[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Super Mario Mac & Cheese
February 10th, 2014 by Benj Edwards
The princess has lost her floatation powers…and Yoshi loves bongs.
My mom saves everything. Case in point, I ran across a mountain of mid-1990s coupon flyers — the kind that arrive stacked in an envelope through the mail — at her house this afternoon while I was looking for some old papers. This particular 30-cents-off coupon for Kraft’s Super Mario Bros. Macaroni and Cheese from 1994 caught my eye. It measures 4.5″ x 7.5″ (for those of you at home keeping notes).
I’ve never eaten Super Mario Bros. mac and cheese, but I bet it was every bit as delicious as the regular noodle variety. And besides — there was an adventure in every bowl.
Discussion Topic of the Week: Have you ever eaten any food products based on licensed video game characters?
February 10th, 2014 at 9:49 pm
Donkey Kong cereal! If memory serves it was 1983 or 1984 and very ‘Cap’n Crunch’-esque.
February 11th, 2014 at 2:16 am
Definitely remember the cereal based on DK and also thought I had one that was based on Pac Man as well… Also, remember various Pac Man candy and ice cream treats, Pac Man was pretty much everywhere!
February 11th, 2014 at 10:00 am
Donkey Kong cereal, Donkey Kong Jr. cereal, PacMan Cereal. I remember the ice cream man used to have a Pacman ice cream thing that was really good.
February 11th, 2014 at 10:15 am
There was the terrible Super Mario Bros/Legend of Zelda cereal in the 80’s. The box had two bags in it, one with the Mario cereal and one with the Zelda. It was gross, even by kids’ cereal standards.
February 11th, 2014 at 10:59 am
We got the Mario Bros/Zelda combo once as kids. It was our first and last trip to the sugar cereal side of the isle. My brother and I ate the entire box on one Saturday morning watching cartoons. My mom was so upset at us, we only got “Team Flakes” and “Product 19” cereal for the rest of the school year.
February 11th, 2014 at 11:04 am
That Nintendo Cereal System cereal (the Mario/Zelda combo) was indeed horrible. It tasted like pure fortified dye clumps.
Here’s what I wrote about it for a Technologizer slideshow back in 2010.
I also ate Pac-Man and Donkey Kong cereal as a very young kid. I liked Donkey Kong cereal — it reminded me of Cap’n Crunch.
February 12th, 2014 at 12:01 am
The cereal wasn’t based on a video game character, but I remember going through BOXES of something called “Halfsies” when I was around 10 years old or so, as they had a contest where you could win a real Pengo, Zaxxon, or Star Trek arcade game! I didn’t like it very much, but I probably kept dumping half the box down the sink and then asking mom to get another one. That was one marketing trick that sure worked on me, since I was so sure I would win! Ah, but then there was the disappointment as soon as I opened the box to see I wasn’t a winner, and knowing I had to suffer through all that cereal…
February 12th, 2014 at 12:05 pm
Yeah, that DK cereal was pretty decent. Is that Sonic canned pasta still around?
February 12th, 2014 at 3:27 pm
I absolutely ate the Super Mario macaroni & cheese, and I distinctly recall there being tips for Super Mario All-Stars on the back of the box. I also remember cutting out the Mario graphic from the front to use as a decoration.
In addition, I ate the Nintendo Cereal System, and I’m probably one of the few people who actually enjoyed it. I was also a big fan of the Zelda and Mario fruit snacks.