Love them or hate them, Disney is a massive part of children’s entertainment (but honestly, how could you ever hate them?). Actually, if we’re being honest with ourselves, Disney is a massive part of the entertainment world in general. Kids and grown-ups alike adore anything and everything Disney-related and with the titan gobbling up as many franchises as possible (Marvel and Star Wars recently), it seems as if they’ll only grow in popularity in the years to come. In fact, with the Incredibles 2 absolutely dominating the box office lately, it’s safe to say that Disney will forever be a mainstay in modern human culture.
What’s not to like? The Disney company wears many different hats, offering consumers a variety of entertainment. They’ve created some of the best animated movies in existence and they have extravagant theme parks sprinkled all over the world. Anyone, regardless of their background, is down to hop a plane to Disney World if given the opportunity. Past the big screen, you’ll see video games, television shows, and a plethora of Disney-branded merchandise. Enter any large general retailer in your area and you’re bound to come across something Disney-related.
But just because Disney is popular and successful doesn’t mean they’re exempt from making mistakes. There have been quite a few Disney toys that have “failed” over the years.
To further explore this, we’ve compiled a list of some of the worst Disney toys ever created (with some of the best to help cleanse your pallet). On this list you’ll find toys that lack quality, are poorly designed, or are just downright strange.
25 Worst: Frozen Olaf Snow Cone Maker
There are few things as delicious and refreshing as a snow cone in the middle of a warm summer’s day. Snow cones are refreshing and surprisingly easy to make thanks to electric (and hand crank) machines. Disney thought it would be a good idea to capitalize on kids craving shaved ice by introducing a specially-designed Olaf-shaped snow cone maker.
Unfortunately, the finished product is much more morbid than it is whimsical.
The ice itself plops down through a large hole in Olaf’s chest, making it seem like you’re farming the Frozen icon’s innards.
24 Worst: Rad Repeatin’ Tarzan
Whenever someone compiles a list of the worst Disney toys ever created, you can bet that Rad Repeatin’ Tarzan will feature somewhere on it. The toy itself is well-made, with a Tarzan yell mechanic and moving parts. The inappropriate issue stems from how the toy moves.
Tarzan’s hand movements are a bit below the belt and when paired with his iconic yell it makes it seem as if he’s doing something rather grown-up (thanks to a plastic brace in the box). The packaging department at Mattel should have paid closer attention to this one.
23 Best: Disney Tsum Tsum
Every kid reaches that point in their life when they find something they enjoy collecting. When we were younger, all we wanted were booster packs of Pokémon cards. It’s not strange to grow up and find a box filled with toys or trinkets that your younger self compulsively hoarded.
That’s why the line of Disney Tsum Tsum toys are so popular. These bean-shaped characters don’t take up much space, are fun to play with, and can easily stack on top of one another.
22 Worst: Minnie Mouse Cleaning Kit
This one is innocent from the outside but might ruffle a few feathers due to its target demographic of young girls. To be fair, Disney princesses to an awful lot of cleaning (especially in earlier films, just look at Snow White and Cinderella).
Still, it’s easy to understand why this toy might be offensive to some.
You won’t find a Mickey Mouse cleaning cart aimed at boys, which makes some people feel as if this toy is “training young girls” to be housekeepers and cleaners.
21 Worst: Kaiyodo Sci-Fi Revoltech Series Woody Action Figure
Here it is, the Toy Story action figure that birthed its own meme. On the surface, Kaiyodo’s Woody action figure is a fantastic toy that features amazing sculpting, an array of detailed goodies and a number of posing mechanisms.
Unfortunately, one of the swappable facial expressions is a bit creepy, to say the least.
20 Best: Disney Miniature Sets
During the 90s, Polly Pocket was taking the world by storm. Young kids everywhere were enamored with the miniature housing sets that featured tiny furniture and itty-bitty accessories. There was even a Mighty Max toy line, which had a similar concept and was aimed at action-seekers and monster-lovers.
Disney got in on the action too, working hard to crack the miniature code in order to create a series of Disney-themed playsets. These items are still sought after today and can fetch well over retail value on eBay.
19 Worst: Mickey Mouse Recorder
Parents will be the first to tell you why this toy should be featured in the “worst” column. There’s nothing wrong with the instrument itself, it’s well crafted and features a smiling Mickey on the shell. The issue lies in the awful noise that these flute-like creations make. Anyone who has had to suffer through an elementary school recorder recital will tell you, it’s painful on the ears.
Kids should definitely be introduced to musical instruments at a young age but there are so many better options.
18 Worst: Chara-Romo Series 1 Vampire Teddy
We personally think this is an amazing toy, with awesome detail and a great gimmick. That said, it’s easy to see why most kids would probably flee in terror from this maniacal-looking duck and devious teddy bear. These items were frightening enough in The Nightmare Before Christmas film, which definitely gave many kids some bad dreams.
The fact that this toy is remote control and movable only adds to the terror factor. There’s a reason it says ages 8 and up. This toy would definitely creep out young children.
17 Best: Disney View-Master
Back in the 60s and 70s, before the advent of the internet, home movie players, and smartphones, stills of Disney films could only be seen in magazines, books, and tapes. It’s for this reason that the View-Master became such a popular toy among children. The simple photo-disc-loaded viewer allowed kids to see close-ups of a variety of Disney film scenes and photographs.
There were even discs with pictures from Disney theme parks.
In 2015, View-Master stepped up its game by partnering with Google to bring modern era kids virtual reality via their smartphone.
16 Worst: Disney Star Tours Darth Vader Goofy
Many people were skeptical when Disney acquired the Star Wars franchise, and for good reason. The latest films have been action-packed but they still lack the same magic and storytelling of the original trilogy.
Disney has been busy extending the Star Wars universe to a variety of theme park rides, movies, games, and, of course, toys.
Some Disney Star Wars toys are better than others. We aren’t sure why Goofy, of all characters, would be portrayed as the dark and villainous Darth Vader.
15 Worst: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Microphone
Many of the toys that feature on this list would seem normal and amazing to young children. It’s only as grown-ups that we recognize why these toys are a little less “kid-friendly” than they seem. The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Microphone is a great example of what we mean.
A child would only see this as a microphone, complete with a pair of Mickey Mouse shoes and the character’s iconic color scheme. Grown-ups, however, are definitely going to see this toy as something else.
14 Best: Disney Infinity
It breaks our hearts that Disney Infinity is fading away into obscurity but it was amazing while it lasted. For those unfamiliar, Disney Infinity was a video game that featured real-life collectible toys, similar to Skylanders and Nintendo’s popular Amiibo items. The game was pretty entertaining but the true value came from the amazingly detailed toys that could be scanned into the game world.
The series’ downfall came from its expensive consumer upkeep costs but the statues are worth collecting just for the amazing sculpt and painting work.
13 Worst: Mickey And Minnie Sing-A-Ma-Jigs
This is the second Mattel-based toy to feature on this list thanks to its rather strange appearance. Once again, to children, this is nothing more than an innocent toy, and a pretty entertaining one at that. Sing-A-Ma-Jigs make noise when you squeeze them and can even perform various songs. Their mouths even move.
All in all, they’re actually pretty well made and huggably soft.
Still, musical fun and quality aside, there is no denying that grown-ups may see these toys as similar to another type of doll.
12 Worst: Vinylmation
This one is tough to feature in the worst column because the concept of these collectible figures is actually rather interesting. These little 3-inch (some smaller) toys are sold at Disney Parks, the Disney Store, and the online Disney shop. Most of them are modeled in the shape of Mickey Mouse but offer up various details and paint jobs that morph them into other recognizable characters.
It’s a really cool concept but some of the figures are just nightmare fuel. So many of them end up looking like creepy Frankenstein-inspired mashups.
11 Best: Buzz Lightyear Ultimate Talking Action Figure
When Toy Story released back in 1995, kids and grown-ups alike were immediately smitten with the antics of Buzz Lightyear. The Tim Allen-voiced Space Ranger was a delight, helping to birth a franchise that is still going strong today (with a fourth movie in the works).
The original Buzz Lightyear Ultimate Talking Action Figure was a must have for any dedicated Toy Story fan. It features four spoken phrases, a working arm laser (it flashes and makes noise) and expandable wings. The toy was actually remade in 2016, but as they say, nothing beats the original.
10 Worst: Lion King McDonald’s Happy Meal Plush Toys
Full disclosure, when we were kids, we had a bunch of these and absolutely loved them. They were small, soft, squishable, and a ton of fun to play with. Looking back now, they weren’t exactly the best Disney toys to feature in a Happy Meal. As grown-ups, it’s easy to see just how bloated, poorly made, and strange all of these characters look.
The Lion King finger puppet toys that also featured as Happy Meal toys looked way better by comparison.
These toys definitely feature in the worst column based solely on the fact that they look like Disney knock-offs.
9 Worst: Inside Out Talking Sadness
This is one of the most curious creations to feature in our worst column. The doll itself is rather well-made with great facial details, colorful hair, and a soft fabric outfit. It even comes with a memory ball which can hold a photo of your choosing.
The reason this toy features on the worst side is due to its talking mechanic, more specifically, what the doll says when you push its hand. Sadness will barrage you with a series of depressing and melancholic phrases. Some of the sayings are so dark they even led to a father outright protesting the toy for its “life-ending thoughts.”
8 Best: Doc McStuffins
Kids are absolutely smitten with Doc McStuffins. Not only is she a positive role model for anyone wanting to become a doctor, children love the fact that she travels around helping out others and fixing up their stuffed animals when they’re “sick.”
She features in the best column due to the sheer popularity of the character.
Doc McStuffins dolls have managed to generate over $500 million in sales, which is astounding for any toy, let alone a doll. The world definitely needs more positive role models and Doc McStuffins is about as positive as you can get.
7 Worst: Moana Maui Costume
This “toy” (do kids wear costumes regularly outside of Halloween?) was actually so bad that it prompted Disney to remove the item from their stores. From the outside, the concept seems innocent enough, with a suit built to give the wearer Maui’s iconic tattoos. The unfortunate issue is that the costume doesn’t just feature tattoos but also an underlayment of “brown skin” to accompany them.
This led to heavy criticism by the general public who bashed Disney, saying that “brown skin” should never be a costume.
6 Worst: 2017 Beauty And The Beast Belle Doll
The live-action adaptation of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was nothing short of breathtaking. The film was filled to the brim with star power, amazing musical numbers, and beautiful visuals. It’s proof that Disney can successfully take an animated film and turn it into a live-action affair (something the company plans to do with an array of upcoming films). The rumor mill suggests that Mulan may be the next classic to get the real-world treatment.
Disney’s Emma Watson-based Belle doll is nothing like the film. It’s breathtaking for a bevy of other reasons, one being that people claim it looks like Justin Bieber.
