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Thursday, September 13, 2007

The Evolution of Sugar Bear

Sugar Crisp 1 oz boxesSugar Bear concept artSugar Crisp art & Kellogg's boxSugar Bear concept artSugar Crisp cereal boxSugar Bear finished artSugar Crisp cereal boxSugar Bear finished artSugar Crisp cereal boxSugar Bear concept artSugar Crisp cereal boxSugar Crisp cereal boxSuper Sugar Crisp cereal boxSugar Bear concept artSugar Bear concept artSuper Sugar Crisp cereal boxSugar Bears record cereal boxSuper Sugar Crisp cereal box

69 comments:

  1. I'd like to get my hands on one of the Sugar Bear Flexi records shwon on the one box 3rd from the last (I think).
    Dave

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  2. there is an album of all the songs - I have one and I don't think it is very rare

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  3. Are there any cereals that currently display the word "sugar" in their name so proudly?

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  4. Great collection. It's nice to see all of those together to see how it changed over the years.

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  5. The Bear had a Bing Crosby, lazy kind of voice on the commercials.... was the record sung in that style?

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  6. a quick search of the internet finds a link to a site wher eyou can download the whole album

    http://childrensrecordsandmore.blogspot.com/2007/09/sugar-bears-1972-vinyl-lp.html

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  7. I'm confused by the Sugar Crisp box with the Kellogg's logo.

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  8. Are there any cereals that currently display the word "sugar" in their name so proudly?

    they now called "Golden Crisps"

    I remember eating these as a kid and the smell of the cereal mixed in milk smelled like urine... but it tasted pretty good.

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  9. yeah the kelloggs box is a bit of a mystery but it is a foreign box, my guess is that kelloggs made and distributed it in south america under a license from post - pretty odd....

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  10. I really like the character design of the first few boxes. I wish they could have kipped it like that.

    As for the cereal, to me it kind of tasted allot like burnt popcorn with a bit of sugar on it. Maybe a bit like styrofoam as well.

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  11. LOL dan goodsell,

    I have that Sugar Bear LP on my blog (the one you posted the onk to), and didn't even realize that song was on it. Shows you how busy I've been last couple of months trying to re-post all of my links.
    Dave

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  12. yeah I think all those Post flexis were released as records except maybe the ghost stories ones. glad you are out there putting the stuff up on the web since so paople remember it and want to hear it again

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  13. Seems like his design gets less and less cute as time goes on. I love the earlier ones but the last couple do nothing for me.

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  14. He started out great. Took on the 'George Lazenby' for a bit and then adopted those heavy lidded drugged out eyes... then the Steroid Superstar. What an indictment.

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  15. Man, here I was thinking the last image on the right read as "SUGAR BEAR EULOGY CLUB"

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  16. So where's the rest of the evolution? There's plenty more refinement after your last image.

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  17. So I wonder why he suddenly gained a sweater?

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  18. In the late 80s, I taped part of a school assembly from a public-access channel. They had a Sugar Bear costume mascot talking about bus safety. The voice was dead on, which impressed me then and now (particularly now, when all the original voices are dying and being replaced by completely unconvincing fakes). "Mmm, mmm, mmm!" he says, at one point, "Can't get enough of that School Bus Safety!"

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    Replies
    1. I was in that video!! I had a feature in it with a girl doing hopscotch. Do you know where I can find a copy?

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  19. Starting with the "New Compact Box" design, Sugar Bear's eyes get the heavy lids like those of Cap'n Crunch (in the Cap'n's 1980s incarnation). Wonder if this was a particular inspiration, or if both characters were imitating some other character.

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  20. Bring back the good old designs!!! Please, if anyone from Post sees this, the old designs are beautiful and I would buy a box of that cereal just to have it.

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  21. What's in a name? In Germany, they're called Smacks and have a frog as a mascot - who knows why ... frogs like sugar? Frogs like wheat? Frogs like smack?

    http://www.kelloggs.de/produkte/pages/smacks.html

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  22. Marc, We have Smacks too, Kelloggs and Post are 2 different cereal companies.

    I like old Sugar Bear, the newer one sucks.

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  23. They totally bit the 'School House Rock' font there. But yeah, God how I hate they new Super Sugar Crisp bear. "insufferable rat-pack prick" HIGHLARIOUS!

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  24. There's a Sugar Bear cartoon from Linus the Lionhearted on Youtube: see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lP3MOfuA8o.

    Possibly the character got redesigned in order to make him easier to animate?

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  25. Our family actually had a Sugar Crisp Bear costume. My uncle was a grocery store manager whose chain sponsored a TeddyBear Picnic event in our city. Due to his height (over 6'), he always wore the costume for the picnic. Somehow we ended up keeping the costume, removing the SugarCrisp logo and reusing it for years in various capacities. I don't know where it is now, but I have fond memories of that extra hot suit with the massive fiberglass head (and limited vision, I might add). Here's a picture of my much smaller friend taking her turn at wearing it for a fundraiser we were doing. Though a bit worse for wear by then, that bear was excellent for getting people's attention!

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  26. I remember Super Orange Crisp had the most sugar of all. 68%. It was pretty heinous and even as a kid I couldn't stand it.

    Bring back Sir Grapefellow !!!

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  27. que pasa toro?

    pasa your ceeereal, sugar bear!

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  28. And before Sugar Bear, there were THREE sugar crisp bears - Handy, Dandy, and Candy.

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  29. What is up with that cartoon with the three bears?

    "YIKES! IT'S THE GIANT!"
    "...AND HE'S NAKED!"

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  30. i love seeing how the boxes change. when you eat something all the time it seems to stay the same, and only when you see all of them together do you realize how big the changes are. i love looking at http://www.retroland.com cause i get to see all the things i remember from my childhood (tho i don't remember them until i seem them again...)

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  31. Sugar Bear's later persona was copied from Dean Martin, don't you agree?

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  32. Someone said it earlier, Sugar Bear had a Bing Crosby sort of drawl not really Dean Martin

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  33. I have a question that maybe you can answer. I have a teddy bear from when I was born, around 35 years ago, that my mother swears up and down is the Sugar Crisp bear. She bought it for me when I was a baby. I have never seen another bear like it, but she sang the song, and said my bear was from the original Post cereal Sugar Crisp. Did they ever have a teddy bear for sale back then that was from the cereal?
    Thanks.
    TV

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    Replies
    1. Yes, they did. You saved up box tops and return postage and in for such items.

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  34. This is a fantastic progression. I laughed at the one from the late 60s advertising the "NEW! COMPACT BOX," which sounds like it's code for "We're giving you less cereal for the same price!"

    Can't get enough Super Golden Crisp, it's got the crunch with punch.

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  35. AnonymousJune 09, 2008

    As kids, we always assumed that Sugar Bear was based on Bing Crosby. Later I thought more so Perry Como. Then on Wikipedia I read that he was influenced by Dean Martin. I dunno... turtle neck sweater, no drink in hand. Not so Dino. More so Como.

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  36. AnonymousJune 15, 2008

    This is interesting - those of you who say the bear sounds like Dean Martin, even Perry Como... I have to agree. But those weren't the first name to come to mind for me. I thought Sugar Bear sounded like... Burt Reynolds!

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  37. Fantastic!

    The first chronological Sugar Bear who walks with a spoon on his shoulder is a favorite of mine.

    Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together.

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  38. Anyone out there know anything about the small tin (maybe from the 50's or 60's) that says "Post Sugar Crisp with a note on it stating "Free Inside" Mighty Mouse Magic Mystery Picture? The tin has 3 Sugar Bears on it and is approx 6" x 2". Just wonderng if it's worth anything.

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  39. AnonymousMay 06, 2009

    If you will check: TOPHER's Breakfast Cereal character guide
    Post cereal
    you'll see that I drew the post sugar crisp Beyers 1951-54

    at that time there were three Bears named"Dandy,Handy and Candy"
    I just thought this might be of interest to you as a bit of history. Dan Winsor

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  40. Gerry Matthews was the original voice of Sugar Bear, patterning him after Dean Martin. I didn't know all the characters were from cereal -- I only ever saw Sugar Bear's face on a box and for that matter, I only ever saw Sugar Bear in actual cereal commercials. I think this is a interesting - those of you who say the bear sounds like Dean Martin, even Perry Como. This is a fantastic progression. Thanks for a lovely share.

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  41. I am the Gerry Matthews of the Sugar Bear voice. Though I was originally hired to approximate Crosby's voice, I leaned much closer to Dean Martin because he sounded stewed. Please click on my web site at www.wallawalladada.com to visit my Museum in Walla Walla, WA where I now live. Get in touch at goodmatch@charter.net. gerry

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  43. After 35 years my Mom hands me a bag of old watches I used to have as a kid and I was in shock when I saw that one of them was a one of a kind Sugar Bear watch! I remember my mom saving up the box tops for it. It's a wind up watch at that and the eyes move right to left as the clock tics. I was sooo HAPPY to see it still in tact! I can show pics if anyone is as excited and interested as I am about it! :D

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  64. Sugar Bear was originally three different bears named I believe Handy, Candy and Dandy which evolved into one bear. In Canada Sugar Crisp were launched in 1948.

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