I haven't been keeping tabs on Mike Myers' new "The Cat In The Hat" flick, and probably won't see it till I'm stuck in bed with the flu, too ridden with sick to fetch the remote after HBO buys the rights and plasters it all over their many channels. Eh, but who knows? It could work. I loathed the idea of Jim Carrey's live-action Grinch foray, and though it took a few tries to actually make it through, I ended up liking that movie a lot more than I thought I would. We'll see.

Course, "The Cat In The Hat" could totally flop in theaters and still be a success in the merchandising department -- the timing's just right, as we're creeping into the holiday season and they'll surely be a number of aunts and uncles who don't know their brothers' kids well enough to realize that they have no interest in 16" Cat in the Hat plushies. A more interesting blitz comes in the form of these two items -- merchandise you can eat.

Kellogg's, always willing to make their consumers eat popular trends, has just come out with Cat in the Hat-themed cereal and Pop Tarts. Yes, Pop Tarts. The swirly blue packaging is an attention grabber, and the "limited edition" teasers stamped all over the boxes might cause a few more impulse buys. There's been other movie-themed Pop Tarts, and there's certainly been tons of like-minded cereal brands, but for some reason, these two just seem stranger than the norm. I couldn't resist picking 'em up, and am happy to report that their gimmick ain't in name alone. Even the food itself is like nothing I've personally experienced, and since these won't be around for long, you may as well put your tongue to the new flavors as soon as possible.

"The Cat In The Hat Cereal" was an extra special surprise -- it's really quite good. The corn n' oat yum-grums have been strawberry-sweetened, and the end result is a taste sensation that crosses finely between Honeycomb, Franken Berry, Cap'n Crunch, and a mystery fourth contender I've not yet determined. The cereal pieces themselves are shaped like the Cat's Hat, striped accordingly. The back of the box features the usual gamut of word searches and silly movie puzzles.

There's also a teaser on the side panel promoting free Cat in the Hat dolls, which seem to be included in every box of Kellogg's cereal except "The Cat In The Hat Cereal." Go fig. Point is, if you don't like the looks of those berry hats, go grab some Froot Loops or Rice Krispies. You're more familiar with their taste, and as an added bonus, you'll get a tiny doll that could conceivably retail for almost fifty cents at overpriced toy stores.

Obviously, the Pop Tarts are a bit stranger. The "wild strawberry" pastries are topped with a thick blue icing and random hat-shaped candy sprinkles, while the innards are a more disturbing striped mix of strawberry fruit and some white gunk. I dunno, the fillings look more like crud that'd preclude one from giving their girlfriend oral sex than anything too palatable, but it doesn't taste all that bad. As you can tell in the picture, I burnt my Tarts. I'm always burning my Tarts.