Representational Cereal

[urbpan]

I'm eating Boo Berry cereal, and it occurs to me that there are marshmallow bits in the shape of something, and I never thought to check what they are. This is my last bowl of it, and I don't think I'm going to buy another box, as I bought it basically on a whim. How can eat something and not know what it represents?! (this is probably not a problem for most people, but it really bothers me)

After a moment of staring into my bowl I realize that the marshmallow bits represent the three main Monster Cereals: bluish blobs for Boo Berry, Pink lobed heads for Frankenberry, and purple bats for Count Chocula. (The actual cereal itself is shaped like Pac Man ghosts.) I then think about these characters. Boo Berry is a ghost--cuddly with stoned eyes, wearing a hat and bowtie, and flavored like blueberry--but a ghost nonetheless, the spirit one who has departed the earthly coil. Frankenberry, we must assume, is a strawberry flavored monster made of reanimated corpses. And of course Count Chocula (famous for being the cereal most resembling Mr. Burns) is a cocoa flavored vampire, cursed to a living death as a nocturnal blood sucker who turns milk chocolatey.

(note to my brother and others: Shut up about the werewolf. 1. I've never seen the cereal, 2. It doesn't fit in with my point) ((the mummy probably does fit in, but I haven't seen that one either))

Are these the only group of cereals with mascots that are the living dead of one form or another? (If Mr. T dies, will Mr. T cereal count? and will the value of the boxes skyrocket?)

The infantilization of halloween icons has meant for some fascinating characters. The Count, from Sesame Street comes to mind--does he feed on the blood of monsters that have been lured to the castle and hypnotized by his obsessive counting? (For a very nice cross between the Munsters/Addams Family and Peanuts, see Steven Weissman's "Yikes," and other comics.)

My fascination has some distance to it, because even though I like horror movies, I don't much care for ghost and vampire horror. I prefer mutant and monster animals and robots. Zombies are pretty good, because they are kind of mutant/monster animal/robots.

Are there any zombie cereals (besides Frankenberry)? Robot cereals? Mutant animal cereals? Does Tony the Tiger count? Should I go back to writing about Urban Nature (don't worry, there are only four more months of winter, then I'll be out there taking pictures of bugs and weeds again!)

Comments

[markurock.livejournal.com]

Wow! This has been some of the most entertaining posting that I've read in quite some time!
In Washington state, we have a chain of stores called the __________ (your town name on line) Grocery Outlet, for example, in my town it's the Bellingham Grocery Outlet. Anyway, they get all kinds of awesome, funky, essoteric and nostalgic food items. Things like Captain Crunch with Hebrew writing on the box, or Top Raman in Ukranian packaging. They quite frequently have all three of the 'main' undead cerials, and they're quite reasonably priced. A large box goes for about $2.50 or so. I haven't eaten them in ages, but as a kid, it was mandatory in October to eat any one of the three (I loved Boo Berry!) and watch Scooby Doo on Saturday mornings before the parental units even thought about being awake! Good times with undead cerials.
I hadn't heared of the Honey Monster, but I'd give it a shot... the fruit mummy was interesting too. And I'll ditto the Fruity Pebble comment, as it kind makes you feel undead too.
One last thought, who was the German chick a few years ago who sang the song '99 luftalunes'? That song translated is 99 red baloons... red baloons are good.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

That would be Nena. I loved that song!