General Mills wants movie pitches for its Monster Cereals characters
The cereal giant has launched a search for talent to help bring its iconic Monster Cereals characters to life.
"We want to work with you to bring great stories to life. From mythical fables to magical journeys. Fairy tales to folk tales. Cliffhangers to nail-biters. Heroic sagas to cosmic battles. Binge-worthy dramas to historical epics. Blockbusters to indies. Serials to sequels.”
Launched in the 1970s, the cereal characters include Count Chocula, Franken Berry, Boo Berry and the discontinued Fruit Brute and Fruity Yummy Mummy.
Count Chocula and Franken Berry made their debut in March 1971, and at the time were the only chocolate and strawberry-flavored cereals on the market. The first blueberry flavored cereal, Boo Berry, was launched in 1973.
According to Terry Kirihara, director of R& for Big G, the cereal shapes were initially all the same – small cylinders shaped like a circle with a cross in the middle – but featuring different colors and flavors. Color-matched marshmallow bits were also included.
Today, the monsters are character-shaped.
This is not their first foray into Hollywood, though. In the 1960s, General Mills teamed up with studios like Hanna-Barbera and Total Television to create children’s animated TV shows.
More recently, the Monsters have entered toy departments through licensing agreements with Mattel's Hot Wheels, Funko and even Big G Creative for this year's Monster Crunch Game.