Toy Chest Tuesday! Funny Fry Friends!

Toy Chest Tuesday is back! So let's make up for lost time and check out some really fun toys. I have a story connected to everything in my archival room. One type of toy I have always enjoyed collecting have been Happy Meal toys. Ever since I was a small fry I've been obsessed with Happy Meal toys. I've given myself a concussion for a Happy Meal toy. I've resorted to driving across town for a tiny bagged treat from the golden arches. There was even one time where I literally flirted my way for an entire set of Barbie toys that were in the back of the store. I wouldn't say I have a problem... but I kinda have a problem.

Aside from the joys of collecting Happy Meal toys, I also have a really bad addiction to french fries. Some people drink until they dance on tables while others self-medicate with horse tranquilizers. I eat french fries. If I've had a real shitty day, I pick up a medium french fry and just zone out. If I'm having a particularly happy day I will pick up a medium fry and just zone out. So back in 1989 when McDonald's released toys that were based off of the Fry Friends... well... I went nuts. So let's check out some of those releases!

Set 1

Hoops

The Funny Fry Friends line consisted of 8 Fry Friends with swappable parts for endless customizing possibilities. Hoops is missing a yellow headband, but how cute is he? I love his floppy feet as well as the light purple. I hope to one day find his yellow headband, but I have yet to fully finish my archival room. Maybe one day!

 

Set 2

Rollin' Rocker

 

By far my favorite Funny Fry Friend, Rollin' Rocker was all about the important things: roller skating while listening to the latest Jem and the Holograms hits on her Walkman. (In my mind, Rollin' Rocker loves her some Jem and the Holograms.) I loved, loved, loved this toy. How fun is she? I also have her little card insert, which shows of her name as well as a fun checkered pattern with loud color combos.

So there were boy and girl Funny Fry Friends, and much like the McNugget Buddies, there were easy distinctions. The girls had big lashes and pigtails. I mean these were practically carbon copies of the real Fry Friends from the commercials. On a side note, did anyone else think differently of eating french fries after falling in love with the Fry Friends? Each time I'd get a new Happy Meal I'd always look at the yummy bag of fries and think, "Are they scared about who I'll eat first? Will they feel any pain when I devour them?" The Fry Friends helped give an identity to the food I was eating, and it felt weird. I of course got over it though, because french fries are damn good.

Set 4

Gadzooks

I guess I should say I don't own a complete set of these Funny Fry Friends. I just skipped over Set 3, which was Matey, the pirate themed Fry Friend. Now we have the humorous Gadzooks. He came with a funny face and two different shoes on his feet. It was like opposite day or something. I had like three of these guys. I seem to remember him being that one toy that you always got in the Happy Meal, when you were really hoping for someone new.

 

Gadzooks was one of the more cuter toys. The funny glasses and face disguise is cute as well as the arrow through his head. I like to think that he was the Loki of the Funny Fry Friends, always ready for a good trick and possible world domination. (You can't always trust funny glasses and a fake moustache.) And not to go off on a tangent, but what was up with that recent trend of girls putting on fake handlebar moustaches? I totally missed that one. I'm thinking to myself, "We are all gonna be dealing with unwanted facial hair when we hit menopause, why on Etheria would anyone want to wear a fake one to be cute?" Just wait a couple decades, you'll have all the cute moustache pictures your camera can handle.

 

Set 5

Tracker

 

Tracker was released next and she was like the safari adventure Fry Friend. The binocular effect was really cute on this toy! I am totally wondering though, what exactly was she tracking? (Feel free to leave a comment with your ideas!)

While I applaud McDonald's for breaking the glass ceiling and having a female Fry Friend have the cool role of the safari adventurer type character, I just have one issue to deal with and that is the name. 'Tracker' has got to be the worst name for a Fry Friend ever. Other Fry Friends were named Gadzooks or Rollin' Rocker. But Tracker? That just sounds so boring, which is so sad because she has a smiling snake wrapped around her legs! She needs a better name.

 

Set 7

Too Tall

 

Skipping over Set 6 (which was named ZZZ's- that's an even worse name than Tracker) we move along to Too Tall. With a name like Too Tall I am half expecting the name to belong to a Masters of the Universe character. Instead, it belongs to the Fry Friend that is basically a clown on stilts. He also comes in as the tallest Funny Fry Friend from this collection.

 

I wonder if Too Tall could also be the scariest Fry Friend of the bunch? I know a lot of people dislike clowns. I personally am cool with clowns, unless they come from a Stephen King novel. What exactly is that whole clown fear thing about anyway? Are there any Dorkette readers that detest clowns with a passion? If so, clue me in!

Set 8

Sweet Cuddles

Aww! A baby Fry Friend! This just makes the whole eating french fries issue even more macabre. I mean those cute little eyes of Sweet Cuddles just looking up at you from the fry bag begging, "Please don't eat me! I did not just survive the fryer for this!" Sweet Cuddles is a pretty cute Fry Friend with bonnet and bottle. (Since Fry Friends don't have arms, ya gotta love the bottle just hanging onto the bonnet.)

Here's something that I think was interesting. This collection of Fry Friends made up the cast for the regular Happy Meal line up. There were also two other Fry Friends that were part of the Children Under 3 toys: Lil' Chief (a Native American Fry Friend stereotype) and Little Darling (a little cowgirl.) I would have thought that Sweet Cuddles would have been a part of the Under 3 set, while the little cowgirl named Little Darling would have been a part of the main set. Oh well, I don't see why it really matters. I am way over thinking the fry selection for these Happy Meal toys for sure.

Each of those inserted cards that came with each Fry Friend also had a description of all the releases on the back. The description nicely depicts the whole swapping parts gimmick for the toys and offers nice simple drawings of what to collect from the line. You can also check out the commercial for the Funny Fry Friends toy advert by clicking here. It is quite something to behold, that is for sure. Hoops, Rollin' Rocker, Too Tall, and Sweet Cuddles all make cameos.

Here's the group all together in their hats and shoes...

...and now it's all crazy and wild as the Funny Fry Friends really shake things up!

And thus concludes the latest Toy Chest Tuesday! Be sure to check back next Tuesday to see what I pull out of the old archival room. What twisted toy story will capture your attention next? I'm keeping mum, but I will say this much, I have totally been moving things around and getting the archival room into tip top shape. So I am really excited to share with you some more toy talk for Toy Chest Tuesday!

In the mean time, don't go too far, because I have been on the road putting my April O'Neil journalistic skills to the test and will be bringing you all knew interviews with the toys that we can't help but love! Hope you are all doing well! Take care!