General Mills monster-themed breakfast cereals
Count Chocula | |
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A box of Count Chocula breakfast cereal
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chocolate-flavored corn cereal bits and marshmallows |
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Mascot: | Cartoon vampire; The name is a pun on the vampire Count Dracula Voiced by Larry Kenney impersonating Bela Lugosi |
Introduced: | 1971 |
Availability: | Still in production seasonally |
Tagline: | I want to eat your cereal! (1971–2010) |
Notes: | [1] |
Bowl of Count Chocula |
Franken Berry | |
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A box of Franken Berry breakfast cereal
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strawberry-flavored corn cereal bits and marshmallows |
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Mascot: | Cartoon variant of Frankenstein's monster Voiced by Bob McFadden impersonating Boris Karloff |
Introduced: | 1971 |
Availability: | Still in production seasonally |
Notes: | [2] |
Boo-Berry | |
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A box of Boo-Berry breakfast cereal.
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blueberry-flavored corn cereal bits and marshmallows |
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Mascot: | Blue cartoon ghost Voiced by Paul Frees impersonating Peter Lorre |
Introduced: | 1973 |
Availability: | Still in production seasonally |
Fruit Brute | |
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128px
A box of Fruit Brute breakfast cereal
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Frosted fruit-flavored cereal with lime-flavored marshmallows; Relaunch: Frosted cherry-flavored cereal with marshmallows |
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Mascot: | Cartoon Werewolf |
Introduced: | 1974 |
Availability: | Discontinued (1982); Relaunch (2013); Discontinued (2014) |
Notes: | [3] |
Voiced by: | Seth MacFarlane impersonating Marty Ingels |
Fruit Brute cereal |
Fruity Yummy Mummy | |
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128px
A box of Fruity Yummy Mummy breakfast cereal
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Frosted fruit-flavored cereal with vanilla-flavored marshmallows Relaunch: Frosted orange-cream flavored cereal with marshmallows |
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Mascot: | Cartoon Mummy Voiced by Tony Pope impersonating David Jason |
Introduced: | 1987 |
Availability: | Discontinued (1992); Relaunch (2013); Discontinued (2014) |
Tagline: | Fruity Yummy Mummy makes your tummy go yummy! Heh, heh, heh! (1988–1990) |
The General Mills Corporation's Monster Cereals monster-themed breakfast cereals, officially referred to collectively as the Monster Cereals, are five current, and formerly distributed, breakfast cereal brands in North America. The series includes Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo-Berry, in addition to the long-discontinued, but temporarily resurrected, Fruit Brute and Fruity Yummy Mummy.[4]
Contents
History
In October 1971, the first two cereals in the line were introduced, Count Chocula and the strawberry-flavored Franken Berry. In the commercials, the two monsters would engage in comic bickering over which cereal was better than the other when something or someone else interfered in their verbal sparring and scares them out of their wits.
In February 1972, Franken Berry cereal included an indigestible pigment that turned some children's feces pink, a symptom sometimes referred to as "Franken Berry Stool."[5][6][7] Boo-Berry, reputedly the first blueberry-flavored cereal,[8] was released in October 1973, and Fruit Brute in 1974. Fruit Brute was discontinued by 1982 and replaced in 1987 by Fruity Yummy Mummy, which also had a short life as it was discontinued in 1992.[9]
In 2010, Betty Crocker released Franken Berry and Boo-Berry Fruit Roll-Ups.[10] General Mills released Count Chocula cereal bars.[11]
Since 2010, Franken Berry, Boo-Berry, and Count Chocula cereals have been manufactured and sold only for a few months during the autumn/Halloween season in September and October.[12][13] As of late 2010, information such as nutrition data and historical factoids can still be found on the official General Mills website at all times of the year.[8]
In August 2013, General Mills released all five monster cereals for purchase during the Halloween season. Both Fruit Brute, which was being released for the first time in 31 years and Fruity Yummy Mummy, which was being released for the first time in 21 years, would also receive updated packaging like the other cereals. Additionally, it was revealed on I-Mockery that special retro edition boxes of all five cereals with their original packaging art would be sold exclusively at Target stores.[14]
In 2014, General Mills enlisted the help of DC Comics to create new designs for the cereals in time for that Halloween. The designs, revealed on August 6, consisted of a Boo Berry design by Jim Lee, a Count Chocula design by Terry Dodson and a Franken Berry design by Dave Johnson.[15]
See also
References
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- ↑ Payne, JV. 1972. Benign red pigmentation of stool resulting from food coloring in a new breakfast cereal (the Franken Berry stool). Pediatrics. 49(2):293–4.
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- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Franken and Boo Berry Fruit Roll-Ups!". X-Entertainment.com. October 8, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
- ↑ "Count Chocula Treats 6 Cereal Bars (4 Pack) 24 Bars Total". Amazon.com. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
- ↑ General Mills representative Kendall J. Powell at General Mills Inc. 1370 Orchard Road Montgomery, IL on June 15, 2011
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Sunu, Steve (August 6, 2014). "Jim Lee, Dave Johnson, Terry & Rachel Dodson Redesign General Mills' Monster Cereals". Comic Book Resources.
External links
- General Mills Monster Cereal
- Monster Cereal Facts and Commercials
- Frankenberry at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012.