A while back, the CG version of the Lion King came out in theaters. As advertisement for the release Kid’s meals at McDonalds came with themed toys. One was a talking toy. I’ve long been fascinated by toys like this and took apart tons of them as a kid. They are great case studies for DFM (Design for Manufacture). I wanted to see how they are making them nowadays.
As typical for McDonald’s, you need the tri-bit (or similar sized flat-head and some patience) to take this toy apart.
Once apart, I was amazed at how simple it was. In the past, I recall a small PCB with a potted silicon die on the board (black blob tech). I was surprised to find that now they no longer have a PCB at all. Now they just have a 4-terminal IC in a custom package. The pins are Vcc, Gnd, and the 2 speaker outputs. Very minimal costs here.
One of the best parts of these kinds of cheap toys are the switches. It is much cheaper to make the switch yourself versus buy a pre-made switch. This one is an elegant design for sure. Th Gnd side of the chip attaches to a cheap stamped metal spring that is bent along two different axes. The long arm of the metal spring fits into a slot on the switch. The switch itself is molded such that it has a compliant spring that helps it “click” into one of two positions moulded on the base of the toy. (Second pic below makes this more obvious, look at the bump on the right side of the switch and the two indexed locations on the right side of the hole in the plastic base).
Overall the design is about as cheap as you can get for a talking toy while still being well-engineered and not feeling “cheap”. McDonalds typically has some really great engineering in the toys (if you’d believe it) when compared to some other fast food places. For example, the reinforcements in the base of this toy gives an experience that you wouldn’t know the switch was just an extra cobbled together bit of plastic. The toys are always solid-feeling (not flimsy when you apply force when actuating the switch for instance) and I find it rare to see sunken areas on the outside of the piece opposite of the reinforcement ribs in the plastic. McDonalds only works with a few suppliers for their toys and rigorously check them for safety (after being sued in the 80s for toys being choking hazards, hence the “for ages 3+” warnings on all toys nowadays). Check out this article on one of the companies and see the journey of a toy from concept to reality.
McDonald’s has decided to stop making plastic toys by 2025 globally. I’m sure there are billions of these types of toy in consignment stores, garages, landfills, and buried in back yards across the world if you want to get ahold of some to take apart.
Keep your eyes peeled for great design!