Rio is the name of an animated movie that, near as I can tell from the previews they are showing on TV, has no plot other than the fact that a bunch of cheeky animals are hanging out together in Brazil. The movie doesn’t open until this weekend, but that hasn’t stopped 20th Century Fox from hooking up with McDonalds for a Happy Meal Promo. Finding out when the movie opens led me to another trailer where I learned the bird can’t fly, and he rides a skateboard in the movie.

I went to McDonalds with the kids while trying to wait out the rain at a skatepark. They had these little Ronald McDonald figures in the corner of a glass case as part of another display. I told them I needed one, and they finally relented and gave it to me. I was prepared to buy it, but they weren’t for sale. The next time someone says “It’s not for sale,” just say “That’s OK. It must mean I can have it for free, right?” Right. It’s not a Happy Meal toy, rather part of the birthday party package that they have there. I think there were some with Ronald on blades too. It says copyright 2004 on the bottom. Made in china, of course. Group II Communications. More pictures than warranted after the jump.

What is that sassy wench trying to tell you? Isn’t it already completely obvious that hot chicks collect skateboards and eat cheeseburgers? Sometimes a skateboard can be the central element of a commercial, but more and more they are becoming just a small part of a bigger concept, getting lumped in the background with a bunch of hobbies whereas they used to be more of a crazy radical lifestyle commentary. So here’s two currently running commercials that feature skateboarding, one from Gatorade and one from McDonalds.

The sketchy Tony Hawk Christmas ornament was actually a McDonalds Happy Meal toy with a string attached. Danimal’s mom sent him an awesome elf skateboarding on a leaf. World Industries sells these elf sized skateboards that come packaged in a Christmas stocking.

The first time I went to college I lived in a dive of a house with 14 people called Ten Shitty Guys. The McDonalds monopoly game was new-ish at the time and we pooled our game pieces in the house to try and win. One day we thought we won $1000 or something like that, so we marched down to McDonalds to try and get paid. Turned out that there was another Monopoly based promotion going on somewhere else with game pieces that were almost identical. We won a prize all right, first place jackasses. Here’s a 2006 (I think) commercial for McDonalds Monopoly game promotion with a Best Buy connection, and (implied) vert skating…