By day, Gabe Fonseca is a television writer whose credits include Wizards Of Waverly Place and Private Practice. But in his free time, he’s established himself as one of YouTube’s preeminent experts on breakfast cereal, even doing a web series about the topic called Cereal Time. In addition to reviewing particular cereals, he also collects interesting and vintage cereal boxes from the recent and distant past. And what, exactly, does a collector do with all those cardboard containers with their colorful graphics, bold lettering, and bug-eyed cartoon mascots? As detailed in the latest episode of Cereal Time, Fonseca chose to arrange his sugar-frosted storehouse into a massive, color-coordinated wall, affixing the individual boxes with magnets to sheets of metal in an otherwise-disused room of his home. He even used photo-mosaic software to achieve an optimal pattern. The effect of seeing all these cereal boxes carefully arranged into a rainbow pattern is actually kind of stunning. No Warholian comment about consumer culture is implied here, though. Fonseca’s devotion to cereal is sincere.
Perhaps inadvertently, the video also demonstrates just how many pop culture-themed breakfast cereals have reached the market over the years, many related to The Simpsons, Star Wars, The Muppets, G.I. Joe, and other franchises. Mr. T had a cereal in the 1980s, but so did E.T. Other characters represented here include Barbie, SpongeBob, Batman, Spider-Man, and all sorts of Disney critters. At one time or another, they all wanted a taste of that sweet, sweet breakfast cereal market. Not all of Fonseca’s collection is based around licensed characters, however. There are plenty of familiar mascots from the Kellogg’s, Post, and General Mills stables here, too. Fonseca’s wall offers glimpses of what Tony The Tiger, Cap’n Crunch, Count Chocula, and others looked like at various stages in their development. For those who truly love their cereals, Fonseca’s wall is an awe-inspiring monument.