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(More customer reviews)WACKY ADVENTURES OF RONALD MCDONALD #5
HAVE TIME WILL TRAVEL (2001)
approximately 40 minutes
Did you ever wonder what it would be like if the characters from the happy meal had their own cartoon show? That's what happened here. McDonald's got Klasky-Csupo (one of the better animation companies) to bring those characters to life in their signature style. The McToons have similar faces as the characters on Klasky-Csupo's hit show RUGRATS.
The video opens up with a live-action Ronald McDonald singing a theme song for the video series. In the credits, the song is credited to Ronald himself and not a man dressed up as a clown (this is also the case with the voice actor for his cartoon character!). It is somewhat interesting to note that much of the background music for this tape was recorded by Mark Mothersbaugh from the band DEVO. After Ronald is done singing he gives a little intro to the cartoon episode and uses several puns.
The cartoon itself involves four familiar faces from McDonaldland: Birdie, Grimace, Hamburglar and of course Ronald. The Fry Guys are nowhere to be found, although they'd fit right in with the Rugrats-style hair. Two new characters were invented for this cartoon series: Franklin, a young boy who follows the gang on their adventures, and Sundae, a dog who speaks with a deadpan voice. Franklin's old man happens to be an eccentric scientist who is working out the kinks in his new time machine. Hamburglar, not a man known for his power of restraint, messes with the machine and accidentally transports the group back into such time periods as the Renaissance, the Old West, and the 1970s. The '70s section seems like it is aimed at parents who were raised on McDonald's food since it features two things that children would know nothing about: "the hustle" and MAYOR McCHEESE! Now if we could only get Mac Tonite to make a cameo. I was excited to see the Mayor in cartoon form, but this was not the most unusual part of the video.
The first pit stop on Mr. McDonald's wild ride is to the days of the dinosaurs. One interesting feature of their time machine is that it resembles the TARDIS from Dr. Who. Another interesting feature of the machine is that whenever the group walk off the machine into the outside world, their clothes have mysteriously been changed to a version that is relevant to their new surroundings. So for example when they walk off into the dino-desert, they are wearing bone necklaces and animal pelts. They flee from a T-Rex into a cave where they encounter prehistoric versions of themselves. Hamburglar says out loud that the situation makes no sense because dinosaurs did not coexist with humans, but nobody follows up. Initially they are disturbed by their less developed counterparts but all is well when they decide to sing a song together about how much they have in common.
I believe that this video explains a lot about Hamburglar. He discovers that his "cave brother" also enjoys stealing hamburgers. When the gang goes to the old west, they are chased through the streets by an angry mob who confuses Hamburglar for a notorious criminal. The man in question is named "Henry H Burglar, II" and Hamburglar states that he is actually the man's great-great-grandson. One has to wonder about the values of a family that produces such a legacy of klepto-phagists. In modern America, Child Protective Services would have snatched Hamburglar away from this harsh cycle in order to save him from his family's unsuitable form of parenting. Fortunately for him, the psychedelic social code in McDonaldland seems to turn a blind eye to food theft.
This video is weird but entertaining. I would recommend it to fans of 1990s cartoons and fast food historians.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Have Time, Will Travel (The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald, Volume 5) (2001)
Travel with Ronald McDonald on a Wild Ride back in time! Jammin' NEW Songs! Ooops! While cleaning up Dr. Quizzical's lab, Ronald and his pals stumble across a time machine. Hamburglar dreams up a crazy scheme to use the time machine to get out of cleaning and they end up getting lost in time! That's when the real adventure begins! Hitch a ride back in time and meet a huge dinosaur. Knights in shining armor. Old West cowboys. Even boogie down on a disco dance floor! And find out why doing things the easy way isn't always the best way! "It's a blast from the past!" (Franklin). Take time out with the whole family to enjoy "Have Time, Will Travel." This is the fifth adventure in "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald" animated video series.
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