General Mills monster-themed breakfast cereals

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Count Chocula
Count-Chocula-Box-Small.jpg
A box of Count Chocula breakfast cereal
chocolate-flavored corn
cereal bits and marshmallows
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]
Count-Chocula-Bowl.jpg
Bowl of Count Chocula
Franken Berry
Frankenberrycereal.jpg
A box of Franken Berry breakfast cereal
strawberry-flavored corn
cereal bits and marshmallows
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
Boo-Berry-Box-Small.jpg
A box of Boo-Berry breakfast cereal.
blueberry-flavored corn
cereal bits and marshmallows
Mascot: Blue cartoon ghost
Voiced by Paul Frees impersonating Peter Lorre
Introduced: 1973
Availability: Still in production seasonally
Fruit Brute
128px
A box of Fruit Brute breakfast cereal
Frosted fruit-flavored cereal
with lime-flavored marshmallows;
Relaunch: Frosted cherry-flavored cereal
with marshmallows
Mascot: Cartoon Werewolf
Introduced: 1974
Availability: Discontinued (1982);
Relaunch (2013);
Discontinued (2014)
Notes: [3]
Voiced by: Seth MacFarlane impersonating Marty Ingels
FruitBrute.jpg
Fruit Brute cereal
Fruity Yummy Mummy
128px
A box of Fruity Yummy Mummy breakfast cereal
Frosted fruit-flavored cereal
with vanilla-flavored marshmallows
Relaunch: Frosted orange-cream flavored cereal with marshmallows
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]

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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  5. 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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  10. "Franken and Boo Berry Fruit Roll-Ups!". X-Entertainment.com. October 8, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  11. "Count Chocula Treats 6 Cereal Bars (4 Pack) 24 Bars Total". Amazon.com. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  12. General Mills representative Kendall J. Powell at General Mills Inc. 1370 Orchard Road Montgomery, IL on June 15, 2011
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  15. Sunu, Steve (August 6, 2014). "Jim Lee, Dave Johnson, Terry & Rachel Dodson Redesign General Mills' Monster Cereals". Comic Book Resources.

External links