Thursday, March 25, 2021

Here Come the Cereal Serials

 

Image Credit: Sporcle

With theaters still closed due to Corona, there is no doubt that premium cable and streamers like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and HBO are the current kings of content and while they do make original movies, their bread and butter are series. The Mandalorian, Bridgerton, Cobra Kai, Castlevania, The Witcher, Westworld, and Jack Ryan are just a few of the examples of shows that are currently demanding eyeballs all around the country, reaping those big subscription dollars. Everyone knows Hollywood likes nothing better than exploiting recognizable titles, characters, and storylines. Why risk a multi-million dollar budget on something original that may or not appeal to an audience when you can just produce a spin-off from a popular film (The Mandalorian, Cobra Kai, and Westworld), adapt a video game (Castlevania), or adapt a book series (Bridgerton, The Witcher, and Jack Ryan)? With that in mind, I give you the next promised land – breakfast cereal characters!

Sure, go ahead and laugh but keep in mind the Transformers toy line has churned out six feature films and god knows how many cartoon series and Johnny Depp became one of the biggest stars in the world thanks to a series of pirate movies based on a theme park ride. Are the following ideas really that far-fetched?

 

Trix

Maybe it’s just a sign of the times when cereal mascots were popular, but it doesn’t take long to notice all the best ones were decidedly male so we’re going to gender swap this one. Suzy Rabbit, known as “Tricks” around the casinos, isn’t just one of the best gamblers on the 60s Las Vegas Strip. After getting busted reaching for that brass ring, she’s now a secret agent, working undercover with the FBI to bring down the crime bosses who have taken control of the town. Evan Rachel Wood stars in this live action drama that’s violent and sexy enough that it’s definitely not for kids.

Lucky Charms

Aidan Gillen killed it as Littlefinger in Game of Thrones and again as Aberama Gold in Peaky Blinders. Now he stars as Lucky, an Irish treasure hunter who travels the wilds of his homeland at the turn of the first millennium in search of his fortune while trying to avoid marauding Vikings in this exciting live-action spin-off from General Mills’ delicious toasted oats and multi-colored marshmallow cereal.

Froot Loops

Like the main character in my novel-in-progress, Sam Toucan is a private-eye. Sam is older and wiser than my protagonist though. He always follows his nose and it never steers him wrong. Beloved Hollywood icon Jeff Goldblum hasn’t played a detective this fun since 1980’s Tenspeed and Brown Shoe but he’s back on television and better than ever in this comedic crime drama.

Cap’n Crunch

If you didn’t get enough of Russell Crowe sailing the high seas in the 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World you’ll be thrilled to know Quaker Oats has cast him as the animated Cap’n Crunch along with the whole crew as they battle for the safety of Crunch Island against the Sogmaster and of course the captain’s arch-nemesis, the dastardly Jean LaFoote as voiced by Sasha Baron Cohen.

Honey Smacks

Kevin Hart stars in this live action comedy as Frank Diggem, a streetwise inner city high school teacher who will do anything he has to in order to protect his students from the dangers of life in one of the roughest neighborhoods in New York City while also trying to raise his own precocious young daughter Honey all while negotiating a sometimes less-than-friendly relationship with his ex-wife and her new husband.

Monster Cereals

Universal’s attempt at a Dark Universe may have failed miserably with the ill-advised 2017 remake of The Mummy, but that’s no reason a similar concept couldn’t work via an animated series. This time Count Chocula, Boo Berry, Franken Berry, Fruit Brute, and Yummy Mummy star in interconnected episodes of gothic horror ala Showtime’s Penny Dreadful.

Golden Crisp

Post Cereal’s lone entrant into this new era of entertainment features the voice of Will Smith as the always loveable Sugar Bear. This animated series will tell of the ongoing efforts of this mild-mannered hero as he fights to protect neighborhood kids from the eccentric and often dangerous plans of Granny Goodwitch, a local crank voiced by Jane Lynch.

Frosted Flakes

After Dominic Toretto finally drives off into the sunset of the Fast & Furious film series, Vin Diesel will star as Tony, a troubled former pro football star for the fictional Cincinnati Tigers, who now owns a gym in his hometown of Los Angeles. There the kerchief-wearing muscle man mentors up-and-coming athletes and tries to avoid reverting into old habits from his playing days.

Cocoa Puffs

Comedy veteran Chris Kattan is back and better than ever as Sonny the Cuckoo Bird. Watch the animated hijinx of Sonny and his pals as they practice their tricks at the skatepark then get into all sorts of trouble delivering groceries via their Uber Eats-like business.

Rice Krispies

And finally the Jonas Brothers star in this animated series about the brothers Snap, Crackle, and Pop who travel the world as a groovy boy band but solve mysteries everywhere they go. You won’t catch them eating any Scooby snacks, but they do enjoy a nice bowl of rice cereal in milk before every gig.


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