A couple of weeks ago, General Mills brought the iconic Sprinkle Spangles back into the spotlight. ICYMI, Sprinkle Spangles are a popped corn, sugar cookie-flavored, star-shaped cereal that launched in 1993 — the only cereal on the market at the time that had sprinkles!
Rainbow sprinkles aside, we have to admit that what reallycaught our eye was the purple genie on the box packaging. Who is he and what’s his story? We did a little investigating to find out more about this bright character and the cereal he represented.
Sprinkle Spangles made its debut in 1993 with the tagline “A kid’s dream come true!” The cereal itself is described as starting with a sugar cookie taste, “then specs every angle with colorful sprinkles, making it a sweet and crunchy part of this breakfast.” Right alongside the cereal, a new mascot was introduced known as the Sprinkle Genie.
A purple guy clad in a red vest, the Sprinkle Genie made it his mission to fulfill the wishes of kids everywhere for a sprinkled breakfast. Vocal actor Dom DeLuise voiced the genie, famous for his hit ‘90s roles in An American Tail and Oliver & Company.
In this commercial spot, he arrives in a flurry of sprinkles (instead of the traditional genie smoke) and is full of magic and wonder to all of the wide-eyed children he encounters. “You wish it, I dish it!” The genie boasts and poof! Cereal has now been sprinkle-fied! And the fun doesn’t stop there! The Sprinkle Genie has Super Sized his wishes including expanding cereal bowls and even bringing in a tow truck loaded with boxes of Sprinkle Spangles to the school cafeteria.
Nine months after his debut, the Sprinkle Genie mysteriously vanished in mid-1994 and the cereal itself was phased out shortly afterwards. Sounds like it’s time to bring this classic back along with the Sprinkle Genie! We like to think he’s hanging out with the Genie from Aladdin. After all, the Sprinkle Genie came out one year after the Disney film released, both genies granted wishes at the drop of a hat, and were larger than life!
