Jerry Seinfeld’s new movie snaps, crackles, and pops!
We’ve had movies about the creation of the BlackBerry, Air Jordans, and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, so the fact that somebody decided to make a movie about the origins of Pop-Tarts is perhaps of little surprise.
What’s more surprising, however, is that the majority of the movie has been fictionalized for comic effect. Well, we say ‘surprising.’ As it is comedian Jerry Seinfeld who is behind this new Netflix movie, it’s perhaps not that much of a shocker to suggest this isn’t a straight-up biopic of the people who created the warm and sweet breakfast pastry.
The movie is set in 1963 and is located in the aptly named Battle Creek, Michigan, where a fierce war is going on between two rival breakfast companies, Kellogg’s and Post. These bitter enemies are going to great lengths to ensure they are the first company to release their new fruit-filled pastries onto shelves around the country.
Head of Kellogg’s Bob Cabana (actual name Bill Post but renamed to avoid confusion), assembles a crack team of experts to help him win the battle. But as these include a fitness guru and a bicycle visionary, you’ll realize that these are not reflective of the real-life people who aided in the creation of the Pop Tart.
There are more fictionalizations to come, such as the suggestion that Kellogg’s CEO was abducted by a vengeful milk company and made to “walk the aisle” (a barn with two rows of farting cows). You shouldn’t believe the scene when the Kellogg’s team is flown to the White House either, where President Kennedy suggests they should name a breakfast cereal after Jackie Onassis, his wife.
In fact (though we hesitate to use the word ‘fact,’) little else in the film is true. There was never, as far as we know, a group of three guys who walked around Kellogg’s offices dressed as the Rice Krispie characters Snap, Crackle, and Pop. And we’re pretty sure Bill Post didn’t find out about Post Cereal Company’s intention to create a fruit pastry after finding two kids eating a prototype from within one of that company’s dumpsters.
A scene in which Tony the Tiger (the Frosted Flakes mascot) goes on strike with the other cereal mascots and scales the outside of the Kellogg’s building in protest at being exploited by the company, is also utter nonsense
We don’t how Jerry Seinfeld was allowed to get away with such outlandish fabrications, but we’re thankful that he was, as Unfrosted is far more entertaining than certain other brand-based films that weren’t as grrreeat as this one!
However, some aspects of the real-life story are present and correct. Kellogg’s and Post really were at war with each other, in the figurative sense, as they tried to get their product to market first. It’s also true that Pop Tarts wasn’t the original name for Kellogg’s pastry, although it wasn’t going to be called Trat Pop, as is mentioned in the film. Fruit Scone was the rather boring name that the Pop-Tarts creator originally came up with.
Don’t spend a lot of time looking for the truth though. This is a comedy with very few links to reality. Some gags don’t work, such as one involving a German member of the Kellogg’s team who we’re led to believe was part of the Nazi party during the war. And some of the pop culture references might pass over the heads of anybody who didn’t grow up in 1960s America.
But for the most part, Unfrosted is very funny, hitting the funny bone more times than it misses, with a handful of hilarious cameos (including Jon Hamm and John Slattery as the guys from Mad Men), and a scene-stealing turn from Hugh Grant as Thurl Ravenscroft, a British actor (in reality he was American) who was the voice and body of Tony the Tiger.
If you don’t take Unfrosted seriously, you’ll have a good time. The story is threadbare and it’s more ludicrous than factual. But with an almost non-stop barrage of funny scenes and hilarious performances from most of the cast, this is an enjoyable comedy that snaps the funny bone with its high gag rate, crackles with ingenuity, and pops off the screen with its bright colours and comically inventive setpieces.
Read More: Unfrosted Ending Explained
Feel free to check out more of our movie reviews here!
-
Verdict - 7/10
7/10