There new son Bam-Bam has incredible herculean strength and a rebellious streak but quickly becomes best friends with Fred and Wilma's daughter Pebbles! Betty and Bam-Bam come seated in a twin log double seater vehicle with as doesn't appear to have a name of any kind but is nicely sculpted to look as though it is made of wood. Betty and Bam-Bam themselves are decent looking though not especially detailed but accurate looking enough that it is obvious who they are suppose to be!     

Betty and Bam-Bam come with a miniature replica of the Roc-Donald's  restaurant glimpsed briefly in the movie and featured in the advertising posters for McDonald's Flintstones promotion. It has a fair amount of detail but as with all of the buildings in this set has no additional paint applications which is made up for by the inclusion of a couple of stickers!  
Barney/fossil fill up: Barney is best buddy/Work college/Bowling partner/neighbour and more to the hapless Fred! the poor sap even switches test results with Fred meaning that instead of himself being made vice president Fred is instead! Barney takes a one man log style vehicle for a fill up (even though all the cars are powered by foot?) in a nod to one of the various job's that Barney takes on after his dismissal from the quarry! Barney's vehicle is basically a log with wheels and a canopy which have basic but effect detailing, the figurine however is very nice indeed and actually looks a lot like actor Rick Moranis!  

There are some nice sculpted details on this including the humorous caveman/cavewoman toilet signs on the back section as well as the usual decals to add some colour and personality! there is a section at the back that can be removed in order to place barney (or any of the toys for that matter) within!   

Wilma/Dino: The first of the UK offerings is probably the best figure in the set, which like the U.S version depicts Wilma in the classic Flintstone family car but this time she comes with Dino who is popping his head through the roof just like in that classic opening sequence! as you roll the toy along Dino bobs up and down and the front and rear wheels also roll along! Due to this toy being a couple of times larger than the vehicles from the U.S set the detailing is that more intricate and impressive particularly on the vehicle itself and the detachable roof! 

Roc Donald's: Another replica of the restaurant as it appears in bedrock but this version is somewhat larger but somewhat less detailed, it has four panels which can slide across in order to access the inside but there is nothing on within plus the figures from this set can't even fit inside!

Supplied is a sticker to decorate each panel with each one depicts the main characters ordering their fast food meals, bizarrely they all look like they are modelling for an McD's advertisement campaign!  

When Fred isn't at home with his feet up or at the Bowl-O-Rama he is hard at work in the quarry, operating his brontosaurus crane as depicted here is this toy! Pulling on the Dinosaurs tail will raise the Bronto's neck and have Fred bounce up and down!

This is a simple but nice looking little action toy, with both the Brontosaurus and Fred looking pretty decent but just not much like John Goodman it has to be said! Also Fred's Tie seems to stop at the neck collar which is odd perhaps it was intended to be attached later but the manufacturers never got round to it?

Live action incarnations of cartoon shows rarely work and while The Flintstones is probably no exception it is certainly miles better than some of the other ill fated attempts such as Yogi Bear and Garfield! McDonald's certainly went all out in promoting it and for the most part produced some great little collectables which Flintstones fans will want to pick up in their entirety, chief among them are the U.S mini play sets and figure/vehicle combos which if you were so inclined could create your own miniature Bedrock!