Crispy Critters was a breakfast cereal, which was re-issued by Post Cereals in 1987 after having been tested unsuccessfully during the 1960s. This second attempt to popularize this cereal was also unsuccessful and it was discontinued shortly thereafter.[1]
The cereal consisted of individual pieces that were akin to miniature animal crackers in their shape, appearance, taste and texture. [2]
The commercials for the cereal featured a puppet named "Crispy" with pom-pom antennae and a furry yellow body. Crispy spoke and sang with a voice based on that of Jimmy Durante including the nonsense phrase "Ah-cha-cha-cha". This puppet interacted with a child actor and was accompanied by smaller puppets which resembled the individual pieces of cereal. Together, these puppets spoke the cereal's tagline of "it's indubitably delicious."
The original commercials in the 1960s featured Linus the Lionhearted (voiced by Sheldon Leonard) and the slogan, "The one and only cereal that comes in the shape of animals,"[3] sung to the tune of "Trepak" from Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker. The melody was quoted by Leonard Bernstein in his opera A Quiet Place.
The phrase "crispy critter" entered American military, police and fire fighter slang as a name for a burnt corpse.[4]