I have to admit that I’m not all that enthusiastic when it comes to breakfast cereals these days.
But maybe that’s because I’m a guy in my mid-forties. Which means that — if I’ve got a box of cereal in front of me on the breakfast table — chances are that this food product will prominently feature the words “oat,” “bran” and/or “fiber” somewhere in its title.
Yeah, my days of snarfing down “Sugar Pops,” “Sugar Smacks” and “Sugar Frosted Flakes” are pretty much behind me … Which is why I probably shouldn’t be the guy who’s doing the review of Kellogg’s newest breakfast product, “Disney Princess Cereal.”
Copyright Kellogg’s/Disney
And yet here I am, staring down into a bowl full of pink & purple hearts. As well as little marshmallow wands, castles, roses and crowns.
Yikes! It makes my teeth hurt just to look at this stuff.
Okay. Strictly as an excuse to avoid putting a spoonful of this crud in my mouth for a little while longer, let’s talk for a bit about the Disney Princess product line. Did you know that the Walt Disney Company makes over $3 billion a year off of hawking all of this princess stuff? That’s 10 times the amount that the Mouse used to make off of this same merchandise back in 2001. When the princesses only pulled in $300 million for the Disney corporation.
While I’m stalling for time … I guess I should also mention that “Disney Princess Cereal” is a “Limited Edition” product. Meaning that Kellogg’s only plans on producing on this breakfast cereal for a few months before it discontinues the brand forever.
And — given that this cereal box prominently features a picture of Cinderella — it should probably come as no surprise that Walt Disney Company views Kellogg’s “Princess Cereal” as a key component of its promotion of the upcoming DVD release of the studio’s 1950 animated classic. In fact, the box itself features an ad for the October 4th release of this 2-disc set.
Copyright Kellogg’s / Disney
And while we’re talking about stuff on the outside of the box, I should probably point out the “Do You Have True Princess Power?” quiz. Which — in order to determine if you truly have what it takes to become a Disney Princess — you have to answer “Yes” or “No” to questions like:
Copyright Kellogg’s / Disney
- You want to know what life is like outside the palace.
- You like adventure and enjoy magic carpet rides.
- You would rather ride in a coach made out of a pumpkin than bake a pumpkin pie.
And according to the “Princess Power-o-Meter” (I.E. A chart that’s actually located on inside the box), if you answered “Yes” to at least 10 out of the 12 questions, then …
Copyright Kellogg’s / Disney
… which is one of those sentences that you really have to read twice. If only for the “Did that really say what I think it said?” quotient.
Anyway … Enough stalling. I guess I should just be a man and start digging into this bowl of pretty pink cereal.
And the verdict is … “Disney Princess Cereal” actually isn’t half bad. It’s certainly not as sweet as I thought it was going to be. I figured — what with all the pink & purple hearts as well as the marshmallow pieces — that this stuff would contain enough sugar to rot the fillings right out of my head.
No, “Disney Princess Cereal” actually has a light strawberry taste. And kind of a nice crunch …
Here’s another reason that Disneyana fans might want to consider picking up a box of this stuff: The package features a special CD offer. Where — if you send in two UPCs from “Disney Princess Cereal” boxes (plus a check for $1.99) — you can then get a copy of this special CD which features songs from “Beauty & the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Sleeping Beauty.”
Copyright Kellogg’s / Disney
Hmmmn. I wonder if I should buy another box of this crud just so I can get that CD?
(Jim rotates box so that he can read how much daily minimum requirement of dietary fiber “Disney Princess Cereal” contains.)