Awesome Promotions for How To Train Your Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon is currently in theaters and has been picked up by McDonalds and they have the coolest Happy Meal toys that we have seen in a long time. My husband even says they are like toys that we used to get a long time ago, shhhh, when we were kids. Yes, 20 years ago, the toys that came in Happy Meals used to be really cool.

We have two of them now and are enjoying them. The one in the photo below, on the top right hand corner, breathes fire, and the one just to the left of it, spits fire. It’s really cool, because they are such great quality to be a kids happy meal toy. High five for everyone involved in this creative effort. I want to go see the movie now.

McDonalds is not the only company with a market share on How to Train Your Dragon, Walmart is also sharing the fun. In fact, they had an entire event with a boat in downtown NY.

Viking actor Skippy "D" teaches a child how to roar like a dragon at Walmart’s “How to Train Your Dragon” Viking Ship event in New York’s Times Square Tuesday March 23 2010.

As part of this unique effort, Walmart and DreamWorks Animation began working on their joint collaboration surrounding “How to Train Your Dragon” over a year ago. The program brings licensed products for the film to retail in a new and engaging way that hasn’t been done before in Walmart stores. Manufacturers such as Kraft, Kellogg, Pepsi and Spin Master among others worked directly with Walmart and DreamWorks Animation months ago to create custom “How to Train Your Dragon” branded products. 

The dragon-ized products include anything a little Viking could want, including exciting dragon and Viking-themed toys such as foam swords and helmets, apparel, skateboards, hooded towels, sunglasses and snacks, all available among the life-like character stands of Viking- and dragon-themed fixtures, as well as Walmart’s actual Viking Ship displays holding the products.  Also for the first time, Walmart has developed a “How to Train Your Dragon” activity book that will be found in Happy Meals at 1,000 McDonald’s locations in Walmart stores. 

“We are thrilled to join forces with Walmart on a robust consumer experience that features such fun and engaging thematic tie-ins to ‘How to Train Your Dragon,’” said Anne Globe, head of Worldwide Marketing & Consumer Products for DreamWorks Animation. “Our innovative approach to this program with Walmart was inspired by the great creative elements of the film itself, and we are so excited to extend the life of the movie beyond the theater for families to connect with DreamWorks Animation’s characters and worlds in new ways both in stores and online.”

Actress America Ferrera, who lends her voice in the new movie “How to Train Your Dragon” holds up one of Walmart’s dragon toys in front of a 40-foot Viking ship in New York’s Times Square Tuesday March 23 2010.

I of course missed the event because I live in the North West Coast of the country and we miss out on all of these fun events.