Fans Can’t Get Over Ronald McDonald’s Name in Japan

Nine times out of ten, we think that you’ll find people agree that clowns are creepy. This certainly isn’t helped by the recent blockbuster release from Warner Brothers Pictures’ in the form of Stephen King’s It that brings Pennywise, the killer clown, to life on movie screens across the country. Still, there appear to be “friendly” clowns that still exist in the mainstream media, such as McDonald’s Restaurants’ number one mascot: Ronald McDonald. Recently though, fans have discovered a new translation of the top clown in Japan that has fans busting a gut.

Reddit User Blankverse noticed a recent Kotaku article, diving into a released translation of Ronald’s name in Japan that listed him as “Donald McDonald”:

Whether you’re terrified of clowns or not, you can’t deny that Ronald McDonald, or Donald McDonald in Japan, has become one of the most recognizable clowns who don’t happen to live in the sewers. Originally created in 1963 by Willard Scott, a local radio personality who ascended to becoming a regular on NBC’s The Today Show. He appeared as “Ronald McDonald – The Hamburger Happy Clown” and the characters continued to gain steam over time, becoming a mainstay for McDonalds throughout the years.

Ronald McDonald had a gang however. Based on his own popularity, McDonalds decided to give Ronny his own cast of characters to share in his love of hamburgers and boy, were they bonkers. The Grimace, a giant purple creature, acted as Ronald’s right hand man along with Birdie, a bird that could not fly due to its large stature. The antagonist of this group was the Hamburgler, a criminal who was consistently attempting to steal hamburgers after busting out of a maximum security prison. Other characters included antrhopomorphic chicken mcnuggets, walking talking pom poms named “The Fry Guys”, and the mayor of the town in which they all lived with a giant cheeseburger for a head, Mayor McCheese.

The fast food mascot has managed to appear in his own video games in the past, though he didn’t headline one as recently as Burger King’s Sneak King, who sneaks in the shadows to distrubingly hand off a Whopper to you. One of the more hilarious references was the revelation of Mac’s real name from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia also being Ronald McDonald, giving a hilarious tie to the fast food chain with one of the protagonists of the long running FX comedy.

What do you think of this hilarious translation for Ronald McDonald? Are you terrified of clowns? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and killer clowns!