Ronald

A morph of Bozo, who appeared 1960-1663 in D.C. franchise; 1963 Willard Scott played Ronald in regional commercials and live appearances in D.C.; 1966 Ronald was restylized and played by a Ringling Brothers circus clown, appearing in Chicago Macy Thanksgiving Day parade; 1971 Ronald is joined by several McDonaldland characters (adapted from the then most popular Saturday show, Puf n’ Stuf; 1998 Ronald was restylized to be less disco-looking; 1998-2002 Ronald appeared in six Klasky-Csupo 40-minute films that sold for $3.49 at McDonald’s; 1999 McDonald’s, Leo Burnett ad agency, and Klasky-Csupo studio executives to restylized Ronald as a thinner, fitter clown who is less of a pitchman. Ronald plays the role of clown leader. Click here for photo comparisons

Hamburglar

1971 created as a morph of Puf n’ Stuf Witcheepoo (& for a while wears a witch cape and hat);Click here for comparison ; for a few years he is an old grey-haired man, but in the 1980s he is restylized to an 8-year-old wearing a robber’s mask and black & white shirt who can only grunt (not speak); this is how he appears in the 1998 Burrough film, McTreasure Island; in 1998-2—2 he is restylized in more Rugrat animated bun-head in the Klasky-Csupo films, as an older, 14 to 16 year old, who has the gift of speech, and takes on a more satiric style. Hamburglar plays the role rogue, stealing hamburgers and breaking the ruls set up by Ronald.

Grimace

1971 – Grimace is morphed from the H..R. Puf n’ Stuf character.Click here for comparison; Seymore the Spider (played by Angelo Rossitto). 1971 he was called the evil Grimace and had six arms (clutching stolen milk shakes); by 1980s Grimace had two arms; in 1990s he was restylized to be a bit less furry; 1998-2002 Klasky-Csupo gave Grimace a deeper character, including his tribal ancestors from Grimace Island (a pre-modern, pre-class, collectivist society that knows nothing of modernity). Grimace plays the role of a fool, who chooses not to comprehend modern industrial ways, but has the mystical power to trip off chaos events that save the gang.

Mayor McCheese

1971 character who is a morph (imitation says the courts) of H.R. Puf n’ Stuf’s main character, a burger-headed creature with a sash (who has the tail of a dragon). Click here for comparison

Sheriff Big Mac

1971 a burger headed sheriff who wears a badge. There are two Puf n’ Stuf characters with badges, but not with burger head of Sheriff Big Mac

McNuggets

A trio of Chicken McNugget images with feet and arms; two sound male, one female; they seem to be uncle and aunt type characters; this is an invention of the 1980s.

Fry Kids

In the 1998-2002 Kroft-Csupo films, the there were three fry kids, some with bows in their hair.

CosMc

A robot with an alien’s head; he still appears with Ronald in live shows, but disappears from ads after the E.T. craze dies down.

Professor

1971 - Wears a white smock coat and carries a wrench; he only last a few years as a character, and does not appear in films.