Saturday Morning Cereals Nobody Can Find Now
Saturday morning belonged to cartoons, and cartoons belonged to cereal. Commercials between episodes introduced new boxes almost weekly, many tied to a mascot, a movie, or a video game.
Plenty of them vanished within a year or two, leaving behind a box that kids remembered long after stores forgot it. The cereals below came from General Mills, Ralston, Post, Kellogg’s, and Quaker, mostly between the 1960s and the early 1990s.
Surviving boxes now sell to collectors, with prices that swing widely depending on the condition of the cardboard and whether the box is sealed.
Quake
Quaker introduced Quake in 1965 alongside Quisp, and the two cereals were built around cartoon characters locked in an advertising rivalry. The commercials told kids to pick a side, which turned breakfast into a small competition.
Quisp survived in various forms, while Quake disappeared from shelves.
Freakies
Ralston introduced Freakies in 1972, and the box showed seven odd creatures living in a Freakies Tree. Characters such as BossMoss, Snorkeldorf, and Hamhose gave each kid a favorite to claim.
Collecting the creatures was nearly as important as eating the cereal.
Sir Grapefellow
General Mills launched the grape-flavored Sir Grapefellow in 1972 with a World War I flying-ace theme. A rival cereal, Baron Von Redberry, played the villain in the pair of airborne mascots.
Both left shelves quickly, which is why a surviving box is a real find.
Fruit Brute
General Mills added Fruit Brute to its monster cereal lineup in 1974, alongside Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry. The fruit-flavored cereal had a werewolf mascot.
It lingered into the early 1980s before disappearing, while its monster cousins returned seasonally.
Crazy Cow
General Mills introduced Crazy Cow in 1977 with chocolate and strawberry versions that turned a bowl of milk into a flavored drink. A cartoon cow starred in the commercials.
The gimmick was simple, and the cereal faded within a few years.
Smurf-Berry Crunch
Post tied this cereal to the Smurfs, who debuted on NBC’s Saturday morning schedule in September 1981. The box carried the little blue characters and a berry flavor.
When the cartoon cooled off, so did the cereal.
C-3PO’s
Kellogg’s released a cereal named for the golden droid of Star Wars in 1984, as the original trilogy wound down in theaters. The box put the character front and center, with a free-flowing space-age look.
Boxes in good condition command more attention from collectors than loose premiums do.
Pac-Man
General Mills introduced a Pac-Man cereal in 1983, riding the arcade craze and the animated series that aired the same season. Marshmallow pieces in the box represented the game’s characters.
Kids who played the game at the arcade after school found the box waiting at breakfast.
Nintendo Cereal System
Ralston released the Nintendo Cereal System in 1988, with one cereal themed around Super Mario Bros. and another around The Legend of Zelda. The boxes arrived while the Nintendo Entertainment System was the hot item in American living rooms.
The cereals did not last long, though the boxes are now widely remembered.
Mr. T
Quaker’s Mr. T cereal reached shelves in 1984, shaped like the letter T in honor of the actor. The box carried his scowling face and his tough-guy catchphrase about pitying fools.
The cereal lasted only a short time, and nearly every kid who knew the show remembered it.
Ghostbusters
Ralston introduced a Ghostbusters cereal in 1985, a year after the movie took over theaters. Marshmallow ghosts floated in the bowl, and the logo of the film sat on the box.
The cartoon version followed in 1986, but the cereal did not last as long as the franchise.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Ralston launched a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cereal in 1989, riding the cartoon that debuted in December 1987. The four heroes appeared across the box, and kids took them to the table.
The craze burned bright and then cooled, and the cereal left with it.
Urkel-Os
Ralston introduced Urkel-Os in 1991, using the breakout character from the sitcom Family Matters. The box carried a grinning Steve Urkel and his famous question about whether he did that.
The cereal was a quick hit in a television-driven market and disappeared as quickly.
A Box With an Expiration Date
Cereals built on a cartoon or a movie lived and died with the thing they advertised. A mascot that helped sell a box in October could look stale by spring, and manufacturers moved on without warning.
The result was a long list of cereals that existed for a season and then left the grocery aisle for good. What remains is mostly memory and the occasional cardboard box in a collector’s case.
Condition matters a great deal, since a dented, faded, or opened box sells for far less than a sealed one in strong color. Still, the real value of these cereals was always the Saturday morning that came with them.
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