Birthday Box

Previously:

Bowl Game  - -  Breakfast Feud  

It's Cap'n Crunch's birthday but you get the present!

Okay, maybe not a present but a new cereal variant instead.  Cap'n Crunch's Birthday Crunch was on the shelves recently to celebrate the maritime mascot's 60th birthday.  The celebratory cereal is "Birthday Cake" flavor (which isn't really a thing) and allows breakfast enthusiasts to celebrate right along with the breakfast elder.  The multi-colored cereal comes in a multi-colored box with lot's of surprises on the back.  Let's take a look:

There's a lot going on.  A lot fo the old gang is back to play games, have fun, and celebrate the big 6-0.  Just for funsies, let's see what we can see in a back-of-the-box breakdown.

Every celebration needs a celebrity guest and this one has Quisp!  The fellow Quaker Cereal mascot decided to do a walk-on with well wishes for the Cap'n on his big day.  I though at first he was in one of his wacky, space-aged flying saucer contraptions but it looks like some other party guests are also riding in the pseudo-saucers.

The Cap'n's trusty companion Seadog and nefarious villain Jean LaFoote, the barefoot pirate, are both riding around in these things.  There's a party atmosphere so maybe they're meant to be some kind of carnival rides?  Only the Cereal Gods know for sure.

Young Brunhilde is also in attendance and decided to make it a pool party by diving into a giant bowl of the new, colorful concoction.  This is meant to be a maze you can navigate while you crunch your morning meal but it doesn't make sense to me.  Is the milk part supposed to be the path?  That clearly doesn't go anywhere near the "Finish."  And what's with this guy:

Is this supposed to be one of the Soggies?  I know it's been awhile but the design isn't right.  The eyes aren't yellow and there's some kind of pink/purple substance around the eyes.  There appears to be a cereal piece that's incorrectly(?) colored white that may or may not be a nose?  Maybe I'm out of the loop concerning the extended Cap'n Crunch Universe but this one is a head scratcher.

Smedly's back in all his peanut buttery glory.  Another part of the box instructs hungry readers to find five rings to "fling on" his snout.  I took a look around and found a couple.  This is the type of activity that may require multiple breakfast attempts to complete.  But after all this fun, it's time for presents:

Nothing beats a fun unscramble first thing in the morning.  The answer to this puzzle doubles down on the questionable celebratory cereal "flavor."  All in all, it's not a bad way to pass the time while working through your bowl.  Congrats to the Cap'n on reaching the milestone and here's to 60 more years of breakfast shenanigans!

Food Fright

Previously: Dead Man's Party

 Fifty years of bowl after bowl of monstrously fruity (and chocolatey) breakfasts have led us here:  the Golden Anniversary of General Mills' Monster Cereals!  Initially, a year-round phenomena, now Count Chocula, Frankenberry, Boo Berry and the gang are currently relegated to a once-a-year appearance during the Halloween season.  Since this year is the 50th anniversary of the OG morning monsters, it was decided that they'd get the band back together...the entire band.

  The big three: Count Chocula, Frankenberry, and Boo Berry are joined by their lesser known compatriots, Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy, for an all-star jam known as "Monster Mash."  The once in a lifetime breakfast treat is a mix of all the cereals together in the ultimate mash-up.

Here's the lineup of what actually ends up in your bowl.  You've got the Boo Berry and Frankenberry crunchy parts of the cereal and what appears to be Count Chocula inspired Bat & Swirl marshmallows.  You'll notice the orange and yellow marshmallows representing Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy in some nondescript shape.  There's also a pink version of that marshmallow and when you see it, you might think the shape is Frankeberry's head.  But if that's the case, what's with that shape being in the other colors?  A mystery for another time, perhaps.

As for the taste, eh...modern Monster Cereals get a lot of grief for forgoing the original oat-based recipe for the current, cheaper corn-based brew.  I normally don't notice those types of things but this time I picked up on the "Cheese Puff" type of texture.  It has an overall fruity taste and if there's meant to be any notes of chocolate (or "Chocula"), it's too subtle for me to pick up on.  

But this isn't the kind of cereal you buy for taste.  This is an event!  And it's not just confined to the cereal aisle.  Say hello to Monster Mash fruit snacks.

  The gang has their trick-or-treat buckets with them to invoke thoughts of Halloween hijinks and possibly to encourage folks to give these beauties out to youngsters on the Halloween candy hunt.  Looks like there was another attempt to prevent throwing a chocolate monkey wrench into the fruity flavors, so the official flavor is "Spooky Berry" and the Count is represented in "grape purple" instead of his usual "cocoa brown."

The whole gang is here along with "Fruit Castle" in green on the left.  The quality of the likenesses vary from character to character but they're all there in spirit, if not in flavor.  If you're not handing out full-sized Snickers on the 31st then these may be the next big thing.

Congrats to the Monster Squad on 50 years of chills, thrills, and the occasional milk spills.  I'm looking forward to the next 50!

Helping Hand

 The anthropomorphized hand that assists harried and hurried housewives has a name.  It's Lefty.  He also has a birthday.  It's today.  It's on the other side of the country so I can't go but I'll be there in spirit!  Here's a little tribute that General Mills tweeted out today:

Lefty, our favorite four-fingered Helping Hand, is celebrating the big four-oh this year.

https://t.co/szEQ8KiYnC

@helper

#hamburgerhelper

pic.twitter.com/JGkl4DbYHE

— General Mills (@GeneralMills)

July 26, 2017

So if you find yourself in Brooklyn today near the party maybe stop by and give him a high five.  And if you're not maybe pick up a box of Hamburger Helper and whip up a batch tonight.  Thanks for the help, Lefty.  You deserve a big hand for your efforts!

UPDATE:  Hamburger Helper tweeted this today

Last night 🌚 pic.twitter.com/wjaBMf4HC8

— Helper (@helper) July 27, 2017