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The Brief History of Fruity Yummy Mummy Cereal!

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Fruity Yummy Mummy makes your tummy go yummy!

Five decades (55 years, to be exact) after Boris Karloff brought Imhotep to the screen in Universal’s The Mummy, the legendary character underwent perhaps his most bizarre transformation of all. Released in 1987, General Mills’ Fruity Yummy Mummy re-imagined the horror icon as a colorful cereal mascot… but his reign of terror over the cereal aisle didn’t last very long.

To understand Yummy Mummy’s place in history, we must go back to the beginning.

In March of 1971, General Mills officially launched the soon-to-be-beloved Monster Cereals line with Count Chocula and Franken Berry, chocolate and strawberry cereals inspired by Universal icons Dracula and Frankenstein. Not only were the monsters lovable but the cereals were unlike anything else on the market at the time, so they became an instant hit with kids. And their success paved the way for a new character to be brought into the line. The blueberry-flavored Boo Berry was introduced in December 1973.

Of course, those original three Monster Cereals bring a blast of nostalgia back to the grocery store each and every Halloween season, but fans of the line know that Count and his Berry friends are not the only cartoon monsters under that banner. In 1974, General Mills brought Fruit Brute into the mix, a fruit-flavored cereal (with marshmallow bits, of course) that introduced a werewolf mascot rocking colorful suspenders. The cereal didn’t catch on like the others, and was discontinued in 1982.

Five years later, a new monster rose from the ashes of Fruit Brute’s failure. Taking up the mantle, Fruity Yummy Mummy made his debut in 1987; the goal was to essentially repackage Fruit Brute’s fruit-flavored cereal and try to make it a success with a new mascot. Wrapped in vibrantly colorful bandages, Yummy Mummy was given an advantage over Fruit Brute right off the bat: his unveiling was paired with a new gimmick dubbed “Monster Mallows,” which brought mega-sized mallows into all three cereals in the line at the time. What kid wouldn’t jump at the chance to enjoy even bigger marshmallows in their breakfast cereal?!

The admirable attempt at a remake just didn’t work, however. Yummy Mummy had an even shorter lifespan than its predecessor, as it was discontinued by General Mills in 1992. And it would be another 21 years before the goofy mummy was heard from again.

Thankfully, this story does have something of a happy ending.

For the 2013 Halloween season, both Fruity Yummy Mummy and Fruit Brute (renamed Frute Brute) were brought back from the dead as a special nostalgic treat, which meant that all five of the Monster Cereals were available on store shelves for the very first (and only) time in history. Since the original Yummy Mummy was essentially a remake of Fruit Brute, General Mills took the liberty to reboot both with new flavors as a way to differentiate them from one another and provide new flavor experiences.

Frute Brute became a cherry-flavored cereal, while Yummy Mummy’s reboot saw it re-imagined as a delicious orange cream cereal. In addition, both cereal mascots were given modern day redesigns (as seen above), with the retro-authentic original boxes available as Target exclusives that year.

It’s now been four years since Fruity Yummy Mummy made its triumphant return to the Halloween scene, but the character still lives on in the hearts of monster kids the world over. In fact, Funko just last week added Yummy Mummy to their line of POP! vinyl toys, so you could say that he’s never truly left us.

And who knows, with Universal’s Tom Cruise-starring reboot of The Mummy coming this year (June 9th), perhaps another return is only a matter of time.

Writer in the horror community since 2008. Editor in Chief of Bloody Disgusting. Owns Eli Roth's prop corpse from Piranha 3D. Has four awesome cats. Still plays with toys.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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