Tag Archives: count chocula

News: Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry Monster Cereals are Back…And They’ve Gone Political!

(Update: My annual Count Chocula review is here, and so are Franken Berry’s and Boo Berry’s!)

Forget about all those Clintons, Bernies, and floppy hair-dos: the real election you should care about involves the Count, Boo, and Frank. You’ll never hear the phrase “lesser of two evils” in this election, because every candidate is equally lovable and sweet.

Which is ironic, because all three are monsters.

That’s right: Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry Monster Cereals are coming back to shelves for Fall 2016, starting in late August. But this time they’re not just here to spook and entertain. They vant your vote. Even though it’s only August 1st, General Mills is making the sweaty dog days of summer howl like werewolves with their debut of MonstersVote2016.com: the online headquarters for the Monsters Cereal Election. Here you can vote, take alignment polls, read monster bios, download posters, and see a live map of nationwide vote distribution.

This is exciting enough to make me taste ghosts of Boo Berry in the back of my mouth (though that might be from my stockpile of 2015 boxes). Every four years, Halloween fans get sad when the American presidential race overshadows their favorite shadowy holiday. So props to General Mills for capitalizing on this capitalist ennui with a playful twist of Halloween spirit.

There’s a lot to talk about here, so allow me to take a deep breath and cancel that impulsive tattoo parlor appointment I made to get #FrankenBerry2016 inked on my forehead. Continue reading →

Posted by dan g.. Categories: News. Tags: boo berry, count chocula, franken berry, general mills, halloween, monster cereals. 17 Comments

Oct. ’15

Spooned & Spotted: Monster Cereal Mask Boxes!

No time for a cheesy opening line: the monster cereal mask boxes are here! I can’t possibly mask my excitement!

Okay, I guess there was time for just one.

While the rest of us have been on a scary scavenger hunt (scare-venger hunt?) for the past two months, looking for the promised Walmart-exclusive, glow-in-the-dark masks on boxes of Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry, General Mills very sneakily decided to put them on the backs of non-monster cereals!

Stunned by this news, I quickly learned that GM have even updated their earlier blog post with this picture confirmation.

That’s right, this is a trick and a treat all wrapped up in one. But we can forgive them, because Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy actually get to join in on the fun! As the picture above shows, in order to collect every monster’s detached cardboard visage, you’ll have to buy a family-sized version of 5 different General Mills cereals at Walmart. Frute Brute graces Cookie Crisp (an intentional reference to Chip the Wolf?), Yummy Mummy is on Lucky Charms, Count Chocula is on Cocoa Puffs (which tastes a lot like the Count’s cereal), Boo Berry is on Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Franken Berry is on Reese’s Puffs.

In short: worth it. So worth it!

These are actually different than the Chocula and Boo masks released in Canada that we mentioned earlier, so if you want every single monster box from this season, you’re looking at a lofty 13 boxes! What an appropriate number.

Many thanks (more than 13 thanks) to Matt from Dinosaur Dracula, The Monster Cereals Army, and Mike H. for providing the photos! It’s this kind of wild ~~goose~~ ghost chase that makes the season feel so much more exciting and adventurous. If you’d like to see your picture or thoughts featured on a “Spooned & Spotted” post, click yourself right on over to our submissions page, or just email us at cerealously.net@gmail.com.

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Specials. Tags: boo berry, count chocula, franken berry, frute brute, general mills, halloween, monster cereals, spooned & spotted, yummy mummy. 2 Comments

Oct. ’15

Review: Count Chocula Treats Cereal Bars

Have you ever thought, “Gee, I love Count Chocula, but eating a bowl of it with milk in the middle of rush hour traffic sure is a hassle! I wish it were considerably more…rectangular!”

Well then it’s time to trick-or-treat yourself, because Count Chocula Treats have returned to save your morning commute from milk spills caused by unexpected brake-slamming.

Earlier this month, I mistakenly predicted that Count Chocula Treats would be a Canadian exclusive this season. While my neighbors to the north may still be the only ones getting Treats with orange chocolate, the cereal bars have finally made their way to American shelves.

What took you so long, Count? I guess when you’re an ageless, blood-sucking entity, you tend to lose track of time. Continue reading →

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Reviews. Tags: 10 rating, cereal bars, count chocula, general mills, halloween, monster cereals. 2 Comments

Oct. ’15

Special: Spooned & Spotted — Count Chocula Treats

(Edit 10/17: I was wrong! The bars have finally made their way to U.S. shelves, just without orange chocolate. You can read my review by clicking here!)

See those little undead hands making the “👌” emoji?

Well that was the first thing I did upon seeing this image from user Danse Macabre (thanks!). In my earlier review of Franken Berry and Boo Berry Fruit Roll-Ups, I noted how Count Chocula treats—which have been a mainstay on grocery store shelves for several Halloween seasons—seemed to be M.I.A. for 2015.

But fear not, monster cereal fans (or maybe do fear, because they are, you know, monsters), the snack sized cereal bars are alive! The treats combine chocolate cereal pieces, chocolate chips, and marshmallows with a sweet and gooey sugar binding agent to hold them together into a singular mass.

This just makes me think. If I were to bite the end of a Count Chocula Treat into a point, would I be able to pound it through a vampire’s heart like a stake? What an ironic death that would be.

Interestingly, the icing and milky bottom on these bars appears to be an eerie orange this time around, whereas previous editions simply had the Count’s signature brown.

However, there is a catch. At the moment, these bars might be a Canada exclusive! Danse Macabre spotted them at a local Ontario superstore, and other reports have seen them popping up all over the country. Will the Count’s bar-shaped cereal expansion packs reach the U.S. this season? I think it’s only a matter of time. After all, it’s like the wise Dwight Schrute once said:

“If a vampire-bat was in the U.S. It would make sense for it to come to a ‘sylvania.’ Like Pennsylvania.”

If you’d like to see your picture or thoughts featured on a “Spooned & Spotted” post, click yourself right on over to our submissions page, or just email us at cerealously.net@gmail.com.

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Specials. Tags: count chocula, general mills, halloween, monster cereals, spooned & spotted. 7 Comments

Sep. ’15

Special: Building the Monster Cereal Castle!

As October is less than a week away, it’s prime time for Halloween junkies to start turning their humble offices, kitchens, living rooms, bathrooms, and heck, even doghouses into pumpkin-scented, fog spewing shrines celebrating all things orange, black, and blood red.

And for those who are unsure on where to start, then Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry have the perfect starter kit for you. See, while the common versions of those cereals produced for mass sale have futuristic augmented reality compatibility, the Target exclusive boxes spurn those pesky Millennials and their new-fangled “apps” in favor of something a bit more charmingly old school.

See, by combining the three boxes like a sugar-coated Triforce, you can build Count, Frank, and Boo’s sleek bachelor pad…err, I mean “spooky castle.” But I won’t waste more time with introductions.

Let’s grab some scissors! Continue reading →

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Specials. Tags: boo berry, count chocula, franken berry, general mills, halloween, monster cereals. Leave a comment

Sep. ’15

Review: Count Chocula Cereal (2015)

It feels just like Christmas morning…that is, if your idea of Christmas morning involves carved pumpkins, $2 fake cobwebs from CVS, and VHS tapes of the Halloween series playing on infinite repeat (yes, even The Curse of Michael Myers is welcome here).

Why is that?

Because monster cereals are back, baby!

Even though it’s only mid-September, and people haven’t even put away their Labor Day decorations yet (you mean you don’t have a giant inflatable businessman on your front lawn?), Walgreen’s is already committed to injecting the orange and black life essence of Halloween straight into the veins of consumers. Okay, maybe a poor choice of verbiage for a place that contains a pharmacy. Continue reading →

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Reviews. Tags: 9 rating, count chocula, general mills, halloween, monster cereals. 10 Comments