In the 1970s, General Mills developed a brilliant new combination of cereal flavor and box art that would surpass typical breakfast fare to become an American classic. They found a way to make spooky things fun and entertaining while also appropriate for kids to enjoy at the breakfast table by creating General Mills Monster Cereal.
Banking on the continued popularity of classic monsters, General Mills created the characters and flavors of Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry, then later added Fruit Brute and Fruity Yummy Mummy to their line of cereal. The characters were drawn as kid-friendly emulations of Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, a ghost, werewolf, and mummy on attention grabbing cereal boxes.
Count Chocula and Franken Berry, the first two flavors, were introduced in March 1971. The chocolate or strawberry flavored cereal was made of pre-sweetened oats and corn, filled with several vitamins and iron. Initially shaped like small colored and flavored cylinders with marshmallows, now they have been updated to match the shapes of the characters.
The colorful, cartoon box art was accompanied by classic TV commercials with Count Chocula doing his best over-the-top Bela Lugosi impression and Franken Berry mimicking Boris Karloff. The spectral blueberry flavored Boo Berry was launched in December 1972, adding a ghost that sounded like Peter Lorre to the commercials. In the ads, the trio would talk about why each one was the best, scariest monster, but often ended up getting spooked by their surroundings.
For 35 years Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry were available year-round, while today they appear as special treats at Halloween. In 2013, the Monster Cereals were rereleased, marking the first time all five were available at the same time. General Mills updated the box art, giving them a contemporary 3-D look. Some stores, however, did carry the retro box art for Monster Cereal fans who preferred the original depictions.
When they were rereleased in 2014, the boxes depicted art by comics artists. The limited edition packaging was designed by Terry and Rachel Dodson (Count Chocula), Dave Johnson (Franken Berry), and Jim Lee (Boo Berry), with comic strips by Brent Schoonover.
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