The fast-food restaurant introduced a Happy Meal on July 3 with toys inspired by the movie "Minions."
The Oak Brook, Illinois-based company issued a statement saying the sounds the small yellow figures make are nonsense words, nothing offensive or profane. It says that the Minion Caveman toy makes three sounds "para la bukay," ''hahaha" and "eh eh."
A toy acquired by The Associated Press made a sound that could be interpreted as an obscene phrase commonly abbreviated as "WTF."
"Our goal at McDonald's is to serve up food and fun for our valued customers, and we're glad to have the Minions on board," the company said.
A spokeswoman for McDonald's, Lisa McComb, says there are no plans to take the toys out of distribution.
"Minions," a prequel of the "Despicable Me" movies, premieres today.