Its one thing when you talk about something retro to the younger kids and they dont know what youre talking about. Its something else when you talk to fellow retro lovers and say do you remember and they dont. For awhile I thought maybe Atrosnicks were something I dreamed up as a child, but that lasted all of about two seconds. This is because I remember these little guys vividly.

You knew about Smurfs, the little blue people that made Hobbits look like Giants. La la la la la la, Gargamel, the whole bit. Then there were the underwater versions of these creatures. Unlike smurfs, the Snorks were multi colored, but if scientists existed in a cartooniverse, they would likely suspect that the two species were related.

But then thanks to McDonalds and the glory of Happy Meals, there were the Astrosnicks. Funny little green people with purple gear and the M logo on their garb. It became so that it was a big deal for kids, at least at the time. This is before the government brainwashed Gen Xers into forgetting Astrosnicks ever existed. But my memory remains in tact.

Like any other kiddy cannon, Astrosnicks had good guys and bad guys. There was even an Astrosnick version of smurfette. I had the skater snick that for some reason wore the boxing head gear. I had the chunky snick with the ray gun. I had the blonde chick, and I had the bald baddy with a cape. No, I dont remember their names. And it wouldnt be right to look them up now, because I never bothered about their names then. But they were for some reason, very fun to collect. Eventually there came an Astrosnick ordering magazine where you could order the whole set, even pets, and a spaceship.



To this day when I think Happy Meal Toy, Its not beanie babies or hot wheels that pop up in my mind. Its not even the plush Christmas Muppet babies or land before time puppets. Not even my beloved yellow grimace comb. Its the Astrosnicks.



But to look online for them, pictures a scarce. I had to save some from a Hispanic language fan site. Two thumbs up for them. But they remain, however elusive, in the chronicles of retro history. I only wish that McDonalds would bring them back for children of today so I could collect them again. Did I just say that out loud?