The Hamburglar was the McDonaldland character famous for stealing hamburgers.
McDonaldland was a fictional advertising setting created for McDonald's children's marketing. It included Ronald McDonald and a group of colorful characters designed to make the restaurant's brand world memorable to young audiences.
The Hamburglar's role was built around a simple comic idea: he wanted to take hamburgers, while Ronald and the other characters tried to stop him. His striped clothing, mask, and exaggerated manner made him easy to recognize in commercials and printed promotions.
The character's appearance changed substantially over time. Early versions looked more like a small adult burglar, while later versions were presented as a younger, cartoon-like figure. Those redesigns sometimes lead people to treat the versions as separate characters, but they represent the same McDonaldland mascot.