The Evolution of the Hamburglar

Here we have two versions of the McDonald's Hamburglar. On the left is an iteration from 1973, not long after the character's introduction, resplendent in all his cadaverous glory. On the right is the current version -- a tow-headed, mischievious pixie.

Some of the earliest memories from my childhood concern nightmares focused on a sort of ur-Hamburglar, who I for some reason rechristened "Teeno the Window-Knocker." In recurring dreams, he would bedevil me by padding up the exterior of my house (he could cling to walls like an insect), and peering inside at me, knocking endlessly on the window. In some episodes, he was accompanied by a brutish henchman I thought of as the Block Robot, a faceless goliath assembled from my cardboard play blocks. In one particularly bizarre scenario, Teeno and the Block Robot had taken my mother hostage and were forcing her to run laps in a school gymnasium, while I watched helplessly from the stands. Robble robble, paging Doctor Freud ...

But I ask you: take a close look at the mug on that 1973 character, versus his infantilized contemporary descendant. Can you blame me? That old Hamburglar was not to be trifled with. His lust for junk food was the very least of his likely perversions.

Comments

hamburglar is cool

[CindyC]

I thought I was the only one with nightmares about this guy!!! He looks like a child molester but now that I've gotten older, he is interesting in a perverse kind of way. He used to chase me around the house (sometimes he would burgle a turd)

[chris m]

I think the Hamburglar might represent a Jungian archetype for evil in the mind of children. Especially for those children who value their hamburgers.

[Tammy]

can you please give me directions to the nearest toilet i am busting to go my fish tank is filling up quickly and i think it's going to blow thatkyou seeya.