Sonny the Cuckoo Bird
Encyclopedia
Sonny the Cuckoo Bird is the cartoon
mascot
for Cocoa Puffs
, a General Mills
-produced cereal. He often appears in its television
commercials.
He was designed by Gene Cleaves in 1962, but a new design was chosen in 2004. The old design can be seen on many retro shirts sold in stores such as PacSun and Delia's. , Sonny was voiced by Tex Brashear
. He was formerly voiced by Larry Kenney
, who voiced Lion-O in Thundercats
.
Sonny's name comes from the original format for the commercials, in which he was paired with his Grandfather. Rather than proper names, they always referred to each other as "Gramps" and "Sonny." When the Grandfather was dropped from the ads, "Sonny" remained as the character's name. In those original spots, both Sonny and Gramps were voiced by Chuck McCann
. In 2011, Grandfather returned to the Cocoa Puffs ads.
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
for Cocoa Puffs
Cocoa Puffs
Cocoa Puffs is a brand of chocolate-flavored puffed grain breakfast cereal, manufactured by General Mills. Introduced in 1958, the cereal consists of small orbs of corn, oats and rice that have been flavored with cocoa. Essentially, Cocoa Puffs are Kix cereal with added chocolate flavoring...
, a General Mills
General Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green...
-produced cereal. He often appears in its television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
commercials.
History
In the commercials, Sonny attempts to concentrate on a normal task and ends up coming across some reference to Cocoa Puffs themselves (usually described by the adjectives "crunchy, munchy, chocolatey") and bursts with enthusiasm, exclaiming, "I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!"He was designed by Gene Cleaves in 1962, but a new design was chosen in 2004. The old design can be seen on many retro shirts sold in stores such as PacSun and Delia's. , Sonny was voiced by Tex Brashear
Tex Brashear
Tex Brashear is a voice actor, who after a career in radio in Texas, Arizona and Los Angeles, made the transition into voice acting. Known as "The Man of 1000 Voices" , Brashear has been heard in thousands of cartoons, radio and television commercials, and has narrated many nature and historical...
. He was formerly voiced by Larry Kenney
Larry Kenney
Larry Kenney is an American radio personality and voice actor.In 1963, Kenney began his radio career at the age of 15 as a disc jockey at WIRL in Peoria. After WIRL, he worked at WOWO, Ft...
, who voiced Lion-O in Thundercats
ThunderCats
ThunderCats is an American animated television series that was produced by Rankin/Bass Productions debuting in 1984, based on the characters created by Tobin "Ted" Wolf. The series follows the adventures of a group of cat-like humanoid aliens...
.
Sonny's name comes from the original format for the commercials, in which he was paired with his Grandfather. Rather than proper names, they always referred to each other as "Gramps" and "Sonny." When the Grandfather was dropped from the ads, "Sonny" remained as the character's name. In those original spots, both Sonny and Gramps were voiced by Chuck McCann
Chuck McCann
Chuck McCann is a film actor, television actor, stage actor, and a voice actor from Brooklyn, New York.-Early career:...
. In 2011, Grandfather returned to the Cocoa Puffs ads.
External links
- Sonny and Gramps: 1960's Cocoa Puffs Commercials on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....