July 16, 2009

Sonny on the Nostalgia Critic

The brilliant Nostalgia Critic recently reviewed the Top Eleven Cereal Mascots of all time. I enjoyed this review for all the reasons I normally do (clever writing, funny gags, decent video work, a deep respect for Animaniacs and Batman:TAS) but also for an extra special reason. Sonny the Cuckoo Bird was given a pretty high ranking, and the NC used a lot of clips from Cocoa Puffs spots that I had worked on. Its funny, because seeing those particular clips in the review made me happier than than seeing the commercials on TV. Of course, the review wasn't about how swell the animation was- it was about Sonny's pitiful addiction to chocolaty breakfast cereal. Thats the obvious and ubiquitous reaction to the Cocoa Puffs campaign: "Sonny has a problem". Hell, every four out of five comments on YouTube is about Sonny's crack-tinged habit. I do wonder why the ad agency keeps pushing this angle when thats the conclusion everybody draws from it, but oh well. Sonny's freak-outs are fun to draw. And it actually doesn't bother me in the slightest- I always thought Sonny "going cuckoo" was just exuberance. He just really, *really* loves chocolate cereal. As long as he goes to the dentist, whats wrong with that? If there's anything offensive at all about Cocoa Puffs, its the box art. Seriously, take a close look at it next time you're in the cereal aisle at the supermarket. Some designer somewhere got cheeky.

1 comment:

Jeremy Graham said...

I was wondering if you had seen that, heh.