Well, time to start another small Batman series here on Toys & Stuff. I've always been a fan of McDonald's Happy Meal toys and especially like their various super hero offerings. When Batman Returns hit the theaters in 1992 it offered enough cool gadgets to make any toy company happy. In fact, this movie and the subsequent studio offerings weren't much more than two-hour toy commercials anyway, being nearly as campy as the 1966 incarnation and were essentially live-action cartoons. It was only with Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins that the Batman story started getting serious again.
HOWEVER, campy and cartoony can be a boon for the toy collector - it usually means fun stuff and today we start looking at the fun stuff that came out for Batman Returns. We'll begin by featuring the tray-liner that was placed on every dining-in order. The liner is printed on both sides. The front side is a faux newspaper front page with various Batman Returns 'articles' while the reverse side is a drawing which mimics the McDonald's in-house display for the toys. The date at the top left corner of the front page is June 12 - July 9 1992, giving the collector a pretty good indication as to when the toys were offered. This 4-piece set consisted of vehicles only: Batmobile w/detachable Bat-missile; Catmobile; The Penguin's Umbrella car; a Batman's 'Press-&-Go' car which resembles a cross between the Batplane and a snowmobile? (huh? I haven't seen the movie in a l-o-n-g time and quite frankly don't remember this contraption). Enjoy!
