DENVER (Reuters) - A stuffed teddy bear from the hit animated movie "Minions" is credited with breaking the fall of a 5-year-old Colorado girl who suffered only minor injuries after tumbling from a third-story apartment window, police said on Friday.

The child was playing in a bedroom when she accidentally fell backwards out of an open window, Colorado Springs police said in a statement.

"Fortunately, when the child fell out of the window she continued holding on to a stuffed Minion teddy bear that is believed to have cushioned her fall," the statement said.

The girl was transported to a local hospital where she was treated for a broken arm and released, police said.

Colorado Springs Police Lieutenant Catherine Buckley said it is the fifth incident since May of a child falling from an open window in the state's second-largest city.

"Thankfully none of the injuries have been serious, but people should make sure to have an adequate screen or some other way to block a child from open windows," she said.

"Minions" tells the adventures of Stuart, Kevin and Bob, three gibberish-speaking caveman characters. It is a prequel to the 2010 smash hit "Despicable Me."

The Universal Pictures film reaped $115.2 million at the box office last weekend, making it the second-largest opening ever for an animated movie in North America, according to the trade publication Variety. That record is held by "Shrek the Third's" $121.6 million kickoff in 2007.

The teddy bear incident is the second time toys from the movie have made headlines outside the theater.

Plastic versions of the quirky characters were introduced this month by McDonald's in its line of Happy Meals toys.

Some customers posted videos online to complain that the talking toys utter an obscenity when tapped on a hard surface to activate a voice recording.

The fast-food chain said in a statement that the allegations the toys say anything offensive or profane is untrue, and it has no plans to pull them from its restaurants.

(Editing by Daniel Wallis and Sandra Maler)