McDonald's Despicable Me 3 2017 Happy Meal - Bratt's Speedboat
Welcome Back to the Drive-Thru - We're Talking Despicable Me 3!
If you were collecting McDonald's Happy Meal toys in the summer of 2017, the Despicable Me 3 wave was one you did not want to miss. Timed to the theatrical release of Illumination's third installment in the beloved franchise, McDonald's rolled out a 12-piece set that covered everything from beloved Minion antics to movie-specific vehicles. Today we're taking a close look at one of the standout pieces in the wave - Bratt's Speedboat - a toy that gets a little more interesting the more you examine it. 🍟
About the Toy: Bratt's Speedboat
Bratt's Speedboat is one of the vehicle-focused pieces in the Despicable Me 3 Happy Meal assortment, tied directly to Balthazar Bratt, the film's villain. Bratt is a former child star turned criminal mastermind with a very specific 1980s aesthetic, and his character design carries over into this toy in a satisfying way. The boat itself is a compact, single-piece hard plastic sculpt sized appropriately for small hands - roughly palm-length for an adult, which puts it right in the sweet spot for this type of promo toy.
The sculpt leans into the sleek, exaggerated design language you expect from Illumination vehicles. It reads clearly as a speedboat without overcrowding the form with detail, and the color application is molded-in rather than painted, which is typical for promo toys at this scale and price point. That molded color actually holds up better over time than painted apps, which tends to chip and wear - so from a durability standpoint, this one ages reasonably well.
There are no articulated parts or moving features, which keeps it structurally solid. It will sit flat on a shelf without tipping, making it a stable display piece alongside the rest of the wave. For kids, it functions well as a basic play prop. For collectors, it checks the box as a cleanly produced vehicle piece that adds visual variety to the set.
Wave Context: The Full Despicable Me 3 Set
The US Despicable Me 3 Happy Meal wave launched in June 2017 and included 12 toys total. The full lineup covers a solid range of categories - character figures, activity toys, and vehicles - giving the set a nice variety that makes completing it genuinely satisfying. Here is the full 12-piece lineup:
- Banana Launcher Minion
- Rocket Racer Minion
- Groovin' Minion
- Gru's Hydrocycle
- Crab Bite Minion
- Agnes Rockin' Unicorn
- Bratt's Speedboat
- Pumping Iron Minion
- Pass The Minion
- Despicable Deck
- Hilarious Hockey Minions
- Banana Flipper Minion
Bratt's Speedboat sits as one of only two villain-specific vehicle pieces alongside Gru's Hydrocycle, which immediately elevates its position in the wave. It is not a filler piece. If you are building a complete set display, this one carries weight.
In a wave full of Minion activity toys, vehicle pieces like the Speedboat and the Hydrocycle give the set visual balance. They are the kind of items that look intentional on a shelf rather than random - and that is the difference between a display and a pile of toys.
Collector Notes
The Despicable Me 3 wave is a mid-tier target for Happy Meal collectors - recognizable franchise, well-executed assortment, not yet dramatically rare but not easy to find complete either. Bratt's Speedboat specifically tends to show up less frequently than the Minion-centric pieces, likely because those were more popular with kids at the time and therefore more units were distributed. That slight scarcity makes it a more interesting find for set completionists.
In terms of long-term shelf appeal, the Despicable Me franchise has a strong collector following. The 2013 Despicable Me 2 wave also built a solid secondary market, and the 2017 wave is following a similar trajectory as the nostalgia window opens for collectors who were kids when this promo ran.
Display-wise, the Speedboat works best grouped with the other Despicable Me 3 vehicles - Gru's Hydrocycle and Lucy's Hydrocycle - to create a themed vehicle display within the set. Grouping by character works well too. Organized by toy type, the vehicle trio reads cleanly together and makes the wave look more intentional and collected.
For storage, small zip-lock bags inside a labeled bin sorted by year or franchise keeps everything tidy. Keeping the full 12-piece wave together preserves its set value and makes it easier to photograph or display as a complete unit.
I actually grabbed this one during the promo run - picked it up on a quick lunch stop and spotted it sitting right there in the box. It is marked in my Collectiblz app as part of the DM3 set. If you are tracking your own Happy Meal collection, the app is a solid way to stay organized and know exactly which pieces you still need.
- K.M. ✨
