Halloween Re-Skins

If I'm being honest, I can have a completionist collector's mentality at times, but I'm going to have to draw the line at buying a cereal just because they redesigned the box (which can happen as often as yearly for seasonal regulars). But I'm seeing lots of substantial "re-skins" this year of Halloween-themed cereals I've already reviewed, and I wanted to shine a spotlight on them.

Starting with Halloween Fruity Pebbles. It's a subtle difference, but Bamm-Bamm now appears on the front with Pebbles, while Fred Flintstone has been pushed to the back of the box.

Kellogg's "Spooky Marshmallows" trio has received a complete makeover this year, with eyecatching "specimen-in-a-jar" designs for Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, and Chocolate Frosted Flakes.

Shocking Orange Rice Krispies adopts the same motif, despite not adding marshmallows (or anything, really, to make the cereal worth eating), effectively becoming the uninvited fourth wheel to the Spooky Marshmallows trio's proverbial tricycle.

Note the Cap'n's creepy new CGI look for this year (inching ever closer to that precipice overlooking the uncanny valley). As a piece of fun trivia, Halloween Crunch was the first cereal I ever reviewed for this blog!

And looky here - Reese's Puffs Bats gets yet another new design. I've also noticed that it's getting a more prominent display at Walmart, after being unceremoniously tucked away in the Halloween costume aisle last year.

If you stop over at Sam's Club, you can even find it in a double pack, paired with this year's new Kit Kat cereal. Don't give me any funny trick 'r treat ideas, General Mills!

Also spotted at Sam's Club is Zombie Apple Jacks - boasting a green apple flavor, and a formula that turns your milk green. If it weren't being sold in double packs, I would have bought it, but I'm pretty confident this is just Kellogg's repurposing Apple Jacks Nickelodeon Slime from last year.

On the subject of zombies, I was also excited to see Monsters Cereal's new flavor Carmella Creeper (and to a lesser extent, Monster Mash Remix), as well as Lucky Charms branching out into the autumn market with Haunted Marshmallows. But as these are brand new cereals, they've earned themselves each a separate post and review (along with late-comer It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown).

Go check them out - and pick up a few boxes before they turn up missing (if it's not already too late). But most importantly of all, have a Happy Halloween!

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Name: It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Variation: n/a
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: This is a pretty neat idea for a cereal (in the same spirit of nostalgic holiday family films as General Mills' Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer from last Christmas), but honestly, I was a little bit exasperated when I spotted it on the shelves after the 1st of October (who waits until October to stock their Halloween products anymore?), as I had already had all my review slots filled up through Halloween - including two cereals (Reese's Puffs Bats and Halloween Fruity Pebbles) I couldn't squeeze in last year. (Don't worry, I eventually got the scheduling figured out).

I considered writing an angry letter to Kellogg's, when I realized it was really General Mills I should be writing the angry letter to. This is the only brand new Halloween cereal from Kellogg's I've seen this year; by contrast, General Mills not only introduced a new Monster cereal, plus a remixed version of Monster Mash, but - as if that weren't already more than enough - they also debuted a Halloween version of Lucky Charms. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, you know...

Anyway, it's a curious choice to make this a vanilla cereal (as opposed to, say, pumpkin spice?), but I really like the green and orange motif - it perfectly evokes the aesthetic of a pumpkin patch. I almost didn't notice it at first, but there are marshmallows present - little pumpkins hidden like camouflage among the orange puffs. And these puffs have that same pleasantly soft mouthfeel that I recognize from other recent cereals, including ICEE cereal (minus the menthol blast) and Miraculous. I'm not crazy about vanilla, but the flavor is inoffensive, and the texture of the puffs is quite inviting. I don't love it, but it's a very pleasant cereal to eat. As far as Kellogg's recycled novelties go, I like these "gentle puffs" much better than their "berry stars" (which we'll see again before the end of the year).

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Subtly vanilla.

Halloween Fruity Pebbles

Name: Halloween Fruity Pebbles
Variation: Fruity Pebbles
Manufacturer: Post

Review: I spotted this cereal last year at Target; this year, it's even turned up at Walmart. Boasting the "same fruity taste!", this is just regular Fruity Pebbles, but colored for the holiday. At least you know what you're getting. The purple and orange pebbles look great, but regular Fruity Pebbles is so vibrant, I always have mixed feelings when they reduce the colors down to just two (like they did with Magic Fruity Pebbles). I'm surprised the box doesn't advertise a color-changing milk effect - I did observe the milk to change noticeably orange. One thing this cereal could do to improve my opinion is take a note from Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles and add some marshmallows. You could even make them spooky! (Or haunted). Barring that, I'd love to see Cocoa Pebbles have a turn with the Halloween banner...

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Fruity, and a little orange.

Chocolate Lucky Charms with Haunted Marshmallows

Name: Chocolate Lucky Charms with Haunted Marshmallows
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I knew Carmella Creeper was coming before she arrived on shelves, but I was surprised to find Lucky Charms with a new Halloween version of its cereal this year. I imagine it's poised to compete with Kellogg's Chocolate Frosted Flakes with Spooky Marshmallows - which I saw conspicuously missing from the store where I picked this box up, even though they had both Froot Loops and Apple Jacks with Spooky Marshmallows (albeit on the back end display of the aisle - did Kellogg's lose some bids with the marketing guild this year?).

Functionally, this is just Chocolate Lucky Charms like we've seen before, but with an even wider array of marshmallows. I do believe these Haunted Marshmallows are the same ones you can find in Count Chocula. Obviously, I love it - and the marketing is fun. The back of the box humorously features Lucky dressed up as a unicorn, and a unicorn dressed up as Lucky! But isn't the Halloween cereal market already pretty saturated as it is?

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Mildly chocolatey.

Monster Mash Remix

Name: Monster Mash Remix
Variation: Monsters Cereal
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: As if premiering a brand new Monsters Cereal character for the first time in 36 years wasn't enough, General Mills also remixed Monster Mash this year. And I almost didn't buy it, given how little I liked the cereal the first time around. But they had to go and give it a new subtitle (playing off of, I'm sure, Carmella Creeper's characterization as a DJ). Besides, there's a significant new flavor going into the mix this time around (caramel apple), so it seemed like it would be different enough to warrant giving it another try.

Opening the box, all I see is Carmella Creeper and Boo Berry pieces. No Count Chocula (again). Not even Franken Berry. Why not mix all the monsters together? They're on the cover of the box - even Frute Brute and Fruity Yummy Mummy! And who chose this particular combination? Seems to me like blueberry/strawberry or strawberry/chocolate would be a better choice, or even chocolate/caramel apple. But caramel apple and blueberry? (Here's an idea for you - blind box cereals! You don't know what you're gonna get until you open the box! Note to General Mills: please don't make blind box cereals).

Tasting it, I'm not sure there's even any caramel apple flavor at all. The box just says "berry-flavored". The green and purple pieces give off a good Halloween vibe, but are the colors just for show? Why is it even called Monster Mash, then? I can't tell if the marshmallows have different flavors, but they do taste fruity. It's actually not bad. I might even like it better than Carmella Creeper. It's a definite improvement over the last version of Monster Mash, but I honestly couldn't tell you why. A lot about this cereal remains a mystery to me.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Pleasantly fruity and/or marshmallow-y.

Carmella Creeper

Name: Carmella Creeper
Variation: Monsters Cereal
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I'm very excited that General Mills is introducing (for the first time in 36 years!) a brand new member of the Monsters line of cereals this year. My only regret is that I haven't had a proper chance to review Fruity Yummy Mummy yet (my great regret from 2013, when I was only just starting to get back into eating cereal).

Before even trying it, I can say that I love everything about this cereal. Conceptually, it's an excellent choice of addition to the lineup. It's a zombie character; she's a girl; it has an eerie green motif that is quite festive; and the flavor is caramel apple!

Not only is this an intriguing flavor - and a great choice for a cereal available exclusively in the fall - but it adds some welcome novelty to a lineup that, if not for Count Chocula, would be nothing but different shades of "fruity with marshmallows" (although last year's Frute Brute was surprisingly good - I still think it should replace Franken Berry in the regular trio). All that's left is to actually try the cereal and see how it tastes. :-p

The color of this cereal is not the prettiest shade of green, but I think it effectively conveys the look of zombified flesh. The flavor and texture seem consistent with the other Monster cereals - you're not punched in the mouth with it, but there's an underscore of caramel apple flavor. And the marshmallows pull their weight (although they don't look very distinctively like anything in particular).

I don't think this is going to become my new favorite Monster cereal. Nobody can compete with Count Chocula; and I don't think I like it even as much as the new and improved Frute Brute (wish that would stick around). But I like that it stands out from the other cereals with a unique flavor that is perfectly poised to join the lineup. Whether or not this one lasts - I guess that depends on how well everyone else likes it.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Not really colored and only subtly flavored.

Reese's Puffs Bats

Name: Reese's Puffs Bats
Variation: Reese's Puffs
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I went through a lot of trouble to get this box - but I really wanted to do a proper review of this cereal for my blog. I saw evidence online that it had been re-released - with a new box design! - though I never saw it in stores, despite actively looking for it. So I resorted to ordering a box over the internet (for the first time ever!) last year. I was prepared to eat it stale if necessary, but the expiration date revealed that it had been manufactured just that year. And then - you'll never guess what happened next.

Literally, two days after I had a box shipped from Bolingbrook, IL, I was at Walmart looking at Halloween costumes, and I spotted the cereal tucked away on a bottom shelf in the Halloween candy aisle, on the opposite side of the store from the groceries! I was fully prepared to give General Mills my money, and even looked specifically for this product in vain, only for them to pull this stunt. Why can't they keep the cereal in the cereal aisle? I was torn between sending them an angry letter, and throwing my money at them anyway. I did the latter, because we're all hapless slaves to late stage capitalism.

September 2018

Anyway, notwithstanding all that drama, the cereal rocks. It's Reese's Puffs like you know it, but in the shape of bats. And the new box design looks great! It's a decided improvement over the old design. Reese's Puffs may be overly indulgent for some, but I think it's delicious. Whenever I eat a bowl, I can't seem to gobble it up fast enough. I just wish the milk tasted more strongly of peanut butter and chocolate.

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Not as rich as the cereal itself.

Kit Kat

Name: Kit Kat Cereal
Variation: n/a
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I buy a lot of cereal, and I have a pretty strict system for scheduling which box gets opened when, based primarily on shelf dates (rather than the order I pick them up), with occasional exceptions made for time-sensitive cereals (e.g., holidays, movie promotions) - which is why some cereals sometimes jump the line while others seem to languish for months on top of my fridge. All of this is to say that I bought this cereal a long time ago and the fact that it's taken me this long to try it does not reflect on my level of anticipation for it. I think a cereal based on Kit Kats sounds amazing (I'm crossing my fingers that Twix is next).

There's something familiar about this cereal, but I can't quite put my finger on it (and it's not just the Kit Kat flavor). There's a general resemblance to Chocolate Toast Crunch, but these wafers are softer (and of course there's no cinnamon). The box emphasizes that this cereal is crispy and chocolatey, and it is that. I don't think a cereal can perfectly imitate the texture and mouthfeel of eating a Kit Kat, but the flavor is pretty close, and it really is a good cereal all on its own. My only complaint is that it doesn't turn the milk chocolatey - like, at all. I daresay that's the only thing keeping me from awarding this cereal a three bowl rating. Still, I'd call it a success.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Speckled, but pretty plain.

Corn Flakes Honey Flavor

Name: Corn Flakes Honey Flavor
Variation: Corn Flakes
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: Corn Flakes are about as white bread as breakfast cereals get. I mean, they're not even Frosted! Even with a Honey Flavor, I passed this box over time and time again. I finally broke down and bought it for two reasons. First, I found it for half price at Ollie's Bargain Outlet ("Good Stuff Cheap"). And second, I thought it would make a good companion for Frosted Mini Wheats Golden Honey.

The cereal has a good honey smell when you open the box, but the flakes taste pre-e-etty plain in milk. It's not even as good as Kellogg's Crunchy Nut, and that's not a very high bar to begin with. I had to add Just Magical Marshmallows (approximating Lucky Charms Honey Clovers) just to get through the box. Why do they sell Corn Flakes in such big boxes, anyway? Who eats that much Corn Flakes? Farmers? I'm definitely not the target audience for this product.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Laced with a trace of honey.