Today we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of A Bug’s Life, and what better way to do that than by looking back on its massive McDonald’s promotion? Mickey D’s really went all out for this one, with special packaging, Happy Meal toys, collectable watches, and…unique dipping sauce?

Now, unfortunately, I didn’t get to try this. Apparently it was really good. It sounds like something that shouldn’t work, but I’ve heard it was quite tasty. Maybe we can get Rick and Morty to reference it and McDonald’s will be forced to bring it back. Also, in fairness, I’m not sure what “apple cinnamon flavor” has to do with a A Bug’s Life…

But let’s move on to those aforementioned watches. In an odd coincidence, you could get movie tie-in watches at both Burger King and McDonald’s during this time, with BK selling four wrist watches for The Rugrats Movie. For A Bug’s Life, they got a little more creative with a series of “clip-on” watches, with each of them having a unique design. They were really cool and each came in their own gift box, so these were probably stocking stuffers for some kids that year. Also, this commercial has a bunch of ants kidnapping a human child. I guess this means they are going to eat him. He seems pretty chill about it, though.

Finally, let’s talk about those Happy Meal toys. The big gimmick is that they were “huge” (well, not really, but I guess they were big for fast food premiums?), and there were eight in all. I had Flik, Heimlich, Francis, and Hopper. Hopper was especially neat since he, you know, hopped. And one day I intend to complete my collection on eBay. Why do I always say that for these threads?

Have a great night, y’all!