Count Chocula

Count Chocula is a ghoulish member of the line of monster-themed breakfast cereals produced by General Mills for the North American market. The cereal contains chocolate-flavored corn cereal bits and marshmallows. Count Chocula is the cereal's mascot, whose name is a pun on the vampire Count Dracula. Instead of craving blood like Dracula, Chocula craves Count Chocula breakfast cereal.

In 1971, the first two cereals in the line, Count Chocula and Franken Berry were created by Laura Levine, a copywriter for the advertising agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample. Boo Berry, a pun on blueberry, was released in 1973. Fruit Brute came in 1974 and was discontinued in 1983. General Mills tried replacing Fruit Brute with Yummy Mummy in 1988, but that too was a poor seller and was discontinued in 1993.

Cultural references

 * In Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland, the story of the book starts with a note lying next to an empty Count Chocula box. After reading the note, Wheeler simulates the Count Chocula cereals with Froot Loops and some Nesquik.
 * On the TV series Futurama, Count Chocula has been promoted to Archduke and is known as Archduke Chocula, just as Cap'n Crunch is now Admiral Crunch.
 * The Simpsons episode Sweets and Sour Marge shows a parody of him, named "Count Fudgula," as being a sugar-holic, who wishes to quit (his teeth have fallen out due to gingivitis) but finds himself unable to resist. In Treehouse of Horror IV the credits list Matt "Count Chocula" Groening. The episode The Old Man and the Lisa, has Mr. Burns shopping for cereal. When he sees Krusty with a box of Krusty-O's he asks, "Can you tell me where they put the Burns-O's?" Krusty replies, "They don't put nobodies on cereal boxes!" Then, he notices the Count Chocula cereal and says "Hmm. I suppose this one looks a bit like me."
 * An episode of Invader Zim contains a parody character named Count Cocofang, a mascot for Coco Splodies cereal.
 * On the episode "Health Care" of "The Office", Jim lists "Count Choculitis" as an illness when Dwight forces the staff to disclose their diseases in order to reduce health benefit costs. Dwight asks "Did you write that because you know I love 'Count Chocula'?"
 * In Robot Chicken, Count Chocula is seen as a judge in an American Idol spoof called Zombie Idol in which he substituted for the role of Simon Cowell.
 * A cut-away in the Family Guy episode "Wasted Talent" shows Cap'n Crunch wanting The Godfather to assassinate Chocula because "that son of a bitch has been spreading lies! My cereal does not cut the roof of your mouth! With all respect."
 * In Wedding Crashers, John Beckwith resists the temptation to go over-board in taking on fake occupations in order to sound fascinating; he says "I'd like to be cowboys from Arizona or pimps from Oakland but it's not Halloween. Grow up; Peter Pan, Count Chocula."
 * In Robin Williams Live On Broadway 2002, Robin makes a reference to Count Chocula as part of his performance. He talks about the winner of gold medal in snowboarding (freestyle) at the Winter Olympics. Robin says "Would you like to be on a box of wheaties? -No. Count Chocula."
 * In one of the many versions of his song "Your body is a wonderland", John Mayer imitates Bobby Brown singing "And in the morning, girl, I'm gonna pour you a bowl of Count Chocula"
 * In Blade: Trinity, Dracula walks into a store that sells vampire souvenirs. He picks up and looks at a box of Count Chocula cereal, then kills everyone in the room.
 * In 1999, the satirical newspaper The Onion ran a front-page story about Count Chocula, characterizing him as an actual blood-sucking monster to underscore the humor of his role as mascot for a children's cereal. Franken Berry is also referenced in the article, although not by name.
 * In the Halloween edition of Something Awful's Tub Bites series, there is a sketch where Count Chocula, called Chocolate Dracula, is trying to make kids eat his cereal, along with Frankenberry, called Strawberrystein. The kids are scared by the pair and kill them. Boo Berry looks out of the window and floats away.
 * In the movie Tank Girl, a character states he's better in the dark, like Count Chocula. He's angrily corrected by a friend, who tells him that "It's Dracula, fool! Count Chocula is the guy on the detergent box!" which sets off a heated argument until Tank Girl tells them to shut up.
 * In the popular webcomic Something Positive, protagonist Davan McIntire and his best friend Aubrey Chorde buy a large supply of the monster cereals, which Davan (who has a culinary bent) transforms into a number of experimental desserts. The odd foodstuffs are then "donated" to a bunch of collegiate potheads.
 * In the movie Multiplicity, Doug Kinney #4 (the child-like clone of Michael Keaton's character) finishes off a box of Count Chocula (and all of the rest of the food in the clones' apartment).
 * In the HBO Original Series The Sopranos, mobster Johnny Sack is jokingly referred to as Count Chocula.
 * In the Psych episode American Duos, Emilina Saffron refers to Detective Carlton Lassiter as Count Chocula due to the detective's likeness to the mascot.
 * In the Imaginationland episode of South Park, Count Chocula appears among the imaginary characters in the titular land.

Taglines

 * I want to eat your cereal! (1971 - 1983)