Recommended music: The Beatles – Strawberry Fields Forever
For this #WhateverWednesday, we’re checking out a toy that is more fun than scary. It’s the Jada Toys Frankenberry!
Nearly 20 years after Kellogg’s debuted Tony the Tiger as a cereal mascot, General Mills decided to create a pair of cereal spokesmen for its upcoming brands. Realizing the cereal market was untapped for chocolate and strawberry-flavored cereals, they created Count Chocula and Franken Berry with fun mascots in the spotlight. After hitting store shelves in 1971, these unique flavors, for the time, along with the addition of marshmallow bits, soon became a hit with cereal fans.
By the following year, Franken Berry cereal caused a bit of controversy after reports that children’s stools were turning pink, a symptom sometimes referred to as “Franken Berry stool”. This was due to the inclusion of an indigestible pigment in the corn-based cereal, and the Franken Berry recipe was quickly reformulated to remove this pigment. The cereal was updated again in the mid-1980s, changing from round corn puffs to a ghost-like design.
The cereal’s mascot is an electric-pink creature inspired by Frankenstein’s monster, but with a much friendlier appearance. Bob McFadden provided the original voice for the character, imitating Boris Karloff’s portrayal of Frankenstein’s monster. McFadden played him for most of the 1970s and 80s, as well as many other animated characters, such as Snarf on ThunderCats.
Though the brand was only available in the fall starting in 2010, General Mills looked to capitalize on the 50th anniversary of the monster cereals in 2021, getting Jada Toys to release this 1/12-scale action figure.
In addition to the bright, colorful paint, the figure has decent articulation and a very accurate likeness to the character seen on cereal boxes for the past five decades, right down to the chains and strawberry fingernails. Franken Berry also comes with a small box of cereal and an alternate head to replace the smiling head with a fun open-mouth look. The head can be difficult to swap, so I recommend applying some heat to loosen it up. Don’t worry if you pop out the double-jointed neck piece; it will reattach just like the legs that detach way too easily.
Though the joints are generally too loose for my liking and I wish Jada had included alternate hands and a cereal bowl, this was their first foray into the food mascot action figure market. This figure is still guaranteed to stand out in your display.
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