My Little Pony Happy Meal Toys

It would be something of an understatement if I said that I don’t normally review stuff like My Little Pony on this blog. Though I collect more action figure lines than most people, my toy runs don’t usually take me to the girls’ section of the toy store for some pretty well thought out reasons: girls’ toys suck.

This is not a new idea. I have a sister and I bet if I asked her she’d agree that I had the better toys as a kid. She used to borrow my Castle Grayskull all the time and G.I. Joe would often go out with Jem whenever Rio was out moping (size doesn’t matter to her apparently). It wasn’t really a mutual partnership though. There wasn’t much I could do with The Holograms (though Optimus Prime and the Autobots played several gigs with their accessories). About the only toys of hers that I occasionally borrowed were her My Little Pony figures (only the BOY ponies - you could tell them by their manly handkerchiefs) to use as horses for my Joes.
Sadly, I can't do that with these new My Little Ponies from McDonald's.

Around the same time that McDonald's came out with the Batman: The Brave and the Bold toys, they also had four options for female kids: 3" tall My Little Ponies figurines. However, like many other recent sets, it looks like the figures available here were continent specific. We only had 4 toys available in the Philippines:

1. Twilight Sparkle
2. Pinkie Pie
3. Cheerilee
4. Rainbow Dash.

However, when the promotion started in the States in January of 2011, there were 8 dolls in the Friendship is Magic assortment. The set included four other ponies not locally available:

1. Fluttershy
2. Applejack
3. Rarity
4. Princess Celestia

Don't you just hate that?

I just don't get the logic behind the split. I would have gladly bought 4 more Happy Meals to complete the set, and I think most kids would have nagged their parents to do the same. Only reason I can think of for them not to ship us some of these is because of a slower market and high shipping costs, but it's McDonald's for crying out loud.

I'm hoping they release the rest sometime later.

Like all the other Happy Meal toys, the My Little Ponies come in plastic baggies. Not the nicest of packaging, but probably the most economical. The cost of the cheapest Philippine Happy Meal is Php 80. That's a lot considering you get about 3 gulps of Coke and a tiny, burger that I think may be made of cat. Realistically, the toy isn't free at all: you're paying Php 40 for the burger and Php 40 for the toy. I miss when I at least got fries and some cookies with the meal as well. 

Still, you can't argue with the fact that these are great little gems.

Each of the dolls are pre-posed with sculpted manes, but the tails are made of synthetic strands of hair. Each of the toys comes with an accessory that acts as a display stand when assembled, but also as a pair of combs when broken in half.

Despite being a great gimmick (I spent a disturbing amount of time combing the hair myself), it's execution is a little wanting. The "hair" is really tangled and it's not easy to get it straightened out. When you do, it poofs out. There's no way you're going to have a pony with a nice, manageable, perfectly-pretty butt wig. It's just not in the cards.

Still, it's not nearly enough to kill the enjoyment that this set of figures brings. I keep saying that the best Happy Meal Toys are the ones that are pre-posed. We don't expect super-articulated action figures from McDonald's. Most people know that we aren't paying enough to see that. What we want are super-cute (or if we're talking about superhero toys, super-awesome) things that we can use to decorate our desk at work.

The My Little Ponies fit that bill.

And in case you're wondering? I like Rainbow Dash the best.