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General Mills monster-themed breakfast cereals
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971, the first two cereals in the line were introduced, the still-available Count Chocula and (strawberry flavored) Franken Berry. Boo Berry was released two years later, in 1973, and Fruit Brute appeared a year after that, in 1974. Fruit Brute was discontinued by 1983 and replaced in 1988 by Yummy Mummy, which also had a short life and was discontinued in 1993. Boo Berry and Franken Berry are sometimes mistakenly thought to be discontinued as well.
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Encyclopedia
History
In 1971, the first two cereals in the line were introduced, the still-available Count Chocula and (strawberry flavored) Franken Berry. Boo Berry was released two years later, in 1973, and Fruit Brute appeared a year after that, in 1974. Fruit Brute was discontinued by 1983 and replaced in 1988 by Yummy Mummy, which also had a short life and was discontinued in 1993. Boo Berry and Franken Berry are sometimes mistakenly thought to be discontinued as well. In reality, their distribution is just much lower and more sporadic than that of the flagship cereal Count Chocula. The best time of the year to find Boo Berry and Franken Berry is around Halloween.
Target and Wal-Mart are among the stores that have been known to carry these more scarce cereals during October in time for Halloween. They can be found year-round in the Midwest at Wal-Mart Supercenters and on Amazon.com, and in the Southeast in many stores. In addition, they have been spotted year-round in some Wal-Mart Supercenters in the East.
Somewhat unusual for a retired advertising character, Yummy Mummy and Fruit Brute continue to be seen on the occasional piece of official merchandise: in recent years, both a resin model kit, and a bobblehead doll have been sold in their images.
Health concerns
Franken Berry was very popular when first introduced, even though the initial batches of the cereal used a dye that didn't break down in the body, causing many children's feces to be bright pink, a symptom sometimes referred to as "Frankenberry Stool."
There were also some public concerns regarding the potential health implications of eating Count Chocula, in part because the product used to contain high levels of sugar, which may have led to it being temporarily discontinued. However, it was later reintroduced with healthier ingredients, such as whole grain corn.
Appearances in popular media
Television and Film
- On the TV series Futurama, Count Chocula has been promoted to Archduke Chocula.
- The Simpsons episode Sweets and Sour Marge features a parody named "Count Fudgeula". In Treehouse of Horror IV the credits list Matt “Count Chocula” Groening. In the episode The Old Man and the Lisa, when Mr. Burns shops for cereal he sees Krusty with a box of Krusty-O’s and asks, “Can you tell me where they put the Burns-O’s?” When Krusty replies, “They don't put nobodies on cereal boxes!” Burns notices a Count Chocula cereal box and says, “Hmm. I suppose this one looks a bit like me.”
- An episode of Invader Zim contains a parody character named Count Cocofang, a mascot for Coco Splodies cereal.
- In "The Office", On the episode "Health Care" Someone lists "Count Choculitis" as an illness when Dwight forces the staff to disclose their diseases in order to reduce health benefit costs. Dwight asks "Did you write that because you know I love 'Count Chocula'?"
- In Robot Chicken, Count Chocula is a judge in an American Idol spoof called Zombie Idol in which he substituted for the role of Simon Cowell.
- A cut-away in the Family Guy episode "Wasted Talent" shows Cap'n Crunch wanting The Godfather to assassinate Chocula because "that son of a bitch has been spreading lies! My cereal does not cut the roof of your mouth! With all respect."
- In the 21 Jump Street episode Old Haunts in the New Age, Doug Penhall (Peter DeLuise) dresses up as Count Chocula for Halloween.
- In the HBO Original Series The Sopranos, mobster Johnny Sack is jokingly referred to as Count Chocula.
- In the Psych episode American Duos, Emilina Saffron refers to Detective Carlton Lassiter as Count Chocula due to the detective's likeness to the mascot.
- In the Imaginationland episode of South Park, Count Chocula appears among the imaginary characters in the titular land.
- Franken Berry has appeared in South Park, Family Guy, The Simpsons, robot chicken, Dead Like Me (as "Frankenfruity"), and Drawn Together . He is also mentioned as looking like a Russian who conned Randy in My Name is Earl.
- In the Metalocalypse episode "Dethdad", when the band visits Norway, Murderface points out a child who looks like Boo Berry.
- During the 2005 Super Bowl, Count Chocula was seen in a MasterCard commercial alongside many other famous icons. Frankenberry is mentioned by an unknown voice.
Other Media
- In Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, the story of the book starts with a note lying next to an empty Count Chocula box. After reading the note, Wheeler simulates the Count Chocula cereals with Froot Loops and some Nesquik.
- Count Chocula is briefly mentioned in the films Wedding Crashers, Tank Girl, and Sugar & Spice; the cereal box itself appears in Multiplicity and Blade: Trinity.
- In 1999, the satirical newspaper The Onion ran a front-page story about Count Chocula; Franken Berry is also referenced in the article, though not named.
- The Halloween edition of the comedy website Something Awful's "Tub Bites series" features "Chocolate Dracula" and "Strawberrystein."
- In the webcomic Something Positive, the protagonist Davan McIntire uses a large supply of the monster cereals to create experimental desserts.
External links
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