Crispy Critters
Encyclopedia
Crispy Critters was a breakfast cereal
, which was re-issued by Post Cereals
in 1987 after having been tested unsuccessfully during the 1960s. This second attempt to popularize this cereal was also unsuccessful and it was discontinued shortly thereafter.
The cereal consisted of individual pieces that were akin to miniature animal cracker
s in their shape
, appearance
, taste
and texture.
The commercials for the cereal featured a puppet
named "Crispy" with pom-pom antennae
and a furry
yellow body. Crispy spoke and sang with a voice based on that of Jimmy Durante
including the nonsense
phrase
"Ah-cha-cha-cha". This puppet interacted with a child actor
and was accompanied by smaller puppets which resembled the individual pieces of cereal. Together, these puppets spoke the cereal's tagline
of "it's indubitably delicious."
The original commercials in the 1960s featured Linus the Lionhearted
(voiced by Sheldon Leonard
) and the slogan, "The one and only cereal that comes in the shape of animals," sung to the tune of "Trepak" from Tchaikovsky's
ballet The Nutcracker
. The melody was quoted by Leonard Bernstein in his opera A Quiet Place
.
The phrase "crispy critter" entered American military, police and fire fighter slang as a name for a burnt corpse.
Breakfast cereal
A breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often, but not always, eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk , water, or yogurt, and sometimes fruit but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge...
, which was re-issued by Post Cereals
Post Cereals
Post Foods, LLC, also known as Post Cereals is a food company that was founded by C.W. Post in 1895 with the first Postum, a "cereal beverage," developed by Post in Battle Creek, Michigan. The first cereal, Grape-Nuts, was developed in 1897. Post has its headquarters in the Bank of America Plaza...
in 1987 after having been tested unsuccessfully during the 1960s. This second attempt to popularize this cereal was also unsuccessful and it was discontinued shortly thereafter.
The cereal consisted of individual pieces that were akin to miniature animal cracker
Animal cracker
Animal crackers are crackers in the shapes of animals, some brands of which are sweetened. These are usually animals one would see at the zoo or circus, including lions, tigers, bears, and elephants....
s in their shape
Shape
The shape of an object located in some space is a geometrical description of the part of that space occupied by the object, as determined by its external boundary – abstracting from location and orientation in space, size, and other properties such as colour, content, and material...
, appearance
Visual appearance
The visual appearance of objects is given by the way in which they reflect and transmit light. The color of objects is determined by the parts of the spectrum of light that are reflected or transmitted without being absorbed...
, taste
Taste
Taste is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons, etc....
and texture.
The commercials for the cereal featured a puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
named "Crispy" with pom-pom antennae
Antenna (biology)
Antennae in biology have historically been paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. More recently, the term has also been applied to cilium structures present in most cell types of eukaryotes....
and a furry
Fur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...
yellow body. Crispy spoke and sang with a voice based on that of Jimmy Durante
Jimmy Durante
James Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
including the nonsense
Nonsense
Nonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous...
phrase
Phrase
In everyday speech, a phrase may refer to any group of words. In linguistics, a phrase is a group of words which form a constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. A phrase is lower on the grammatical hierarchy than a clause....
"Ah-cha-cha-cha". This puppet interacted with a child actor
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
and was accompanied by smaller puppets which resembled the individual pieces of cereal. Together, these puppets spoke the cereal's tagline
Tagline
A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product , or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product...
of "it's indubitably delicious."
The original commercials in the 1960s featured Linus the Lionhearted
Linus the Lionhearted
Linus the Lionhearted was an animated cartoon featuring a main character of the same name. The character was created in 1960 by the Ed Graham advertising agency, originally as a series of ads for General Foods' Post Cereals. At first, Linus was the spokesman for the short-lived Post cereal "Heart...
(voiced by Sheldon Leonard
Sheldon Leonard
Sheldon Leonard was a pioneering American film and television producer, director, writer, and actor.-Biography:...
) and the slogan, "The one and only cereal that comes in the shape of animals," sung to the tune of "Trepak" from Tchaikovsky's
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
ballet The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
. The melody was quoted by Leonard Bernstein in his opera A Quiet Place
A Quiet Place
A Quiet Place is an American opera in three acts, with music by Leonard Bernstein to a libretto by Stephen Wadsworth. The work is a sequel to Bernstein's 1951 short opera Trouble in Tahiti. In its initial form A Quiet Place was in one act; the premiere, on June 17, 1983, was a double bill: Trouble...
.
The phrase "crispy critter" entered American military, police and fire fighter slang as a name for a burnt corpse.