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Destroy All Podcasts DX Episode 314 - Mac And Me

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2 comments posted
Horrible things

You guys have been talking a lot about horrible creatures lately. That thing from Ultra Q that sits on AK's chest, the lizards with nipples from the Donkey Kong cartoon, and now the aliens from Mac & Me. Wow, they are AWFUL. The eyes are the worst part.

theshadowboss's picture
Posted by theshadowboss on 14 January, 2014 - 18:38
Food, Folks & Fun!

Oh god where to start? Well, I watched it once when it came out on VHS, that was it. I never asked for it again, period.

OK, that was the short end of it, here's the long run. Having been old enough to actually see E. T. on the big screen in '82, this was total letdown. I must've forgot the obvious product placement at hand though surely E. T. wasn't any different in it's handling of Reese's Pieces as a decoy to lure it's turtle-headed alien into the house. I forgot the kid was in a wheelchair and actually had that problem, and just like you, it does feel a bit awkward to view it any way else than for what it was. Certainly was a waste of the 16 mil McD's could've given to it's charity for sure, how they could've gotten it outside the film, I dunno (telethons wouldn't hurt, and we've had plenty of those to go around in the 80's).

Speaking of hot teenage girls in McD's outfits, I reminded myself of the chick in the NES game Gun-Nac who also sported a similar fast-food outfit as well. A similar girl shows up in Namco's Ordyne as well.
http://www.gamefabrique.com/storage/screenshots/nes/gun-nac-02.png

Noticed you guys got into briefly mentioning what made Nickelodeon great during those days I was watching the channel. Aside from the open-ness the channel had to playing the sort of foreign programs, there was some things they still objected to. Animation historian Jim Korkis had this to say about an episode of Count Duckula they didn't care for.

"Nickelodeon objected to a “Duckula” episode entitled Mississippi Duck which Cosgrove Hall had specially targeted to the American market. Nick executives claimed the average American viewer wasn’t capable of picking up on steamboat jokes and Tom Sawyer references."

Funny looking back. I thought it was odd they would think kids wouldn't know of Tom Sawyer, but someone had to come to me with asking would kids know about that today? Sad really.

Seeing that McD's in the movie just now, I'm reminded of the rather unusual layout of the location near me house. It was one of the first McD's in the area since the early 60's, sometime int he 70's it became an indoor location, but it's dining area and kitchen didn't follow the usual format these restaurants generally have where the kitchen and drive-thru are on the left side while the lobby on the right (when you come in). It's kitchen was on the right side and dinning area and drive-through window on the left. In order for food to go to the drive-in, they had to have it lifted above the lobby on a conveyor belt connected to the ceiling that ran the food over to the drive-up window. Use to liked it's rather unusual approach and wished that was still there. The McD's in that location decided to move down to the corner of the street and it's old location (with a giant parking lot by the way) became a tanning salon today.

What else is there? Oh yeah, this wouldn't be the last McDonald's tried to be involved in something, charity or not. Of course we all remember "Cartoon All-Stars To The Rescue" they put up some dough to promote, but one special I remember too well from 1991 was "The Wish That Changed Christmas' with it's sappy tale that could've be done in live-action but they chose to animate it, and Ronald introduces the whole thing! Kind of a shame to see a favorite studio I liked had to work on it (Colossal Pictures). Well at least there's no cross-promotional plugs or tie-ins with the story itself, like that I expect to see a McDonald's to pop up in this town the girl ends up in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zzRadK9FTs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JphcwX8fF9o

That's all, oh yeah, my childhood was ruined because I grew up in the suburbs, thanks guys!

Chris@StudioToledo's picture
Posted by Chris@StudioToledo on 15 January, 2014 - 22:55