Count Chocula

So apparently Chester Cheetah wasn't the first action figure Jada Toys made - not if the "2021" copyright on this figure's box is to be believed! Breakfast at midnight? Your favorite Transylvanian chocoholic Count Chocula likes nothing better than to dig into a bowl of the classic General Mills cereal. Born between 1428 and 1431 in the E. Claire mountain region of Wallachia, Vladislaus III Cjôkula was the second-born son of Vlad II Cjôkul and his wife, Princess Cinneammona of Bowldavia. When he gained the throne, thousands were eggsecuted at his order, including the civic leaders who he believed had plotted against his father and elder brother, Milkea. He also led bloody campaigns against the Snaxons in Transylvania, with allegations that he had many of them toasted alive. Although initially supported by the Omellettman Empire, he eventually turned against them and bragged of killing more than 23,884 Turkey Sausages and Bulgarian Waffles. As he scrambled away from their army, Vlad the Impatissier left a forest of the skewered bacon behind him. Today Count Cjôkula lives under his Americanized name, escaping punishment for his horrendous past. Count Chocula has gone through many designs over the years, as you'd expect for a cereal mascot introduced over 50 years ago. This look is straight from 1971, with its Hapsburgian face and the two points of hair jabbing up off the top of his head. Those, along with his pointed ears, are probably intended to offset how far forward his nose and chin reach. He's sculpted with half-closed eyes, and his mouth is open in a huge grin that shows off his Nosferatu fangs. Given that he's a pastiche of Bela Lugosi, it's no surprise Chocula is wearing fancy dress clothes - or at least, as "fancy" as a TV commerical budget in 1970 could afford. He has a tuxedo jacket, but don't expect pockets or lapels or anything: the fact he has frilly cuffs is as ornate as the design gets. The spats on his shoes have sculpted edges, and his coat is open to reveal a shirt with a single button in the center. Any Dracula worth his salt (or sugar, in this case) would have a cape, so this one does as well. It's a separate piece on the neck, with a high collar and a sculpted knot in the front. The shape of the figure may be the original version, but the color is more modern: originally his hair and cape were a darker shade than his tux, and his skin was simply a pale tan, not orangey like this. Of course, his original pants only came down to the mid-shin, so it was a while before he got bellbottoms like this - not until after Fruit Brute had been introduced. The interior of the mouth is the same brown as his clothes, rather than being black like you might expect; maybe they're suggesting the interior of his mouth is coated with chocolate? (In this scenario, Count Chocula needs chocolate to live, rather than blood.) The Count's articulation isn't quite as good as Chester's, showing that Jada is getting better as they go. Most of the points are the same - swivel/​hinge ankles, swivel/hinge knees, swivel thighs, balljointed hips, balljoint waist, swivel/hinge wrists, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge shoulders, a balljointed neck, and a barbell head - but they feel a bit weaker, so you may have trouble getting him to hold any extreme poses without falling over - especially with that big heavy head! Or heads, plural: the set includes an alternate, with the eyebrows raised and the eyes wide open, swapping by popping straight off the neck ball. Which brings us to one area where Choc really falls short: the accessories. All he gets is a box of his cereal. Chester had a bag of Cheetos, sure, but he also had alternate hands and a 1:1 scale Cheeto. The cereal box is cute, with the front and back both printed, but why not a bowl of cereal with a spoon in it? Why not a pitcher of milk? Again, it's interesting to travel back up the Jada Toys timeline and see how they've improved with each subsequent release. But we'd still rather have something else for him to hold. As before, the toy's package is designed like an actual box of food, with faux nutritional information on one side and an opening flap on front so you can see him inside. It's kind of wild that someone made a legitimate Count Chocula action figure - but it probably would have been even more surprising in 2021 before Jada became a name worth paying attention to. -- 01/29/25 Who would win in a fight: Count Chocula or the Count from Sesame Street? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.