Funko Holidaze Pop! - Carrie

Today's Holidaze Pop! figure is inspired by a film that I don't necessarily care for in terms of story, but have always loved for it's imagery and the idea of revenge.  In my opinion, the recently released Carrie far surpassed Stephen King's original, but I admit I'm probably in the minority.  Truth is, I never liked horror movies that feature supernatural abilities like being able to move things telepathically.  I can accept Michael Myers being immortal and Jason Voorhees constantly coming back to life, but the plot behind Carrie simply loses my interest.  However, I do think that the scene in which pig's blood is dropped on Carrie's head is one of the most iconic in Horror history and deserves to be released in Pop! form.  Here's my crack at it!

In addition to the Pop! itself, I'm digging the box art even more!  Not to toot my own horn, but I think this is something Funko would and should release.  It would probably be a hell of a lot better than what I have to offer, but I'd take it nonetheless.  The Horror genre deserves to be immortalized in as many ways, and through as many characters, as possible!

Now I'm going to tweet this to Chloe Grace Moretz and hope she RT's it.  She'd make it a hit, girl!

Funko Holidaze Pop! - Frute Brute

Yesterday, I brought you the Yummy Mummy Holidaze Pop! design inspired by Funko.  Today, the Monster Cereals wouldn't be complete without his partner in crime and resurrections - Frute Brute.  When Brute returned last year, I was thrilled!  I couldn't believe General Mills was giving us such an awesome return after years and years of hoping and waiting.  I'll admit, Yummy Mummy took the prize in terms of flavor and appearance, but Frute Brute wasn't too far behind and may have very well knocked off Frankenberry.  Believe me - around here, that isn't easy to do.  In fact, I love Frankenberry so much I just put myself in the mood for a bowl and the only negative I can find is that it isn't Frute Brute.  Oh well.. Maybe next year!

Frute Brute was a lot of fun to design and I'm personally loving the way both graphics turned out.  It's a shame that we'll never see Yummy Mummy and Frute Brute in stores, but at least we can imagine what they would have looked like.  Maybe the images I've posted will catch the eyes of Funko designers and entice them to bring these Monsters to fruition.  Of course, you reposting them wouldn't hurt, either!  Get the word out and maybe we'll be seeing our beloved Monster Cereals finally united!

Funko Holidaze Pop! - Ghostface (Stab Exclusive)

Tonight, I conclude the "Scream" collection with a character that is not only unique but, in my opinion, the best of the bunch.  I think it stands out above the rest because of the fact that it could actually get produced and be a seller.  Whether I want to admit it or not, I know the other Scream characters will never see the light of day.  They're fun to design, they're cool to look at but, even though they deserve a release, we all know we'll never get a Tatum Riley Pop! figure from Funko.  But tonight, I'm taking Ghostface himself and going the "exclusive" route because, really, that's the only way we'd ever get this one.  Imagine Hot Topic unveiling Ghostface as their next hit exclusive!  With the traditional Ghostface finally being shipped, how awesome would it be to have the "Stab" version, based on the fictional movie poster, to go with it?

Within the "Scream" franchise, another franchise exists fictionally in the world of those characters.  "Stab" is a movie based on the true story of Sidney Prescott and the Woodsboro Murders.  In our real-lives, we have "Scream."  In theirs, they have "Stab" and the artwork for that movie is even more awesome than the ones we get in reality.  The logo and green colors have always stood out to me and I've really taken advantage of that with this concept.  I did something similar with the "Green Scream" Hi-C Horror Box last year and Wes Craven himself Retweeted it to his followers.  In this case, I'm taking the traditional Ghostface Pop! and changing the colors to make the "Stab" version I'd love to see!

Funko Holidaze Pop! - Deputy Dewey

Yesterday, I featured Tatum Riley as part of The Holidaze Pop! collection.  Today, I'm thrilled to bring you her brother, the ever-heroic Deputy Dewey Riley!  If there were ever a Scream collection released by Funko, Dewey would undoubtedly make the final cut.  In fact, I think he'd find his way to store shelves before Billy Loomis and Sidney Prescott.  Making appearances in all four Scream films, Dewey's charm and humor certainly makes him a fan-favorite and highly collectible!

 

Of course, if Deputy Dewey were to ever be released, it would have to be in his Woodsboro Police uniform.  It's become iconic within the horror community and the Scream franchise.  He wore it with pride, attempted to work his way up through the ranks, and used it to land his dream girl.  If he's not a hero, then I don't know who is.  It only took losing your sister to her psychotic boyfriend and being stabbed a few times for it to all get noticed.  Way to go, David Arquette!

DC Comics: Monster Cereal Boxes

We interrupt TMNT Week on The Holidaze for this very big, very special, Halloween news!  As a staple of the season, the General Mills' Monster Cereal characters of Frankenberry, Boo Berry, Count Chocula, Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy are thread into the fabric of The Holidaze.  I love the cereals for what they represent, but I love the characters even more.  As I've grown older, I've come to appreciate them as amazing artwork brought to us by the great people over at General Mills.  Thankfully, I'm not the only one who views them as pop-culture icons more than simple cereal mascots.  Over the years, their popularity has increased more and more, resulting in various toys, shirts, and collectibles to go along with the iconic cereals we've all grown up on.  General Mills, being the marketers they are, capitalized on this boom in 2013 by bringing back Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy from their tombs and re-releasing the legendary retro box art for all of us to collect and enjoy.  It was definitely the highlight of last year's Halloween season and, this year, General Mills is back at it again!

I first became aware of these new boxes on Instagram as the social media app is proving to be more powerful than given credit for.  Somebody was lucky enough to already receive a brand new box of Frankenberry and posted the image for fans to salivate over.  Today, General Mills confirmed that the comic illustrated boxes are in fact a reality and will be debuting this September!  But not only are they designed to look like comic heroes (or villains) but they're designed by actual DC Comics illustrators!  Now that's pretty awesome!  Once working for the Brooklyn Nets, I was there when Marvel joined forces with the team to create Nets' mascot, The Brooklyknight.  However, that was an utter disaster and complete failure.  This?  Oh no.. There's no way this will suffer the same fate.  DC Comics and their artists have done an incredible job and fans are already clamoring for these boxes on their kitchen tables!

DC illustrator, Dave Johnson, designed the new Frankenberry box and I don't think I could love it any more than I do.  I was getting tired of the most recent modern design being released over and over again.  At first, the CGI-styled design was cool, but it got stale really quick.  Besides Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy making their modern debut last year, I was over the style and, apparently, General Mills was too.  This updated box, which is more than phenomenal, gives Frankenberry a new lease on life.  He's back and better than ever in 2014.  No, no design will ever top the originals.  The retro art will always be my favorite, but this is just too cool to pass up and I love the fact that General Mills went, once again, that extra mile to make fans happy and, of course, bring in that extra profit.

Designed by Terry and Rachel Dodson, Count Chocula has been given a more realistic, human appearance.  At first, I didn't know what to think about his new image.  Part of him looks like a Halloween elf, another part looks like he came from a Harry Potter novel, and the rest of him looks like Maleficent on crack.  But, given it further thought, I do appreciate the new direction.  If Count Chocula truly existed in our world, I'd assume he'd be human.  Unlike all previous incarnations, this box features him as a man, as a vampire, who happens to love chocolate more than anything else in this world.  I think parts of him could have been altered to better fit that image, but they also couldn't stray too far away from the original design.  He still needed to look like Count Chocula and I think the DC artists found the perfect medium.  In a matter of hours, Count Chocula has really grown on me,

 

Boo Berry has maintained his classic appearance more than the other two characters and I'm happy to see that.  I don't think there's much you can do to change his image without completely changing the character himself.  He's always had those big eyes with the saggy lids, his top hat and bow tie, along with that sly smirk.  You can't remove or alter any of that because by doing so with one of those characteristics, you're losing the nostalgia.  His body is different by being just a tad bit less ghostly on top, but the bottom portion remains true to what he is.  This isn't my favorite of the three, but it's far superior to what we've been getting over the last few years.

Regardless of which box you prefer or which is your favorite, none of us can deny just how awesome these new designs are.  Personally, I'm looking for Franky first, but the other two will be coming home with me as soon as I see them.  All three will be joining the collection of Monster Cereal boxes.

 In even better news, General Mills will, once again, be re-releasing retro boxes exclusively to Target.  Now, General Mills could have re-released 2103's art, but they're too smart for that.  At my Target, those boxes sold out completely before the Halloween season came to an end.  That means many of us bought the 2013 retro boxes and have no need for another set.  Personally, I have 3 of each character and don't regret a thing.  But knowing that, General Mills will be releasing a set of new retro boxes celebrating 1979 and 1980.  In addition, each box will come with a cut-out mask of your favorite Monster Cereal characters.  Take a minute and think about how cool that is!!  These boxes have not been on store shelves since the early 80s and, in 2014, they'll be back for us to collect!  From a marketing perspective, think about how smart this is.  Use me, for example.. I'll be buying 3 DC Comics boxes, 3 retro boxes, and 3 more retro boxes to cut out those masks!  In one trip, General Mills just sold me 9 boxes of cereal.  Absolutely genius!

Here comes the bad news... Yummy Mummy and Frute Brute will not be included in this year's festivities!  Major bummer!!  I would have loved to see what DC artists could do with the Yummy Mummy and Frute Brute characters and the retro boxes would have been must-haves.  My wallet is thanking General Mills for keeping me from buying 15 boxes of cereal, but I'm not.  I truly believed they'd return this season, but I guess the 2013 campaign wasn't as successful as we thought.  It's a shame because real fans wind up missing out on incredible Halloween goodies, but General Mills needs to do smart business and, in the end, they're surely doing their part to make up for the lack of two legendary characters.

Thankfully, I have enough retro boxes stocked up to keep me happy.  They're expired and it sucks that we may never get that flavor again, but having the collectible boxes in my possession makes 2013 a success.  If you never picked up a box of Yummy Mummy or Frute Brute, I suggest you do so soon.  Once scalpers catch wind of their value, you'll end up paying 10x what those boxes were worth.