09/19/2004 Entry: "Kellogg's Spooky Cereals & The Giant Sky Captain Robot Balloon!"

Okay, am I the only one who actually likes some of the songs on Freddy's Greatest Hits? I've been taking shit for it all weekend.

The Halloween Countdown entry for September 20th features Kellogg's three new "Haunted Manor" cereals, essentially Froot Loops, Apple Jacks and Cocoa Rice Krispies in spookier packaging with CRAZY marshmallows. The number of arguably Halloween-themed cereals this year is nuts -- I've counted at least eight so far, and I'm sure I haven't seen 'em all. Pretty soon Corn Flakes will come in red. The recipes on the side panels seem to odd to just read and forget about, so I'll get around to making phallic chocolate Apple Jacks bananas during a later Countdown entry.

Before I go, a couple of things to unload. The other day, I'm walking to work with my head buried in cement as usual, and just as I'm approaching the other side of the street -- there it is. A Sky Captain robot balloon that was easily seven miles tall. Pretty amazing to have no idea you're going to see something like that and literally walk into its giant feet. When I went back outside a few hours later, the thing was gone. Still haven't found out where Robot Balloon got hauled off to, but I'm glad I got to spend thirty seconds with him before shoving my eyeballs in scalding coffee to look less dead for the 10 AM swarm. Click on the pics to see 'em bigger -- they're impressive:

If you're just getting here after the weekend, we're rockin' the new looks. Don't forget to hit up the Countdown entries already scrolled off the main page (a master list is coming this week) -- the Shocktober Commercial and Mountain Dew Pitch Black!

Chestnuts roasted by Monster Dog @ 09/19/2004 11:08 PM EST

Holy Crap...i'm #5! earliest post ever!

And i'm dead sure that this Halloween Countdown will be better than last year...and I hope Matt remembers to change the site back to normal be November 1st...last year he left the site like this until the Xmas Countdown came along if I remember correctly...

Chestnuts roasted by Invader Norbert @ 09/19/2004 11:09 PM EST

Actually, that was two years ago. LAST year we had a Thanksgiving design in-between. This year we won't. I'll probably have to keep Hallo up an extra week or two before sliding right into Christmas.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 09/19/2004 11:12 PM EST

Yeah, I notice that lately in my grocery store Kellogg's is selling Halloween version of Fruit Loops, Apple Jack, and Cocoa Rice Krispies vs. General Mills ususally Halloween version of Lucky Charms or the cereal monsters. But, it so cool if that Huge Robot ballon was Optimus Prime. Hey, Matt, did you know that there going to be a live-action Transformer movie.

Chestnuts roasted by Beta-Theta @ 09/19/2004 11:28 PM EST

How come I'm never graced with a giant robot.

Oh, and I love the Freddy songs, even if they don't have enough Freddy.

Chestnuts roasted by Mr. Mr. Mr. @ 09/19/2004 11:32 PM EST

Yay, we ARE keeping it til Xmas! Now the only questions are whether we'll see MM or the Macy's parades again.
Is anybody actually planning on seeing Sky Captian and the WOT? I'm conflicted, myself. It's nice to see someone trying something different for once, and giant robots are always great, but it looks so darn gimmicky...

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 09/19/2004 11:40 PM EST

Matt-I think it's great that you're ahead of schedule on your updates for once, but I don't think that these cereals will ever match up to Count Chocula, Frankenberry, or Boo Berry. Especially not Boo Berry, who ought to be in every damn store not only in this nation, but all of Canada and perhaps even Europe. Aw hell, the world ought have Boo Berry!

Chestnuts roasted by Nate @ 09/19/2004 11:41 PM EST

I'm lovin the updates... I wasn't around last year, it's nice to see somebody is doing the great tribute to halloween that it deserves! Screw christmas, I hate it, I <3 halloween..

Chestnuts roasted by KIWASABI @ 09/20/2004 12:12 AM EST

When I clicked on the Freddy album link the only song I heard was the Allman Brothers song "All I Have to Do is Dream." sung by some Girls. And I LIKED it. I want to hear the entire album

Chestnuts roasted by JLAJRC @ 09/20/2004 12:26 AM EST

For some reason, that song makes me imagine Freddy standing on top of a float singing, like in Ferris Bueller.

I'm going to pick up those Apple Jacks, since I like them as is. They can only get better with marshmallows.

Chestnuts roasted by Dude McGuy @ 09/20/2004 01:29 AM EST

I actually enjoyed quite a few of the songs on Freddy's Greatest Hits. I wonder if I should feel bad about that.

Also, I have to say, the Countdown has been pretty great so far. At least as great as a giant robot balloon.

Chestnuts roasted by Ian @ 09/20/2004 01:35 AM EST

Stuck here in Germany while wife teaches for overseas military brats. (Former Marine myself).

Having just turned 25, I'm perfect for Matt's demographic. Though I wish a new Transformer article would come up soon.

X-Entertainment brings alittle slice of America home.

Semper Fi!

Chestnuts roasted by Erik M. @ 09/20/2004 01:50 AM EST

Has anyone seen "Sky Captain" yet? Is it good?

Chestnuts roasted by Cameron T. @ 09/20/2004 03:02 AM EST

Yo,
Anyone remember Freddy's rap with the Fatboys? Or his rap with the Fresh Prince on the track Nightmare on My Street?
Where's Krueger's grammy?

Chestnuts roasted by Cliche-Man @ 09/20/2004 07:49 AM EST

Hey, "Do the Freddy" and "All I Have To Do Is Dream" are good in a "Damn good thing they have Freddy's voice playing 'cause otherwise I'd set my goddamn computer on fire" kinda way.

Sky Captain's alright, the camera looked like it had been smeared with bacon grease prior to shooting though.

Chestnuts roasted by Grandmaster Useless @ 09/20/2004 08:17 AM EST

Ok its 8 27 AM, how do I not get first post? shouldn't 9/20's post be made on 9/20 and not at 10 20 the day before?

Chestnuts roasted by ANdrew @ 09/20/2004 08:27 AM EST

All special cereals have marshmellows in them, and they should make a marshmallow/cereal sorting machine to sort the marshmellows in the bowl and the cereal back in the box.

Maybe they should just make 'Magical Marshmallow Candy Adventure'.
Then again there's the screaming mothers that keep saying 'OMFGOFM THIS HDS NO NOOTRITEEON!1!'.

Just my 2 cents.

Chestnuts roasted by RPharazon @ 09/20/2004 10:11 AM EST

Just checked out the site (I was away for the weekend) and I *love* the new layout! I also *love* the little Mario 'Boos' Great job! Off to read the spooky articles...

Chestnuts roasted by B-Dawg @ 09/20/2004 10:14 AM EST

Jeez, I don't check in for one little weekend and everything changes and I have all these updates to catch up on. I must say, I do love the new design, and I'm definitely loving/gonna love the frequent updates. Kudos Matt!

And thank you Brian Jacks for all your hard work putting the layout together. Looks fantastic.

Now, if only we could tie up the Chia Plot...

Chestnuts roasted by jhnnywalkr @ 09/20/2004 10:19 AM EST

Hey, has anyone seen these cute little monster thingies tht sing all these 80s songs. Theres even a Frankenstein Monster that sings "Thriller" and a black cat that sings "Somebody's Watching Me". You shouyld really review those Matt.
PS. Theres a witch and a skeleton, but I don't remember what they sing.

Chestnuts roasted by TOM @ 09/20/2004 10:43 AM EST

Something for you to try regarding pitch black mountain dew:
http://www.poopreport.com/Dew/experiment.html

Notice your poo turning green Matt?

Chestnuts roasted by Cobra Soldier #18 @ 09/20/2004 11:12 AM EST

everyone ready for TMI?

My poo did turn green. While I was at work. I wipe, and like most americans, I look to see if I got anything interesting. the paper is green.

scariest moment of my life. glad to know that my green poo is not a harbinger of doom.

Chestnuts roasted by Whirred @ 09/20/2004 11:21 AM EST

Matt, I forgot, did you ever have an update on the Alien Fruit Monsters you sent away for?

Chestnuts roasted by jhnnywalkr @ 09/20/2004 11:33 AM EST

I'M BACK! Holy cow it's been about a month and a half since I've had the time and access to this web site. I finnaly got the promotion at work I was hoping for, and have been non-stop since late july. and just now that I'm catching up with that, I've got to catch up on x-e. There's nothing better than coming to work on a crappy monday and finding updates on your favorite web site. this'll keep me busy for at least a week, not to mention the new updates. If I wasn't in the middle of a huge fight w/ my wife, I'd think I was a lucky guy.

Chestnuts roasted by brandon @ 09/20/2004 11:51 AM EST

Giant frickin' robots?? That does it. Im moving to New York.

Chestnuts roasted by pulseczar @ 09/20/2004 12:17 PM EST

Does that mean "ghost of a banana?" I didn't know bananas got resurrected in ghost form.

Chestnuts roasted by Yama @ 09/20/2004 12:27 PM EST

You want to see prototypes for some of the robots in Tomorrow Captain and the World of Sky, watch the old Max Fleischer Superman cartoon "The Mechanical Monsters." The movie is a homage to vintage futurism and movie serials.

monster dog's description of MD Pitch Black reminds me of a similar one concerning a soft drink named Moxie. Which is by the way, where the words' use for showing spunk comes from. You want a soft drink that tests your mettle, try Moxie. Takes about four sips to get used to it. I'm still trying to find me a bottle.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 09/20/2004 12:27 PM EST

So in England we have coco pops, is that the same thing as cocoa crispies? Coco pops are just rice crispies with chocolate on, and they dont have snap crackle and pop on they have this monkey.

Chestnuts roasted by Yeah @ 09/20/2004 01:23 PM EST

Matt,
You never cease to amaze me! I saw a bit about that Sky Captain robot in Times Square on the news the other day and said to myself "I guarantee you Matt from X-E has seen that and will mention it on his site." And sho nuff you did! I have to ask you though is the reason you carry a camera to work job related or just to capture weird stuff like this?! Or is it one of those phone cams which if so, the pictures look great! Love the Halloween menus by the way and happy to see The Grand Wizard as the countdown master.
Melissa Y.
(resident...ah you know the rest)

Chestnuts roasted by Melissa Y. @ 09/20/2004 01:34 PM EST

How can I get a giant Robot to come down my street?

Chestnuts roasted by Dixon Deeper @ 09/20/2004 01:36 PM EST

I liked the clickable song... I even sang along with it.

My most memorable Freddy-related song/video was Dokken's "Dream Warrior(s?)." I thought that was so cool when it came out. I was a Freddy Freak from day one.

Chestnuts roasted by Ryane @ 09/20/2004 01:52 PM EST

Hey Matt,

I found this at a local party store. I haven't seen you mention it, so I'm hoping I've got something new for you:

http://www.bigscreamtv.info/

Chestnuts roasted by KodaK @ 09/20/2004 02:14 PM EST

Get the GI Joe PSAs while you still can: www.fenslerfilm.com/?sec=news
www.fenslerfilm.com/i/hasjoe.gif

Chestnuts roasted by ME @ 09/20/2004 02:33 PM EST

Hey, I hate to be a picky piece of shit but Robert Englund does not actually provide the voice for Freddy on the classic track Nightmare on my Street by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. The voice is actually supplied by their human beatbox Ready Rock C who does a good imitation. I should know because I listened to that whole album a billion times when i was a wee lad. Another great song has to be the Human Video Game on that album where Ready Rock does his rendition of Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. When I think of Halloween I think of the Garfield special and candy and getting immensly sick. And I also think of those fucks who hand out fruit or gives you a handful of pennies. What a bunch of asswipes.
Speaking of Sky Captain I totally refuse to see it. It looks so fucking cheesy and it has actors that i can't stand in it. The CG work looks way too fake to me and that just ruins a movie in my book.

Chestnuts roasted by phunqsauce @ 09/20/2004 02:44 PM EST

What the-? My mom was kind enough to buy me a box of Cocoa Rice Krispies (I'm so happy they brought these back, even under a different name), but they weren't spooky-themed! Letdown.

Chestnuts roasted by Behonkiss @ 09/20/2004 03:44 PM EST

HOLY CRAP! i love the new layout. i know it was a coupla posts ago, but im a weekday-only x-e'er...

Chestnuts roasted by kranick @ 09/20/2004 04:01 PM EST

Hearing about those "Sounds of Halloween" tapes brings back memories. People used to play them all the time while handing out candy around here.

I used to be scared of Nightmare On My Street.. there, I said it. My cousin played that tape so much that I think it spontaneously combusted. Poor Prince.

Dokken - Dream Warriors is the song that's constantly playing in my head, doesn't matter if I want it there or not. And for some reason I'm always picturing Will in his wheel chair while it's playing.

"Sorry kid, I don't believe in fairy tales!" -Freddy

Chestnuts roasted by Matt (#2?) @ 09/20/2004 04:09 PM EST

This is one of your best halloween countdowns so far. One question though. Do you have any Value Village(thrift department store)s in your area? Those seem to explode with merchandise once halloween season starts, and the front of the store is crammed with 'ween stuff of various vintages that hasn't been sold yet. THAT would make a great countdown article, or perhaps even a full-fledged article on it's own.

Chestnuts roasted by DocDragon @ 09/20/2004 05:54 PM EST

Come to think, didn't Will Smith get into a bit of a legal snit concerning unauthorized use of "Freddy" for his tune? When a OKC radio station used to have The Dr. Demento Show, I would just about vibrate out of this plane of exsistence waiting for his Hallowe'en shows. And Nightmare on my Street always made it to the Funny Five every year.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 09/20/2004 05:59 PM EST

Man, this is what i get for not checking the blog. I am so far behind. As far as the best costume, I was a headless ax murder via a football helmet, a black t-shirt, and my dad's big shirt. And SPIDER-MAN my first 3 Halloween's.
The best part of being a teacher is that I get to relive all of the holidays (primarily the one's that happen this time of year). Even though I teach high school, it is still something.
Thanks for all of the great stuff, Matt. To quote Lisa, "You're a credit to dementia."

Chestnuts roasted by manimal789 @ 09/20/2004 07:06 PM EST

Matt- Any chance of taking nice enlarged pictures of those cereal recipes so they are legible? I wanna make one without having to buy 2 boxes for it.

Chestnuts roasted by Max @ 09/20/2004 08:10 PM EST

Holy shit!! Quite the nice layout you got going on here Matt. Very nively done Brian...Anyyyyway, yeah, good stuff. Keem em coming. Later

Chestnuts roasted by Well @ 09/20/2004 08:28 PM EST

Max: I'll be doing another post on those recipes soon -- full-scans then.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 09/20/2004 09:02 PM EST

Matt (#2?) - I was deathly afraid after I watched the first Freddy movie. I guess I was around 7, and I remember not wanting to even get off of the couch to walk on the floor because I could always imagine Freddy's shiny claws grabbing at me from under the furniture. XD And, of course, getting in bed might as well have been considered torture that night.

After I mentioned the Dokken song earlier today, I haven't been able to shake it since! Matt should review that video, or something.

Chestnuts roasted by Ryane @ 09/20/2004 09:22 PM EST

I'm not familiar with these special Halloween cereals. I am however familiar with those that come out around Xmas. Anyone remember the special Cap'n Crunch cereal that comes out around Xmas, Christmas Crunch? It's good. I remember having some years ago.

Chestnuts roasted by Bert Raccoon @ 09/20/2004 09:38 PM EST

Bert -- search the site, I've done an entire article on Christmas Crunch.

And in a later countdown entry, General Mills Strikes Back.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 09/20/2004 09:40 PM EST

I didn't know that Mountain Dew was making motor oil now.

I have a blog now, in an attempt to be as entertaining as Matt.. Click my name.

Chestnuts roasted by Jason @ 09/20/2004 09:58 PM EST

okay, this is just a side comment, as i feel obligated to post this information concerning die-hard booberry fans like myslef, but, i'm a new orleans resident, and the first wal mart to open(begrudgingly)_ in the city limits(of which i have no problem with)carries booberry year round, this is a first that i've seen in my area, as i can only find it at target during october and big lots for a couple of months afterward, so booberry fans rejoice, head to the wal mart on tchoupitoulas st. and fill up on booberry no matter what the holiday

Chestnuts roasted by tampioca @ 09/21/2004 04:36 AM EST

Oooh. All they need to do now is bring back Fruit Brute. And maybe come up with a new monster.

Chestnuts roasted by Yama @ 09/21/2004 08:09 AM EST

"I haven't been this excited since DW finally got it on with Whitley."

Dwayne Wayne, squee!

Ok, now I'm really craving some Cat in the Hat cereal. Damn, that stuff was good.

kingklash, I LOVE Moxie. That, and sassafras. Yum. I think Polar soda still makes sassafras, but I don't know about Moxie.

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 09/21/2004 10:33 AM EST

good job on the new site layout (brian was it?)

ME, there is no way hasbro can make them take the psa's down, parody is protected by copyright law under the fair use act. If it wasns't matt would have gotten sued many a time.

/legal speek mode off

Chestnuts roasted by bogeyb @ 09/21/2004 07:04 PM EST

Oddly enough, I have not seen the Halloween versions of the Kellogg's cereals yet - maybe they just haven't found their way down to Southern New Jersey, or just the teeny-tiny store I work in.

Chestnuts roasted by starwenn @ 09/21/2004 09:17 PM EST

The Freddy Cd is amazing. Where did you find it?

Chestnuts roasted by The American Ass @ 09/22/2004 10:10 AM EST

Wasn't "Do the Freddy" a song on Troop Beverly Hills??? O_o

I can still see Shelly Long doing jumping jacks. Aaargh!

(What does Semper Fi actually mean?)

I really think, Matt, that you got into enough trouble making Sweet Peets (LOL lol lol) and that actually, small banananana phallusies may be a baaad, Madd idea. At least you won't have missed Thundercats this time round. I love these little images of Times Square I keep getting; sure beat the dandelion-encrusted images of the park across my street.... Now, if there were actually giraffes wandering around my neighbourhood, that would be so cool. But they were all eaten in the 70's by starving expat.... Canadians, I suppose. Or something.

Has The Village opened over there yet? It'll probably get here wayyy later. S'Affrica iz way behind on movie releases

Chestnuts roasted by eminentfreak on a big 'ol Headless Horse @ 09/22/2004 11:48 AM EST

WOW them buildings is HUGE. And there's the Toys 'R Us store! Amazing! Intsima kwaMzantsi, hey??!! The Robot's cool, but I ain't never seen a really huge scyscraper. I must save up huge amounts of money and visit New York!

Actually, that Xhosa comment is out of context and meaningless, but I had you fooled, din't I?

Chestnuts roasted by efreakthemighty @ 09/22/2004 12:08 PM EST

Eminentfreak,
Semper Fi, the Marines' motto, is short for Semper Fidelis, latin for "Always faithful."
...The more you know.

Chestnuts roasted by Spike Spiegel @ 09/22/2004 07:18 PM EST