McDonald’s is mashing up kawaii and kaiju in its latest Happy Meal. The fast-food giant announced the Hello Kitty & Friends x Godzilla Happy Meal, hitting participating restaurants nationwide on Aug. 18. Each meal includes one of eight collectible toys that blend Sanrio characters with the monsters of the iconic Godzilla film franchise.
The chain teased the collaboration on Instagram on Aug. 10 with a short clip of Hello Kitty eyeing a Happy Meal in the ocean, though she appeared to be wearing a monster suit. The caption read “cute meets kaiju 08.18.” Two days later, McDonald's made it official, sharing a photo of the toys and writing “cosplaying right into our hearts.”
Social media users quickly weighed in with delight. One joked about Cinnamoroll’s costume, writing “he is not destroying anything.” Another declared “Pompom Gigan is speaking to me.” A third called it “the cutest crossover.” And one person already knew their dinner plans: “I guess I know my dinner august 18th.”
On its menu spotter website, McDonald’s described the toys as “the ultimate crossover where Kawaii meets Kaiju, making friends at first bite and proving that even the mightiest monsters have a soft side.” Guillaume Huin, who leads global brand strategy for the chain, said in a teaser video that this is “one of the best collections of Happy Meal toys I’ve ever seen.”
Hello Kitty has been in a Happy Meal before. In 2025, McDonald’s released 12 toys for a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Hello Kitty and Friends collaboration. The new Godzilla mash-up is also part of a longer stretch of East Asia-focused partnerships. In July, the chain brought back its BT21 Happy Meal featuring characters from the BTS universe. Earlier in 2025, it offered TinyTAN toys modeled after the seven BTS members.
McDonald’s has also dipped into anime-inspired menu items. In 2025, it re-created one of its Japanese dipping sauces for U.S. restaurants in a collaboration with “Jujutsu Kaisen.” The Special Grade Garlic Sauce was inspired by McDonald’s Japan’s Black Garlic Sauce.
