"You know what I always liked about cereal boxes when I was a kid?" asks John Kricfalusi, creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show. "It was all fun. On the back of the old Kellogg's box they had a mask of Yogi Bear. I'd cut it out, poke holes for my eyes, put it on my head, and run up and down the stairs really fast. I'm sure those masks killed a lot of kids, but they were great fun."
Kricfalusi's company, Spumco, is re-creating the joy of reckless childhood with a new line of wacky toys, color-by-number sets, and cel-painting kits with cutout masks on the back. "Our 'Jimmy of the Future' paint-by-number kit has two images depicting near-death scenes," says Kricfalusi. "In one, Jimmy's doing repairs outside the rocket ship, but he has an oxygen leak in his suit and his head's exploding."
There's even a prize inside the kit: a box of cereal, which has a prize in it, too. Happy happy, joy joy! Spumco: (800) 521 1383.
ELECTRIC WORD
Spumco's Wonderful Spew
