McDonald's Launches the Long-Rumored Super Mario Bros. Happy Meal
McDonald's loves a good promotional tie-in with another big brand. From Pokémon and Sonic the Hedgehog Happy Meals to collaborations with trendy clothing brands, Mickey D's customers have had plenty of opportunities this year to pick up something special with their meals.
Now it looks like the Golden Arches will be closing out 2022 with one more Happy Meal tie-in. McDonald's Instagram account announced yesterday that Super Mario Bros. Movie Happy Meal toys are now available at participating U.S. locations, confirming rumors and reports that first appeared earlier this month.
The movie may not open in theaters until April 7th, 2023, but you can pick up one of eight possible toys today. The lineup features Nintendo stalwarts Toad, Peach, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Luigi, and Mario (twice!).
While all six of those characters have already appeared in the film's trailer and promotional materials, the last toy is a blue Luma, fueling speculation that a newer Mario character named Rosalina (adopted mother of the Lumas) may also appear in the movie.
It's tough for major chains to keep big news under wraps for very long nowadays, and news of McDonald's collaboration with Nintendo first leaked out of Japan earlier this month. The image is now long gone, but at the time someone had snapped a photo of a flier at a Japanese McDonald's displaying the same toys now available in the United States.
The U.K. is also getting its own unique set of buildable Mario toys, all thanks to Mickey D's promise to the United Kingdom to cut back on its use of non-sustainable plastics.
The Super Mario Bros. franchise is a massive one, but fans have been divided by Chris Pratt's unconvincing Italian accent since the film's trailer dropped a few weeks ago. The jury may still be out on the movie's reception and box office performance, but all signs point to this promotion being a success. An evening spent playing Super Mario Bros. video games and enjoying a Happy Meal was just about heaven for an entire generation of children who now find themselves with adult bank accounts. It's likely nostalgia will drive sales if nothing else.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie Happy Meal tie-in will reportedly end on January 23rd, 2023, but that has not been confirmed by McDonald's yet.
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