There was something timelessly appealing about being a child and ripping into that Happy Meal from McDonald's. That enticing red box laced with cardboard golden arch handles just beckoned you to dig into the contents inside; like opening a treasure box full of greasy riches.

These riches didn't just include some golden crispy, delicious fries (at least for the first few minutes), a tasty burger, and a refreshing beverage to wash it down, but it had the coup de gras - a unique toy. What made this even more exciting was knowing that these toys were very often limited time deals, and, since they usually were released in bundles, you were typically getting a surprise. These Happy Meal toys have run the gamut in of their characteristics (not to mention quality). But the consistent factor is that for nearly 40 years, these simple plastic toys have brought a lot of joy to a lot of kids. It was the perfect little bonus to compliment your lunch.

There have been all sorts of Happy Meals over the decades, and they've often proven to be little tokens that represent pop culture and popular franchises during that particular era. As the times have changed, so have these toys; and there have been mixed results over the years. Some have proven to be awesome collectibles, display items, and/or enjoyable toys. Others have us looking back, shaking our collective heads as to how simplistic, cheap, or just plain silly these were and are.

With this list, we will take a look back at some of the highs and lows in Happy Meal history. We'll examine some of the coolest toys that invoke our nostalgia and/or imagination. In contrast, we'll also look back and laugh at some of the duds this fast food juggernaut has churned out.

Ridiculously Bad: Gardening Tools

What do you think of when it comes to exciting toys for children?

Surely, basic gardening tools aren't the first thing that comes to mind in this regard - but the rising fast food corporation supposedly felt that small plastic shovels and buckets would exude fun for kids in the late 80s.

What exactly were you supposed to use these for? Well, included with these cheap little gardening tools was a small package of seeds that could be planted to grow radishes. Because when I think McDonald's, I think of home-grown radishes. Not surprisingly, these Happy Meals didn't exactly flourish in popularity.

Ridiculously Bad: Angry Birds

You might say McDonald's was a little late on the Angry Birds hype train. After all, these Happy Meal toys featuring the mobile game phenomenon came in 2016, many years after the game launched into the stratosphere. Though these toys were, in fact, based specifically on the 2016 Angry Birds film, which was about as big a dud as these cheap toys.

Each Angry Bird critter came with their own launcher, which would end up defective half the time. Assuming it worked properly though, you'd launch the figure onto a handful of cardboard images featured in the game and try to knock them off their respective plastic stands. How exciting...

Extra Cool: Power Rangers And Ninjazords

Outside of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Power Rangers were the biggest group of fictional ninjas that permeated 90s culture. McDonald's created a pretty impressive collection of these mighty morphin' action heroes in 1995, at perhaps the peak of their popularity.

Being a fan of the TV show, it was a memorable feeling of excitement to land a brand new ranger as a kid. Not only were the rangers fun to play around with, but each came complete with their own even more awesome Zord mech. This was a collection I absolutely felt compelled to complete, and it was quite a cool display to show off once I did.

Ridiculously Bad: Changeables

I suppose it's fitting (but also a bit redundant) that McDonald's would feature a Happy Meal toy resembling the food itself. I have vague memories of tinkering with these odd little transforming McDonald's food items in the early 90s.

I recall being at least mildly amused when popping them open to reveal the weird ambiguous creatures. But any sort of "cool" factor quickly dissipated once you closed these guys up and were left with naught but dull, pointless toys resembling burgers, fries, and nuggets. These things were as weird and nonsensical as they were boring to play with.

Ridiculously Bad: Halloween Buckets

Apparently, McDonald's sees something valuable in offering buckets around Halloween. But while I can't speak for most kids, I sure didn't see much in them. Sure, from a practical standpoint, these could be somewhat useful when going trick or treating, but it's not like they provided any fun.

And even in of practicality, you essentially had a whopping one day out of the year where you can get real use out of these lame monster-faced buckets. For the other 364 days, these things tended to simply collect dust as they sat stored away in your basement.

Extra Cool: Flintstones Toys

Perhaps no Happy Meal toy provides me with as many warm and fuzzy nostalgic memories as these Flintstones toys. Based on the 1994 movie (which is certainly another story in of quality), these figures came with neat little plastic characters saddled in cars that actually rolled. Each was coupled with its own neatly carved stone-looking buildings; a few which had detachable doors. My friends and I had quite a good time as young kids collecting all of these things and setting up our own little makeshift town of Bedrock.

Ridiculously Bad: Ronald McDonald Mask

Why does this take on the appearance of something that might be worn in some lame horror film or anarchy-laden action flick like The Purge?

Ronald looks unsettlingly happy in this picture...

This cheaply made, cardboard mask was certainly an odd choice of Happy Meals toys for McDonald's to launch - not just because of how mundane it is, but considering how many children are scared of clowns. This thing risked being ripped right from the get-go too since you had to tear out the image and punch out holes in the eyes to be able to see past it.

Ridiculously Bad: Popoids

Maybe a few kids got a kick out of these in the 80s, but they likely annoyed plenty of parents. Not only were these robotic, Lego-like pieces easy to lose, but they held very little entertainment value individually. This led kids to beg their parents for more, so they could complete their robot contraption, forcing them to shell out for more Happy Meals.

After all, what was the use in being stuck with a handful of bendable tubular limbs without a figure to attach them to? This drew parallels to the McDonald's Monopoly game, as it enticed you to "collect them all." except nobody really won this game...

Extra Cool: Disney Masterpiece Collection

For whatever reason, McDonalds' peak in Happy Meal toy quality seemed to take place in the early to mid-90s, much like the animation juggernaut Disney. I guess it's no surprise then, that these dominant forces which had a major impact on kids' lives, got together and released one of the coolest Happy Meal toys, the Disney Masterpiece Collection.

Not only did these toys, based on some of the best Disney films of the 90s, have movable limbs, but they very much resembled their cartoon counterparts. They even came with some cool VHS replica tapes with detailed box art. These acted as a nice bit of visual flair to complement the toy and made nice display items on your shelf.

Ridiculously Bad: McDonaldland Airport

For whatever reason, the 80s seemed to be littered with some toys that just exuded dullness. With a few exceptions, the company didn't seem to quite figure out the winning formula for churning out interesting, fun toys until the 90s. These McDonaldland Airport planes proved to be yet another example of this. I mean, just look at these things. You've got mundane looking aircraft made of cheap plastic, uniform in bland colors, and mostly static objects... But hey kids, at least the propellers could spin!