Down for the Count: What Have They Done to Count Chocula?

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As a kid, there were no cereal mascots I loved more than Count Chocula and his creepy accomplices, Boo Berry & Frankenberry. Not only were their cereals DELICIOUS, but they were probably the coolest breakfast characters out there. Nothing appealed to me more than that gangly trio of monsters and their sweet, marshmallow-studded cereals. Boo Berry, with its unique blueberry-flavored cereal pieces and sugary marshmallows, was beyond awesome. But, for whatever reason, the original Count Chocula has always held the number one spot in my heart. I never did try old Frankenberry, but I don’t imagine he could knock the Count out of his top spot either. You can’t beat the original.

There was a dark time in my life when many years passed without the presence of Count Chocula’s cereal, or any of his other beastly buddy’s. I don’t know if this applies to all regions of the country, but Count completely disappeared from my radar for a long time. They stopped nationwide distribution and I died a little inside.

Then, a year or two ago, Count showed up again in Target at Halloween time. Good ol’ Target. Leave it to them to sell all things fabulous in the world. Needless to say, I rejoiced. I threw my hands in the air and thanked the almighty Cereal Gods. At last, the Count and I were reunited. I also bought some delicious Boo Berry.

Every year since then, I have patiently waited for Halloween to roll around again so that I could have my Count Chocula. This year was no exception. Last weekend, I trekked over to my local  Target to sweep up arm-fulls of Count Chocula cereal boxes and whisk them away to the safety of my home.

…Okay, so I bought one box. Nevertheless, I was thrilled. I might’ve embarrassed my mother a bit by my overjoyed reaction upon spotting The Count in Target, but I cannot bring myself to regret it. I love anything Halloween-related and I love sugary cereal. Count offers me both of those pleasures.

But there was something wrong, my little cookies, very wrong indeed…

HAVE YOU SEEN COUNT’S FACE?

WEFLKJAFAJSFLKAJ.

Seriously though, what have they done with him? In my day, Count Chocula was kind of cute. He had this endearing “I’m a nerdy vampire” quality about him. Exhibit A:

Now, they’ve turned him into this…this..monster! (yeah, I know he’s technically a monster anyways, but let’s not get too technical here):

I’m scared of this Count, and not in a good way. So what’s the cause, plastic surgery gone awry? Whatever the reason, there’s no excuse. You shouldn’t fix something that wasn’t broken, and Count Chocula was just fine the way he was! Why must the world constantly mess with a good thing? Just let it be.

The good news is, this cereal is just as delicious as I remember. With it’s crispy, chocolately cereal pieces shaped like some ambiguous Halloween shape (maybe a ghost?), the sweet, sugary “spooky fun” marshmallows, and the inevitable leftover chocolate milk it produces, Count Chocula is one spooktacular cereal. It’s so tasty, and so darn fun!

Let this be a lesson learned, my little cookies:

  • For one, don’t mess around with a good thing. Whether it’s a sublime recipe or a cereal mascot, if you’ve got something awesome, don’t go toying with it.
  • Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. The new Count may look like a horribly disfigured version of the original, but he still tastes just as delectable!

0 thoughts on “Down for the Count: What Have They Done to Count Chocula?”

  1. bakingjenn

    I love this post! My boyfriend and I have been to every store that sells groceries (except Target) in my town looking for Boo Berry. We found Count Chocula at Wal-Mart, but the search is still on for Boo Berry. We will have to check Target. My boyfriend loves these cereals as much as you seem to and is severely disappointed that he is having a hard time finding them (especially since they’re only a seasonal thing anyway!)

    Reply ↓
  3. Jamie

    He kind of looks like I would picture Jughead from the Archie comics as a vampire. I loved Count Chocula as a kid too….no targets in Canada…yet,maybe next Halloween we will have it back here too.

    Reply ↓

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  11. blastedgoat

    I LOVE the Count :) I try to eat healthier cereals most of the time but he has a special place in my heart haha… I’m loving your blog by the way; I’ve been inspired to make a few of your treats and then I find this, just awesome :D

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