Eric Originally Had A Pretty Shocking Death In 1988’s Mac And Me!

Friends, when you think back to 1988’s cult classic Mac and Me, what are the first things that pop into your mind? For myself I would say Coca-Cola as well as the fact there is absolutely an incredible dance number held in the lobby of a McDonald’s restaurant. Which I promise that I will share with you before I get to the gist of this article. Another thing that most people will remember about Mac and Me is the sheer amount of product placement found throughout the movie, that even includes the original trailer, which just so happened to feature Ronald McDonald.

Now if you’ve not had the pleasure of seeing the film before, there is a good reason that Ronald McDonald appeared in that ad. For one thing he does make an appearance in the film itself but the producer of Mac and Me, R.J. Louis, happened to have worked with Ronald McDonald House Charities in the past. To say nothing of actually having a hand in the advertising for the restaurant chain. As I understand it, there are conflicting reports on whether McDonald’s actually co-funded the film along with Coca-Cola – honestly, none of that matters. Because what truly matters is that the Ronald McDonald House Charities received a portion of the money from the ticket sales for Mac and Me. Plus there is that awesome dance sequence that I’ve been talking about… if you want to know what it was like growing up in the ’80s just watch this clip, it really is a wonder we ever accomplished anything we were dancing so much.

Okay, now as you saw from the trailer at the top of the article, Eric (Jade Calegory) develops a bond with MAC (Mysterious Alien Creature) as they attempt to find the alien’s lost Family. Which is why the young boy of course puts himself in harm’s way when the local Police began firing on the confused aliens outside of a grocery store. In the clip below you will see how things played out in the version of the film seen by American audiences.

It is implied that Eric is caught in the explosion in that version of Mac and Me. The Japanese audiences saw a wildly different version of the film however, thankfully we can see that alternate version of the scene. I think you will agree it is pretty bugnuts, it is just all very bizarre that the scene was even shot this way in the first place.