Ray Raisin in the Sun: Kellogg's Raisin Bran 1981 Animation Cel

 

What's the scoop, Sun?  In 1981, reporter Ray Raisin interviewed Sunny, the Kellogg's Raisin Bran mascot, about two bigger scoops of raisins being put in boxes of Kellogg's Raisin Bran cereal.  Years before the Claymation California Raisins, Kellogg's had its own singing and dancing cartoon raisins.  I recently found and purchased an animation cel of Ray Raisin (with a pencil drawing of Sunny)---for $40!

Before computers were used to color animated characters for cartoons, character drawings were transferred to clear plastic sheets (called cels), and the painting was done on the back.  This Raisin Bran advertisement took things to another level---the characters had meticulous shading painted right on to the cel.  This must have been an astonishing amount of work (possibly airbrushed?).  A TV commercial had a much bigger budget and care given to it than the TV shows the ads ran with at the time.

I believe the Kellogg's commercials were produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, which ironically went on to produce the hand-drawn California Raisins Saturday Morning cartoon in 1989, as well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (among countless other projects).

Ray Raisin was voiced by the legendary Paul Winchell (the original voice of Tigger from Disney's Winnie the Pooh).  I believe Sunny was voiced by Joel Cory (who voiced the Helping Hand in commercials for Hamburger Helper).

Two bigger scoops of raisins are the reason Kellogg's Raisin Bran's so pleasin'!  That song is stuck in my head now.

Cavity Crunch: Crispy Sweet Cereal with Minty Toothpaste Flavored Marshmallow Teeth

I have been watching a YouTube Channel called Cereal Time TV, and it inspired me to create a new Breakfast Cereal.  Cavity Crunch from General Sawmills takes inspiration from Wacky Packages, General Mills cereal from the 1970s and 1980s, and Little Shop of Horrors.  I'm now realizing that Dental Adam could be a cousin of Mr. Clean.

NBC It! Seinfeld And Wings Kellogg's Cereal Prizes

In 1993, NBC did something different to promote its prime time Thursday night TV lineup. Seinfeld and Wings appeared on boxes of Kellogg's cereals aimed at adult consumers.

Jerry and Elaine did not share a cereal box with Tony the Tiger on Frosted Flakes. Instead, they could be found on the more healthy-sounding Low Fat Granola With Raisins. It's too bad they did not make a creative special edition cereal called Jerry-O's or Kramer Krunch.

Cereal played an important role in the world of Seinfeld, a show based on the life of comedian Jerry Seinfeld that first aired in 1989.

A special Seinfeld cereal bowl was available through the mail.

The bowl was $4.95 plus two Proof of Purchase (UPC symbols) from Kellogg's Low Fat Granola Cereal.

You'll need a good breakfast to stay sharp. Someone may ask you who invaded Spain in the 8th century, and you'll want to be able to remember the answer.

Because you had a good breakfast, you'll remember that Spain was invaded by the Moops. Some may dispute your answer, and say it was the Moors that invaded Spain. But you remember reading the answer was the Moops when you played Trivial Pursuit.*

*Taken from the Seinfeld episode, "The Bubble Boy."

There were never Seinfeld action figures or paper dolls, but Kellogg's did offer cut-out characters to help you attempt be the master of your own domain.

The cast of Seinfeld had some animated roles, too. Jerry Seinfeld created Bee Movie (2007) for DreamWorks Animation. Jason Alexander (George) was a prolific voice-over actor. He starred in the prime time USA Network series Duckman in 1994. He played Abis Mal the thief in the animated Disney Aladdin TV series, also in 1994. In Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) he was Hugo the Gargoyle, and in 101 Dalmatians II (2003) he voiced a Corgi named Lightning. Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine) was Princess Atta in Disney Pixar's A Bug's Life (1998). Michael Richards (Kramer) starred as the Wolf in Disney's rarely seen Redux Riding Hood animated short in 1997. Wayne Knight (Jerry's nemesis, Newman) provided the voice for Tantor the elephant in Disney's Tarzan (1999).


Kellogg's Frosted Bran featured a Wings cereal box prize.

Wings debuted in 1990 and was sort of a spin-off of NBC's "Cheers." A few characters from Cheers also appeared on Wings and later on Frasier.

Interestingly, Thomas Haden Church (Lowell on Wings), Peri Gilpin (Roz on Frasier) and John Mahoney (Martin Crane on Frasier) had appeared in episodes of Cheers as different characters. Peri Gilpin was also on Wings as another different character (as a crazy date for Brian).

Wings was set on the island of Nantucket. Since it was not too far from Boston, it was easy for Norm, Cliff Clavin, Rebecca, Frasier and Lilith to leave their favorite bar and mingle with Joe (Tim Daly), Brian (Steven Weber), Helen (Crystal Bernard), Lowell (Thomas Haden Church), Roy (David Schramm), Fay (Rebecca Schull) and Antonio (Tony Shalhoub) at the airport.

Like Seinfeld and Cheers, Wings also featured rising stars over the years. Megan Mullally (from Will and Grace) and Matthew Fox (from Lost) both had memorable roles on Wings, even though each only appeared on the show one time.

The Wings crew needs energy to take folks on that flight to Kennebunkport. Sorry, no meals are served on Sandpiper Air. Helen's lunch counter does serve breakfast, including Kellogg's Frosted Bran cereal.

Looks like we are ready for take-off! Though it may not be a good idea to eat a bowl of bran cereal before getting on a small airplane. Was there a bathroom on Sandpiper Air? I sure hope so.

Lowell has the instructions on how to assemble your Wings Glider.


Not pictured is my favorite character from the show, cab driver Antonio (Tony Shalhoub) who joined the cast in 1991, originally as a waiter. These days Tony Shalhoub is known for his role as a detective on "Monk" and as Luigi in the Disney Pixar Cars universe.

The Bear Necessities Of A Good Breakfast: TaleSpin Cereal Figures!

What "TaleSpin" character did you find in your box of Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies cereal? Figures of Baloo, Kit, Molly and Don Karnage were available as part of a big promotion for the 1990 Disney Afternoon TV series. These figures could also be ordered as a set through the mail.

TaleSpin took Baloo the Bear, Louie the Orangutan, and Shere Khan the tiger from Disney's 1967 film, "The Jungle Book", and cast the characters in new roles. Baloo became a cargo pilot for a business called Higher for Hire. Louie became an island nightclub owner, and Shere Khan was a ruthless tycoon. Baloo and Kit Cloudkicker worked for Rebecca Cunningham (mother to Molly). The characters often had run-ins with air pirate Don Karnage.

Kellogg's made sets of figurines from other Disney Afternoon shows, too. This Kellogg's promotion also featured figure sets for Gummi Bears, DuckTales, and Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers.



Kellogg's also had a cereal prize promotion featuring TaleSpin stampers.

My favorite TaleSpin story is "Time Waits For No Bear." This was one of the very first episodes (it was shown on The Disney Channel before the series debuted on The Disney Afternoon) and there are some production glitches (the voices of the hilarious Gorilla Goon and Rhino Goon are accidentally switched in one scene, and mechanic lion Wildcat's costume is the victim of some paint color confusion as he gives a Hippo lady and her Stork husband a tour of the town of Cape Suzette). This episode sticks out in my mind not only because it is really funny, but also because it starts off with a robbery committed by an Elephant cat-burglar! It's not surprising that the police end up catching him (it's an elephant---how could they miss him?!?).

Disney's Bonkers Kellogg's Corn Pops Crime Wave

Bonkers D. Bobcat has one of the most unusual histories of any of the characters from The Disney Afternoon syndicated block of TV cartoons.

"Bonkers" was a show about a cartoon star-turned police officer. The series debuted on The Disney Channel in February of 1993 and was launched on The Disney Afternoon later in the Fall.

But let's back things up a bit. Disney Afternoon shows like "Bonkers" required 65 episodes for syndication. During this production, it was decided to introduce the Bonkers character in short cartoons on a 1992 CBS Saturday Morning series called "Disney's Raw Toonage," truly giving Bonkers a past as a cartoon star. This series also featured Disney's version of a European cartoon character, Marsupilami, and usually had a different Disney character (like Sebastian the Crab) acting as a host for the show.

When the "Bonkers" series first debuted on the Disney Channel in February of 1993, the show's title character was a cop partnered with a human female named Miranda Wright (clever name!). Bonkers had left Toontown to work in the real world. Though in this show, the "real world" characters were hand drawn, too.

The February/March 1993 Disney Channel Magazine featured this little article:

Up until the series finally debuted on The Disney Channel on February 28th, I had thought the name of Bonkers' partner shown here was Lucky Piquel (per this article), but it was Miranda! Confusing! Bonkers is called "Bonkers T. Bobcat" here---I'm pretty sure it's "Bonkers D. Bobcat."

When "Bonkers" debuted on the Disney Afternoon in the Fall of 1993, it was a vastly different show from what Disney Channel viewers had seen. Bonkers himself had been redesigned. He was now partnered with a fat male detective named Lucky Piquel. Bonkers had new toon friends, like Fall-Apart Rabbit and Toots.

Apparently, some folks at Disney had not been pleased with the original "Bonkers as a cop" show, and changes were ordered. The changes must have been baffling to many viewers. To make things even more confusing, the "new" version of Bonkers was considered to be a prequel to the Miranda Wright episodes. Lucky and Bonkers say goodbye to each other in one episode, and Bonkers is partnered with Miranda.

Just writing this makes my head hurt.

Bonkers and Lucky Piquel were both voiced by the versatile Jim Cummings (also the voice of Darkwing Duck, the Tasmanian Devil, Bad Pete, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger).

The police lineup from the Kellogg's Corn Pops Bonkers Fingerprint Game features some minor characters from the show.

Julio Calamari (voiced by Michael Bell, who was Quackerjack on "Darkwing Duck") was a singer that used the voice of an imprisoned toon pig named Charlie (voiced by Jess Harnell, Wakko Warner from "Animaniacs") in an episode called "Tune Pig." Bonkers also had to rescue Charlie's Mom (April Winchell, the voice of Clarabelle Cow) from farmer Old Macdonald (Michael Bell).

Wooly the sheep (Pat Fraley, who was Wildcat the mechanic on "TaleSpin") and Bully the duck (Rob Paulsen, who was P.J. in "Goof Troop" and "A Goofy Movie") were featured in "Calling All Cars." Wooly and Bully were henchmen to a shifty tow truck named Ma Parker (voiced by June Foray). Ma Parker looked very much like a cross between a tow truck (years before Tow Mater in Disney Pixar's "Cars!") and Ma Beagle from Disney's "Ducktales" (a character also voiced by June Foray). Bully the duck bears a striking resemblance to Darkwing Duck.


The main character and the premise of "Bonkers" was very similar to "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." A few well-known Disney characters made appearances on "Bonkers." The Mad Hatter and the March Hare from "Alice in Wonderland" were semi-regulars on the show, as was Dr. Ludwig Von Drake. I can remember seeing Lady and the Tramp, Dumbo, Darkwing Duck, Goofy, and Brer Bear, too. There was even an entire episode featuring Mickey Mouse, but he was never shown---only his voice was heard!

Disney's Darkwing Duck McDonald's Happy Meal

Darkwing Duck, "the terror that flaps in the night," made his TV debut in 1991 (like so many Disney Afternoon shows, the series had a preview on the Disney Channel in the Spring before heading to syndication in the Fall). The show was also seen on ABC Saturday Mornings. Darkwing Duck was even the star of his own McDonald's Happy Meal.

Well, in New Zealand, circa 1993!

There was no Darkwing Duck Happy Meal in the United States. Darkwing Duck may have been the victim of a change in Disney's fast food promotional partners. Disney had previously partnered with McDonald's in the United States for TV and movie Happy Meals, but that changed in 1991 with a new alliance with Burger King. Burger King's first promotion was for Beauty and the Beast in November of 1991.

However, Disney and McDonald's were still promotional partners in most other countries. For example, McDonald's had a Lion King Happy Meal in Europe to promote the film, but in America, Burger King had a Lion King Kids Club Meal.

New Zealand's Darkwing Duck McDonald's Happy Meal featured four vehicles that revealed characters from the series.



On the far left is Darkwing's Thunderquack Jet, which is piloted by Darkwing Duck himself.

The Ratcatcher Motorcycle is driven by Launchpad McQuack.



It may have been more logical for Launchpad to go with the Thunderquack Jet, since Launchpad was a pilot (though not a good one, as seen in his other Disney TV series, Ducktales).

The bookbag(?) on wheels (maybe it's a trash can?) features Honker Muddlefoot, the show's nerdy character.




Darkwing Duck's daughter Gosalyn sits in what I believe is supposed to be the Ratcatcher motorcycle's sidecar.



Folks in the United States probably remember another Darkwing Duck promotion. Kellogg's cereals had a set of figurines available as an offer through the mail.



Ironically, the Kellogg's Disney Afternoon figures known in America were also offered in McDonald's Happy Meals in other countries!

Darkwing Duck (voiced by Jim Cummings) fought crime with goofy sidekick Launchpad McQuack (Terence McGovern). They are often helped by Darkwing's adopted daughter, Gosalyn (Christine Cavanaugh) and her friend, Honker Muddlefoot (Katie Leigh). They must fight a host of wacky villains, including Megavolt (Dan Castellaneta---the voice of Homer Simpson).




My favorite Darkwing Duck character was one that only had one appearance. It was "The Rubber Chicken," and he was featured in an episode called "Mutancy on the Bouncy." He was an elastic rooster superhero voiced by Corey Burton. I thought the concept of this character was hilarious and that he deserved his own show or movie.

Shamu And The Animated Sea World Crew

Sea World Parks are famous for their live animal displays and shows, but Shamu the killer whale and his friends have been appearing as cartoon characters for many years.  Pat Paris Productions gave the sea life of Sea World new life as colorful mascots.  These characters welcomed visitors to Sea World parks in California, Florida, Ohio, and Texas.  From the left, there's Dolly Dolphin, Cap'n Kid (with Chester Parrot), O.P. Otter, Shamu the killer whale, Sir Winston Walrus, Virgil Pelican, Pete and Penny Penguin, and Seamore Sea Lion.

I found this great stamp activity book (from 1983) at a half-price book store many years ago.

Here's one of the lesser-known Sea World characters, Oscar Octopus.

At the same book store (which was nowhere near a Sea World) I found a 1983 coloring book, too!

In this book, Shamu and the crew look for a treasure, with the help of Oscar Octopus

This cracks me up!  "Everyone loves Shamu the killer whale!"  Ha ha!  Kids also love to play with their friend, Stingy the killer bee.

Before Honey Boo Boo, Sugar Bear was the mascot for Post Super Golden Crisp cereal.

 Shamu leaps onto boxes of Post Super Golden Crisp with Sugar Bear in 1987!

A Sea World Poster and a chance to win a trip to Sea World in California?  I had to get this cereal!

More great illustrated sea life!  The entry form is still here, so I guess I did not enter the contest--what was I thinking?

This picture of an animated Shamu show is from a Sea World souvenir book I got at the park in Orlando in 1987.  I never saw this show anywhere, and wondered about it for years.  Thanks to theme park historian and artist Christopher Merritt, I now know that this small show was part of the Hawaiian Punch Village at Sea World in San Diego, California.  There's Punchy and Oaf (the pudgy tourist that Punchy would famously punch--"How'd you like a nice Hawaiian Punch?") performing with Shamu!

A show that I did see at Sea World in Orlando in 1987 was "Undersea Fantasy."  This indoor, multi-media show featured actors, puppets and animatronics with film footage.  The costumes of Sir Winston Walrus, O.P. Otter and Arthur C. Turtle had moving mouths.  They sang all sorts of songs, including one about coral, and a song called "Do the Swim."

 Sea World Fish was a version of the card game "Go Fish."  I don't have this game, but somehow I managed to get a few of the cards.

It's PVSea World!  PVC figures of Shamu and his crew debuted in 1988.  The figures of Shamu, Dolly Dolphin and Penny Penguin were also released as part of a regional McDonald's Happy Meal promotion for Sea World Ohio (the Ohio park was later sold to Six Flags and re-themed).

This Shamu puppet I got on my one and only visit to Sea World in 1987 (we got a multi-day pass on this trip, so I think I was at the park for 3 or 4 days on that visit, due to my fascination with marine life) still has his tag!  The puppets were $5 each, which was a lot of money then!

I also got a Dolly Dolphin puppet.  Shamu and Dolly both have squeakers in their mouths, and were made in Taiwan.  On this trip, I also got a woven patch featuring Seamore Sea Lion.

This postcard I got in 2004 features the walk-around Sea World mascots.  New characters have been introduced, including a Manatee (I don't know his name, but this would have been my favorite as a kid), Sydney Shark and Shivers the Polar Bear.  Cap'n Kid and Chester Parrot seem to have been dropped from the cast.  Seamore Sea Lion's brother, Clyde, and Arthur C. Turtle are also seen here.  I have to say, I prefer the old Sea World logo!

These days, Sea World's marine life mascots share their home with the monsters and colorful creatures from Sesame Street.

Dino With Your Pebbles Cereal (He's Stuffed, Of Course!)

Post Cereals frequently featured a really nifty prize in a window box attached to the tops of their popular cereals aimed at kids.  One of the best premiums was a plush Flintstones Dino the Dinosaur sold with Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles cereals in 1988.

Dino was available in purple and brown.  I remember a sea of purple Dinos on visits to the supermarket.  Sometimes kids would rip the prize box off of the cereal.  Nasty cheaters!

I had a very difficult time finding the brown version of Dino, which was likely paired with Cocoa Pebbles.

I actually don't remember ever finding the brown version of Dino at the grocery store, but I was able to get one at some point, somehow.  I liked brown Dino more, because he was a curiosity to me and because he was tougher to find.

The Dino plush toys are about 4 and a half inches tall and have 1988 Hanna Barbera Productions and Strottman, International, Irvine, CA notations on their tags.  They are pretty impressive, especially for cereal prizes!

The purple Dino was also available to order by mail, with two UPC Bar Codes and a check or money order for 50 cents.  The offer shown here is from a "Bedrock Gazette" advertising section found in USA Today newspaper on December 2, 1988.  This was part of a Pebbles Cereal campaign where kids had to help Fred Flintstone find his missing pet, Dino (he was in Hollyrock!).  This particular USA Today section featured the names of children in the Southeastern United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands that assisted Fred with clues for finding Dino (no, my name was not among them).

The Bedrock Gazette also featured a special preview of eraser figures of Fred, Dino and Barney that would be available inside Pebbles Cereals.  I still have mine somewhere.

These toys are probably not that difficult to find for sale online these days.

Magic Trix Aren't Just For Kids

Now you can get Lucky with a cheap trick.  Lucky the Leprechaun, that is!

The gang from the "Big G Cereals" is featured here in Magic Show tricks created by Dan Witkowski.  There were 6 of these books available inside specially marked boxes of General Mills Cereals back in 1987.  I only got this one.

There used to be three Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal baker characters, but only Wendell, the one with glasses, survived (and became much cartoonier).

This version of Lucky the Leprechaun was cute.  I believe they'd sell more Lucky Charms with this appealing character design.  Time to go retro, General Mills!

Of course, you can't have a General Mills Magic Show without the Trix Rabbit.  Count Chocula, Frankenberry, the Honey Nut Cheerios Bee (before he got named BuzzBee), Lucky the Lucky Charms Leprechaun, Sonny the Cuckoo Bird from Cocoa Puffs, and Ice Cream Jones are represented here.  There's also a character that I can't identify--the guy with the white beard.  Who is this?

New for 1987 was Ice Cream Cones Cereal, with a new character named Ice Cream Jones.  This cereal was available in Chocolate Chip or Vanilla (sold separately).



I always liked the "Big G" characters.  Many years ago, they were also the mascots of the now-closed Opryland theme park in Tennessee.


General Mills developed many creative (and sometimes unusual) cereals over the years (especially in the 1980s).  Check out more at Topher's Breakfast Cereal Character Guide.