1970s *Count Chocula*, *Franken Berry* & *Boo Berry* Monster Breakfast Cereal Commercial.
| Mascot: | Cartoon vampire; The name is a pun on the vampire Count Dracula Voiced by Larry Kenney impersonating Bela Lugosi |
|---|---|
| Introduced: | 1971 |
| Availability: | Still in production seasonally |
| Tagline: | I want to eat your cereal! (1971–2010) |
The General Mills Corporation’s monster-themed breakfast cereals, officially referred to collectively as the Monster Cereals, are five current, and formerly-distributed, breakfast cereal brands in North America. The series includes Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo-Berry, in addition to the long-discontinued, but temporarily resurrected, Fruit Brute and Fruity Yummy Mummy.
In October 1971, the first two cereals in the line were introduced, Count Chocula and the strawberry-flavored Franken Berry. In the commercials, the two monsters would engage in comic bickering over which cereal was better than the other when something or someone else interfered in their verbal sparring and scares 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.” Boo-Berry, reputedly the first blueberry-flavored cereal, was released in 1973, and Fruit Brute the following year. Fruit Brute was discontinued by 1982 and replaced in 1987 by Fruity Yummy Mummy, which also had a short life as it was discontinued in 1992.
In 2010, Betty Crocker released Franken Berry and Boo-Berry Fruit Roll-Ups. General Mills released Count Chocula cereal bars.
Since 2010, Franken Berry, Boo-Berry, and Count Chocula cereals are manufactured and sold only for a few months during the autumn/Halloween season in September and October. These cereals are neither made nor sold the rest of the year. As of late 2010, information such as nutrition data and historical factoids can still be found on the official General Mills website at all times of the year.
In August 2013, it was revealed on Dinosaur Dracula that for the first time in history, General Mills was releasing 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, would also receive updated packaging like the other cereals. 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.
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