20 Things You Didn't Know About Batman Returns
15. McDonald's Were Forced To Scrap Their Happy Meal Tie-In With The Film
Suffice to say, Batman Returns was pretty dark.
The film was like an ice-cold glass of 100% concentrated Tim-Burton-fever-dream juice, with it's neo-gothic stylings and sizeable dollops of downright weirdness. The director's style has always been a relatively divisive one - kind of like Marmite for your eyes - but the debate surrounding him was only intensified after he took on a character as beloved as Batman.
Take, for example, the Los Angeles Times' review of the movie, which describes it as "claustrophobic, oppressive", and claimed Burton strangled "almost all the enjoyment out of the movie". Ouch.
The last place you might expect a commercial tie-in to pop up, therefore, would be in a McDonald's Happy Meal - the clue's kind of in the title - but that's exactly what happened, with kids across America set to receive toys and goodies inspired by the film with their chicken nuggets. And, I mean, to be fair, who wouldn't have wanted a little plastic Danny DeVito?
Alas, it wasn't meant to be as a deluge of complaints from parents concerned about the movie's dark and violent tone forced the fast food giants to pull the plug on the partnership.