Forget the fries and ice cream because, as a kid, nothing was more exciting than the souvenirs you took home after a hearty meal of chicken nuggets from McDonald’s. The McDonald’s Happy Meal toy was happiness in a box for every child. No feeling could compare with digging into that appealing red box and finding a fun goodie. The McDonald’s Happy Meal debuted in June 1979 and has continued to capture the hearts and tummies of millions of kids. Kids love toys, and although the Happy Meal Toys were not necessarily the most sophisticated, many of them were fun — and the fun toys create the longest-lasting impressions. However, not all the McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys were fun or that great. In fact, a few of them were just plain awful. In this article, we will rank McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys from the best and unforgettable to the absolute worst ones. If you grew up collecting and trading McDonald’s toys, you can relate to the feeling of opening a Happy Meal and finding a strange toy or one you still hold dear today. See if you remember find any of these in your Happy Meal!

Inspector Gadget

The Inspector Gadget Happy Meal toy tops the list for me. This toy personified fun! Gadget was a cyborg known for his uncanny ability to solve crimes. He could also transform any part of his body into a useful weapon or tool. He was one of those characters that every kid wanted to be (or to have).

Therefore, when McDonald’s decided to offer a 7-toy set piece in 1999 commemorating the character, it caught on quickly. The toys were very well made and looked like their on-screen inspiration, but the best part was that you could combine the entire seven-piece set to form the Inspector Gadget. Super cool, right? Did you collect this one?