Cereals From Beyond 3

Good cereals never go away, they become immortalized on YouTube and by retro bloggers! For more Cereals from Beyond, check out Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 4 and Part 5!

Cracker Jack Cereal (Ralston, 1980s)

I couldn’t find a definite years this cereal was active, but it doesn’t matter because I never even knew a Cracker Jack cereal existed! BRILLIANT! But in all honesty, I can’t imagine a cereal version being any better than a good ol’ box of Cracker Jacks with some milk poured into it.

Vanilly Crunch (Quaker Oats, 1972)

Launched alongside a couple of other Cap’n Crunch spinoff cereals in the early 70s, Vanilly Crunch seems to pretty much be Frosted Kix. That is, if they actually made a Frosted Kix, which they wouldn’t because regular Kix are already kid-tested and mother-approved and there’s no need to go ticking off a bunch of mothers. Oh well, at least we got a pale white, mascara-wearing whale with ruby red lipstick out of the whole deal. If I was a great whale, I’d hit that. Too bad they later made her play down her whale sexiness.

And why is it “Vanilly Crunch”? I could understand maybe “Vaniller”, but “Vanilly”?

Circus Fun (General Mills, 1986)

Wow, I soooooooooooo remember this box and eating this cereal. I didn’t really think it was very good though. I LOVE marshmallows in my cereal, but mixing it with fruity cereal just didn’t work for me. I think I was more into the packaging and purty colors of the cereal than the actual cereal itself.

To see a 2nd Circus Fun commercial, click HERE.

Fruity Marshmallow Krispies (Kellogg’s, 1987)

Rice Krispies plus marshmallows. Not a bad idea. Rice Krispies plus FRUITY marshmallows? YUCKO! Marshmallows and fruit do not mix on ANY level! Hey, nice glow-in-the-dark prehistoric tracks though. I remember having those. I think I ended up putting them on the side of my dresser (which I always referred to as a “chest of drawers” in my younger years) or something.

Fruit Islands (Ralston, 1987)

By popular demand! Another cereal I’m not familiar with, but it was apparently made with real apple bits! I’m guessing it was a Froot Loops kinda thing but it looks like little rocks of candy to me.

WWF Superstars (Ralston, 1991)

Yes, even more licensed cereal from Ralston. And much like virtually every other Ralston cereal, this one was easily found in our mall’s dollar store not long after its release. I… Hm. Y’know what? I just realized all Ralston did was take the G.I. Joe Action Stars cereal and just give it a new box! It’s the same freakin’ crunchy stars! Anyway, they taste like generic Cap’n Crunch, and that’s exactly what they were.

There were a few other boxes as well. One featuring Hulk Hogan & Ultimate Warrior together and another featuring the Bushwhackers, but who cares about them? I remember being so hyped, thinking if I got my mom to buy me a box everytime we went to that dollar store that I’d surely win a trip to WrestleMania VIII! I never did win. =( Those flipbooks in each box were pretty cool though.

Gremlins (Ralston, 1984)

The formula has been perfected! Ralston + licensed property = Cap’n Crunch ripoff! At least these are really cute though. Look! Little Gizmos!

Banana Frosted Flakes (1981, Kellogg’s)

Now this… This I would actually like to try! Why don’t they do something like this again? Banana-flavored Frost Flakes with real banana bits. Sounds good to me! I love the box art, so that’s why I included both boxes. I really love yellow and there’s just something cool about Jungle Gear Tony the Tiger carrying a bunch of bananas.