Monster cereals

The monster cereals are a line of breakfast cereals produced by General Mills Corporation in North America. The line was introduced in 1971 and, at various times, has included six brands, each featuring a cartoon version of a classic movie monster: Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry (all produced seasonally from September 1 to October 31), as well as Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy[4] (both are discontinued, except for limited productions) with a sixth character Carmella Creeper introduced in 2023.

"Yummy Mummy" redirects here. For the slang term, see Yummy mummy.
Count Chocula
A box of Count Chocula breakfast cereal
Chocolate-flavored corn cereal bits and marshmallows
MascotCartoon vampire
Introduced1971 (1971)
AvailabilityStill in production seasonally
TaglineI want to eat your cereal! (1971–2010)
Notes[1]
General Mills – Count Chocula – Chocolatey Cereal with Monster Marshmallows, with milk
Franken Berry
A box of Franken Berry breakfast cereal
Strawberry-flavored corn cereal bits and marshmallows
MascotCartoon variant of Frankenstein's monster
Introduced1971 (1971)
AvailabilityStill in production seasonally
Notes[2]
Boo Berry
A box of Boo Berry breakfast cereal
Blueberry-flavored frosted corn cereal bits and marshmallows
MascotBlue cartoon ghost
Introduced1973 (1973)
AvailabilityStill in production seasonally
Frute Brute
A box of Frute Brute breakfast cereal from the 2022 release; cover design by KAWS
Frosted fruit-flavored cereal
with lime-flavored marshmallows;
Relaunch: Sweetened cherry-flavored cereal
with marshmallows
MascotCartoon werewolf
Introduced1974
AvailabilityDiscontinued (1982);
Relaunch (2013);
Discontinued (2014)
Relaunch (2022) (In a box of four Monster Cereals)
TaglineThe Howling Good Taste of Fruit
Notes[3]
Frute Brute cereal
Yummy Mummy
Frosted fruit-flavored cereal with vanilla-flavored marshmallows
Relaunch: Frosted orange-cream flavored cereal with marshmallows=
MascotCartoon mummy
Introduced1987
AvailabilityDiscontinued (1992);
Relaunch (2013);
Discontinued (2014)
TaglineYummy Mummy makes your tummy go yummy!
Heh, heh, heh!
(1988–1990)
Carmella Creeper
A box of Carmella Creeper breakfast cereal
Caramel apple-flavored corn cereal bits and marshmallows
MascotCartoon zombie DJ
Introduced2023

History

In March 1971, the first two cereals in the line were introduced, the chocolate-flavored Count Chocula and the strawberry-flavored Franken Berry. In the commercials, the two monsters, Count Alfred[5] Chocula and Franken Berry, would engage in comic bickering over which cereal was better, when something or someone else (usually Boo Berry) interfered in their verbal sparring and scared 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".[6][7][8] The Count Chocula and Franken Berry recipes were reformulated to remove this pigment.[9]

Boo Berry, the first blueberry-flavored cereal,[10] was released in December 1972 (released nationally in February 1973), and Frute Brute in 1974. Frute Brute was discontinued by 1982, after an eight-year run. It was replaced in 1988 by Fruity Yummy Mummy, which was discontinued in 1992 after just five years.[11] During this period, Frute Brute made conspicuous appearances in two films by Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, as a visual easter egg.[12]

In 2005, Count Chocula was shown in MasterCard's "Icons" commercial during Super Bowl XXXIX, where many famous advertising mascots are seen having dinner together.[13] In 2010, Betty Crocker released Franken Berry, Frute Brute, and Boo Berry Fruit Roll-Ups.[14] General Mills released Count Chocula cereal bars.

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. As of late 2010, information such as nutrition data and historical facts can still be found on the official General Mills website at all times of the year.[10]

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, received updated packaging like the other cereals, and the Fruit Brute variant was renamed Frute Brute. 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.[15]

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.[16]

In 2021, it was announced that the company would celebrate the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the Monster Cereals by releasing an amalgamated cereal entitled Monster Mash.[17]

In August 2022, due to the success of the 50th anniversary celebration, Frute Brute returned, and the covers of all four cereals that year featured artwork by KAWS inspired by the vintage designs.[18]

In June 2023, a new monster named Carmella Creeper was revealed, being a zombie DJ cousin of Franken Berry and the first female monster in the mix. Her green cereal is caramel apple flavored. General Mills also announced that a remake of the Monster Mash amalgamated cereal called Monster Mash Remix would be released as well featuring all six cereals.

Prizes

Until the early 1980s, the monster cereals were also known for their wide variety of both in-pack and mail-away cereal premiums. Many items, such as posters, stickers, paint sets, speedster cars, parachutes, and even vinyl advertising figures, were produced.[19] In 1979, three flexi-discs were made available via cereal boxes: "The Monsters Go Disco", "Count Chocula Goes to Hollywood" and "Monster Adventures in Outer Space".[20]

See also

References
  1. "TV ACRES: Advertising Mascots - Count Chocula". Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  2. "TV ACRES: Advertising Mascots - Frankenberry". Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  3. "TV ACRES: Advertising Mascots - Frute Brute". Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  4. Ettinger, Jared (22 August 2013). "General Mills Resurrecting Frute Brute, Yummy Mummy This Halloween".
  5. Bathroom Reader's Institute (2020). Uncle John's Greatest Know on Earth No. 33. Portable Press. p. 92. ISBN 9781645174141.
  6. Payne, J. V. (1972). "Benign red pigmentation of stool resulting from food coloring in a new breakfast cereal (the Franken Berry stool)". Pediatrics. 49 (2): 293–294. doi:10.1542/peds.49.2.293. PMID 5059537. S2CID 6104019.
  7. Gilbert-Barness, Enid; Debich-Spicer, Diane E. (2005). Handbook of pediatric autopsy pathology. Humana Press. p. 288. ISBN 978-1-59259-673-7. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
  8. Niemietz, Brian (October 31, 2009). "It's berry scary". New York Post. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  9. Bruce, Scott; Crawford, Bill (1995). Cerealizing America: The Unsweetened Story of American Breakfast Cereal. Faber and Faber Inc. pp. 212–213. ISBN 0-571-19851-1.
  10. "Monsters". General Mills. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  11. Morioka, Lynne (August 20, 2013). "The return of two General Mills monsters". Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  12. "The Brief, Monstrous Life of Fruit Brute". Michelle Delgado. July 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  13. "Mastercard Priceless | Experiences make life more meaningful". Priceless. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  14. "Franken and Boo Berry Fruit Roll-Ups!". X-Entertainment.com. October 8, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  15. Barr, Roger (December 19, 2013). "Fruit Brute And Fruity Yummy Mummy Are Back! Plus, All Five Monster Cereals Are Getting Retro Packaging!". I-Mockery. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  16. Sunu, Steve (August 6, 2014). "Jim Lee, Dave Johnson, Terry & Rachel Dodson Redesign General Mills' Monster Cereals". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  17. Bricken, Rob (May 11, 2021). "Count Chocula, Frankenberry, More Join Forces and Now Breakfast Is Doomed". Gizmodo. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  18. "Frute Brute Returns to the Monster Cereals Lineup!" (Press release). Advertising Week. Archived from the original on August 6, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  19. Jones, Jonathon (2016-10-15). Monster Cereal Box Premiums - The 1970's: A Groovy Decade of Crunchy-Sweet Fun (2 ed.). Jonathon Jones.
  20. "Count Chocula". Discogs.
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