McDonald’s is well-known for partnering with successful TV shows and movies to include cheap toys in Happy Meals. Of course, always being a buzz in pop culture, Happy Meals have featured multiple lines of Power Rangers-related merch. This article will highlight all of the Power Rangers Happy Meal releases.
Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: The Movie (1995)
In 1995, to coincide with the release of the MMPR movie in theaters, McDonald’s released two sets of toys featuring the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. The set that was included in the Happy Meals themselves were gear-like, and consisted of such devices as the “PowerMorpher Buckle,” the “Power Com,” the “Power Siren,” and the “Alien Detector.” They also had a “Power Flute” for kids under 3.
At the same time, McDonald’s sold an individual set of toys that consisted of a Ranger figure and their respective Zord(s). These were sold separately from the Happy Meals. Personally, I thought these toys were extremely cool! I still do!
Additionally, McDonald’s gave away MMPR Power Coin “pogs” with the purchase of any food item.
FUN FACT: Outside of the US, the toys were offered by Burger King.
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue (2000)
In 2000, McDonald’s released a set of toys based on Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue. Like the MMPR movie line, Lightspeed Rescue had two sets of toys. The first set featured six separate “Power Bursters,” which all came with an individual Ranger figure. Said “Power Bursters” could be combined into a Make-A-Zord. The other set of toys were a train set, with each train car holding a rescue vehicle.
McDonald’s even featured a straight-to-VHS release of the 2-part “Trakeena’s Revenge” episode, which was a team-up between the Lightspeed and Galaxy Rangers. The VHS was released under the name Power Rangers Triple Force and included 3-D glasses.
FUN FACT: Unlike in the show, the Yellow Ranger figure sported a skirt!
Power Rangers Dino Thunder (2004)
In 2003, McDonald’s released a set of toys for Power Rangers Dino Thunder in December, even the show had yet to premiere the following February. The set consisted of 8 toys total; 4 Rangers (Red, Blue, Yellow, and Black) and 4 Zords (Tyranno, Tricera, Cephala, and Dimetro).
Power Rangers Generations (2005)
In 2005, McDonald’s released a variety of Power Rangers toys, which was used to promote the “Power Rangers Generations” re-runs on Jetix, as well as the new season, Power Rangers Mystic Force. The toys featured in the set included Rangers from MMPR, SPD, Dino Thunder, and Mystic Force.
Power Rangers Samurai (2011)
In 2011, to celebrate the return of Saban’s Power Rangers, McDonald’s released a set featuring the Samurai Rangers, the Samurai Megazord, and some battle gear, such as the Fire Smasher and Hydro Bow.
Power Rangers Super Samurai (2012)
In 2012, continuing from the Samurai set, McDonald’s also released a set for Power Rangers Super Samurai. This set was fairly similar to its predecessor, featuring the Rangers in Mega and Super Mega Mode respectively, as well as including some battle gear, like the Black Box and the Bullzooka.
Power Rangers Megaforce (2013)
In 2013, McDonald’s released a set of 6 Zords for the Power Rangers Megaforce Happy Meals. All 6 Zords could combine to form the [cheap] Gosei Great Megazord, featuring the Robo Knight Zord as the center chest-piece. Additionally, adding to the card gimmick that the Megaforce toyline had, the McDonald’s toys each came with a [very cheap] card. Hooray!
Even though we got McDonald’s toys for 3 straight seasons in a row, for some reason, we never got Super Megaforce releases. It would’ve been cool for them to utilize the Key theme and release exclusive Happy Meal Keys [yes, even though they’d be extremely cheap]. It makes me wonder if they’ll make Happy Meal toys for Dino Charge? Japan saw a Happy Meal release for Kyoryuger, so who knows? Time will tell.
What were YOUR favorite Power Rangers Happy Meal Toys?
