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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 (both are discontinued, except for limited productions) with a sixth character Carmella Creeper introduced in 2023.

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 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". The Count Chocula and Franken Berry recipes were reformulated to remove this pigment.

Boo Berry, the first blueberry-flavored cereal, 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. During this period, Frute Brute made conspicuous appearances in two films by Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, as a visual easter egg.

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. In 2010, Betty Crocker released Franken Berry, Frute Brute, and Boo Berry Fruit Roll-Ups. 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.

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.

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.

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.

In August 2022, due to the resounding success of the 50th anniversary celebrations just one year prior, Frute Brute returned, and the covers of all four cereals that year featured artwork by street artist KAWS inspired by the vintage designs.

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.

In March 2024, street artist Kaws launched a collection of four figurines representing these monsters, Count Chocula, Boo Berry, Frute Brute and Franken Berry following the collaboration with General Mills in August 2022. These figurines are bigger than those found in cereal boxes, but retain the artwork design. In May of the same year, General Mills revealed new characters who will serve as the pets of the titular monster including: Igor the spider, Bennie the Franken-bat, Meow Berry the ghost cat, and Scratch the snake; each of which are the animal companions to Count Chocula, Franken Berry, Boo Berry, and Carmella Creeper, respectively. The new additions to the Halloween-themed breakfast cereals, will also be integrated into cereal-marshallows in the shape of these pets.

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. 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".

References

External links

"Frankenberry". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 16, 2012.
"Monster Cereal". General Mills.
Monster Cereal Box Premiums – The 1970's: A Groovy Decade of Crunchy-Sweet Fun].
"Monster Cereal Facts and Commercials". Retroist.com. October 29, 2008.