I get a lot of inspiration watching a number of enterprising creators on YouTube.
It’s fun to see people crafting interesting content on the platform. It’s also neat to see the production values that can be achieved with hardware and software packages available to regular consumers.
I’ve been meaning to write about some of the creators I enjoy watching.
The patch came in this envelope that featured a Lifestyle Overland Topo Bear decal on the flap:
Inside the package was our 1-year anniversary patch, two decals with the anniversary artwork, and a “Thank You” card from the McCuiston family:
I find bits of swag like this to be a lot of fun.
I stumbled upon the Lifestyle Overland channel about a year ago, and quickly found the off-road adventures of the McCuiston family (Kevin, Sarah, and daughter Caroline) to be compelling viewing.
The production value of each video is excellent (they started uploading in 4K for the current season’s videos), and the music selections are spot on (I particularly enjoy the opening theme song).
The family has geared their collective life towards the overlanding experience. It’s fascinating to see people steer towards their passion.
Bridge and I aren’t terribly “outdoorsy” ourselves. So it’s kind of nice to be able to live vicariously through “camp life” aficionados like the McCuiston family.
There are a lot of interesting videos to explore on the Lifestyle Overland channel. As of this writing, the family is currently enjoying the scenic wonders of Utah:
The 50-part “Overlanding the North Country” series (which takes you to Northern Canada and Alaska) is a particular favorite of mine, and shows the positives and negatives of an overlanding lifestyle:
To experience the entire slate of Lifestyle Overland videos for yourself, head on over to their YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/lifestyleoverland.
If you'd like to learn more about Lifestyle Overland and the McCuiston family, visit www.lifestyleoverland.com (the site includes a blog and links to purchase Lifestyle Overland branded merch). And if you want to support them on Patreon, visit their page here.
I really enjoyed the anniversary patch we received from Lifestyle Overland. It’s nice to be able to support content creators (even in a small way). Bridget and I have enjoyed their adventure thus far, and are looking forward to seeing where the family’s travels take them this year.
In the past, I’ve reviewed certain TV shows episode-by-episode on this blog.
Two, actually. I’ve done individual episode reviews of the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” and the CBS All Access (now Paramount+) series “Star Trek: Picard.”
I felt like it was a good way to “dig into” the show in a more detailed manner. It also had the benefit of giving me some structure in my blog writing. If the show was released a single episode at a time, week-by-week, it meant I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel when it came to my writing.
Truth be told, I had considered doing the same for “WandaVision,” the first Marvel Cinematic Universe series to grace Disney+. In fact, I wrote a review of the first episode back in January that I never published.
Honestly, for those of you who watched the 9-episode season of “WandaVision,” you can probably understand my reluctance to analyze each episode individually.
“WandaVision” tries diligently to chart new territory in Marvel’s multi-threaded superhero saga. Instead of taking a familiar structure, the entire season (I’m assuming this is a one-off show) was built around popular TV sitcoms — from the 1950s to today.
When Disney+ dropped the first two episodes on Jan. 15, some fans were left scratching their heads as they watched a pair of comic book characters in the idyllic town of Westview hamming it up in a black-and-white sitcom that channeled “I Love Lucy” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”
It’s not like Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) were the most developed characters in the MCU coming into this series, nor were they the most popular.
Sure, we all knew there was more to the story. The hyper-fictionalized sitcom life of Wanda and Vision couldn't be “real.”
My litmus test for any entertainment property is whether or not someone can enjoy it on a “surface level” — can someone with no prior knowledge of this franchise find things to like about the specific property in question.
We’ve all seen examples (in the world of filmed entertainment) where writers create something that is too ”inside baseball” for casual viewers to understand. Sometimes (especially in the realm of science fictions and fantasy) screenwriters are gearing things toward a specific audience that has to have a preset knowledge of the franchise.
This is a scenario that proved problematic for the entire “Star Trek” franchise in the 1990s. The longer that franchise went on — as movies and TV series were layered on — the harder it became for “non-versed” viewers to relate.
Throughout much of the “WandaVision” series run, I thought this was something of a problem.
I know some will suggest that you don’t have to be a die-hard Marvel fan to understand “riffing” on classic sitcoms, but a lot of those moments weren’t particularly compelling.
“WandaVision” was a slow build. Until viewers gained insight into was going on in the town of Westview — and what was happening outside of Westview — you had to be patient.
The series became more interesting as the narrative struck a balance between both threads.
I have no doubt that the “fan boy (and girl) class” on the internet found digging up those hidden clues to be fascinating.
I’ll be honest, I don’t like watching a show with the idea that I need to read a “subreddit” to understand what's going on — or to get the full experience.
For example, we had to go back and re-watch “Avengers: Age of Ultron” so we could gain more insight into Wanda Maximoff, her brother Pietro, and the creation of Vision.
I love what Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige has done with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movies are entertaining and among my favorites of the past decade.
I just wondered each week if “WandaVision” was too bogged down in its clever premise for its own good.
To be sure, there were a number of bright spots in “WandaVision.”
Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany were both terrific as they navigated suburban life in Westview (or “the hex,” as it became affectionately known). The existential crisis Wanda and Vision experienced during the season added depth and dimension to both characters.
I thought Kathryn Hahn’s performance as quirky next-door neighbor “Agnes” ended up being the most layered of the season. Hahn’s ability to convey volumes of emotion with a single facial expression was pretty effective.
In addition, I enjoyed the return of FBI Agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), a character last seen in “Ant-Man and the Wasp” (read my review).
Woo has one of the best lines in the 9-episode season when he quips, “So you're saying the universe created a sitcom starring two Avengers?”
I was also pleased to see Kat Dennings back in the role of Darcy Lewis. I liked her brand of snarky humor in “Thor” and “Thor: The Dark World,” and hope we see more of her in the MCU. When S.W.O.R.D. brought her in to assist in their investigation of Westview during “WandaVision’s” fourth episode, I thought the story perked up considerably.
I also liked seeing a grown-up Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) in the series. When the character appeared in 2019’s “Captain Marvel” (read my review), speculation swirled that we’d soon see more of the character.
I thought the way Rambeau was integrated into the “WandaVision” plot provided a firm foundation for future integration into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Parris’s performance was solid — so much so that she could headline her own series.
Despite all the positives mentioned above (I intentionally left out other strengths that would have been spoilers), I think the filmmakers could have done a better job crafting a show that worked better on a “surface level.”
One of the joys of “The Mandalorian” is that you don’t have to be a die-hard “Star Wars” fan to buy in. It works brilliantly on the most basic level.
There is nothing more disheartening as a fan than feeling like you have to slog through multiple movies and TV series *before* you can watch the latest incarnation. This is a hurdle that can also afflict popular book series (“Do I need to go back and read all 17 previous novels before I can read the newest release?”)
Like the episodic sitcoms that Wanda Maximoff channels in “WandaVision,” the series needed to work better on a level that would satisfy casual observers. At least early on...
Here's hoping “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (set to debut March 19 on Disney+) gets the balance in check...
The last time I reviewed a season of “Cobra Kai” was May 9, 2019. Those were my thoughts of the show’s second season. For a while there, I wasn’t sure the series was going to return (despite being renewed for a third season by YouTube).
My reviews of Season 1 and Season 2 of “Cobra Kai” sit among my top 10 blog posts of all time (out of 336 total posts since 2016).
Fans were left waiting with bated breath as the future of the “Karate Kid” sequel/reboot series stood in the balance. YouTube had decided to shift away from cultivating Netflix-like scripted series, and parent studio Sony had to find a new “streaming dojo” to host the show.
Thankfully, Netflix swooped in and saved the series. The long-awaited third season of “Cobra Kai” just dropped on the streaming service, and I’m ready to share my thoughts.
An in-school “karate brawl” between students from the Cobra Kai dojo and Miyagi-Do Karate left the fate of fan favorite Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) in doubt after his body hit a stair railing when he plummeted off a balcony in West Valley High School.
(I can still hear my wife Bridget uttering “Oh my gosh...” in stunned disbelief as Miguel fell during the finale.)
While the brawl was sparked by teen romance and angst sizzling to the surface, the revival of the Cobra Kai dojo had already turned dark when original honcho John Kreese (Martin Kove) came back in the picture.
As the second season closes, the Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) redemption arc — and his unorthodox ability to bring confidence to a group of geeks, nerds, and outcasts — is in limbo.
“It’s just an insane karate cult that’s brainwashing half the school,” Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser) told her father Daniel (Ralph Macchio) during the course of Season 2.
Die-hard fans of the series (the OG fans who watched the series before it landed on Netflix) were left waiting an awfully long time to find out what happened to Miguel.
I don’t think any of us thought he’d die, but we all wanted to know where he (and the rest of the cast) would go in the future.
With all 10 episodes of Season 3 now available on Netflix, fans have answers. The first three episodes deal with the lingering aftermath.
Because of the dark ending to Season 2, there were fewer moments of “levity” as the third season began.
Johnny is suffering emotionally after Miguel’s fall. He’s also having an identity crisis without the structure provided by Cobra Kai.
At the same time, Daniel is dealing with a PR nightmare for his auto dealership business in the aftermath of the fight at the high school — he’s about to lose his contract with Doyona International (the fictional fill-in for Toyota).
Lawrence’s son Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan) is on the run from the law after his duel in the school with Miguel.
Tough girl Tory Nichols (Peyton List) has been expelled from West Valley after the brawl (since her actions instigated it). She is trying to obtain her GED, works two jobs to care for her ailing mother, and has left Cobra Kai behind.
Samantha LaRusso is dealing with PTSD after her fight with Tory.
John Kreese is still an @sshole, but they try to explain the underpinnings of his cruelty via a series of Vietnam War flashbacks.
(By the way, the bully who terrorizes young John Kreese in the flashback scenes is played by Kove’s son, Jesse.)
Add in the fact that ex-geek Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz (Jacob Bertrand) has twisted down a darker path, and things aren’t looking too bright in the karate universe.
I want to commend series creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg (and their team of writers) for capably navigating a dicey setup for the third season.
Part of what makes “Cobra Kai” so enjoyable is the chord it strikes between cheeseball comedy (the creators are the brains behind comedic franchises like “Hot Tub Time Machine” and “Harold & Kumar”) and poignant dramatic moments.
The writers had to untie a lot of narrative knots as the season began. As a result, the first couple of episodes didn’t quite have the charm of earlier seasons. I was a tad bit worried since the “comedy/drama balance” is what makes the series special.
The good news is that my concerns subsided during the season’s fourth episode. I’ve had a number of friends (including my brother-in-law) who found that episode to be the season’s best.
Titled “The Right Path,” the episode gets the season (and series) back on track. The narrative centers on Daniel traveling to Japan as he attempts to salvage his business relationship with car company Doyona.
“I’m coming home with a yes, don’t worry,” Daniel tells his wife Amanda (Courtney Henggeler) after getting rebuffed by Doyona executives early in the episode.
In order to salve his negotiating wounds, LaRusso decides to visit Okinawa — the setting for 1986’s “The Karate Kid Part II.”
He visits Tomi Village, a place that has shed many of its old-school trappings in favor of modern amenities such as a shopping mall with western staples like Red Lobster and Forever 21.
The entire sequence in Okinawa was enjoyable, and took me back to 1986.
I have a few fond memories from the summer when that movie was released.
Prior to the theatrical release of “The Karate Kid Part II,” my mom purchased the novelization to read out loud to me and my dad during a two-day car trip to Texas (to visit my brother).
I recall having a great time listening as she read aloud about Daniel LaRusso’s continuing adventures (I guess we were less concerned about “movie spoilers” during that era).
Fast forward 34 years... It was fun watching as Daniel reunited with “Part II” love interest Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) and former enemy Chozen (Yuji Okumoto).
The fourth episode — along with the fifth (titled “Miyago-Do”) — brought things back into balance. It was nice to see Daniel get some closure on the events in “Karate Kid Part II” and also gain some new insights into Mr. Miyagi (I also enjoyed the writers’ clever solution to LaRusso’s Doyona problem).
From the Okinawa trip forward, Season 3 started to gain momentum — and recapture the spark we saw during the first two seasons.
Not only was it nice to see Daniel achieve a sense of renewal, it was also nice to see Johnny’s relationship with Miguel rekindled.
The engaging aspect of the first “Karate Kid” movie was the sensei/student dynamic between Miyagi (Pat Morita) and Daniel.
By the same token, the dynamic between Johnny and Miguel was what made the first two seasons of “Cobra Kai” so special.
There’s something inherently interesting about the juxtaposition between Johnny’s Reagan-era sensibility and Miguel’s Millennial mindset — and how the two influence one another.
The second half of Season 3 finds our protagonists reorienting themselves as they begin to focus on foe John Kreese and his cult-like Cobra Kai dojo.
There were a number of fun moments in the final five episodes.
The sequence where Lawrence starts a new dojo called “Eagle Fang Karate” (for students who had become disenchanted with Cobra Kai) was pretty entertaining. The unveiling of the dojo name featured a funny exchange between Johnny and one of his students:
Johnny: “There’s only one animal that can kill a snake.”
Bert: “A mongoose?”
Johnny: “A real animal, Bert.”
Heading into this season, there was considerable speculation as to whether there would be a guest appearance by Elisabeth Shue, who played Ali Mills in “The Karate Kid” (the source of contention between Johnny and Daniel in that movie).
Shue had a bit part in the recent Tom Hanks movie “Greyhound” (read my review), but hasn’t appeared in much recently.
Shue did indeed make her first “Cobra Kai” appearance this season. “Ali Mills Schwarber” (recently separated from her husband) is featured in the final two episodes.
It was nice to see her reconnect with Johnny via Facebook. I enjoyed it when they got together for dinner, and thought it was fun to see them hang out afterward. The banter between the two characters seemed fairly natural and relaxed.
“I love, after all these years, you can still make me laugh,” Ali says to Johnny as they catch up on life after high school.
I also liked the dynamic between Ali, Johnny, Daniel, and Amanda at the Christmas party at Encino Oaks Country Club during the final episode of the season.
The only downside is that it appears Ali won’t be back next season (the writers didn’t make any obvious overtures in that direction). If this was a “one-off,” it was still nice to have her back.
The tenth and final episode (titled “December 19”) is certainly not your typical Christmas episode, but it set up things nicely for Season 4.
I continue to enjoy the show’s instrumental music stylings from Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson. There are little moments when the vibe feels like a synth-heavy score from the 1980s (which is on-brand for this series).
I did miss teen Cobra Kai member Aisha (Nichole Brown) this season (the character apparently transferred to a private school).
I was also surprised that Raymond/Stingray (Paul Walter Hauser) wasn’t back for another go-round. That said, the character’s sophomoric humor likely would have felt out of place this season.
With the Miyago-Do Karate and Eagle Fang Karate students teaming up to take on Cobra Kai at the All Valley Karate Championship in Season 4, there should be some entertaining moments ahead.
It was also interesting to see Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz join the “good guys” in their mission against Cobra Kai. I’ll be fascinated to see where his character goes next season, and what sort of redemption arc the writers have in store for him.
Near the end of the episode, we see Kreese calling what appears to be one of his former Vietnam compatriots. I can only assume it’s the Terry Silver character from “The Karate Kid Part III” (and that he’ll team up with Kreese to get Cobra Kai ready for the tournament).
Overall, I had a good time watching the third season of “Cobra Kai.” I'm just bummed we’ll have to wait another year to visit these characters again.
The closing moments of the finale make that wait all the more difficult. Seeing Johnny and Daniel unite to train the students — as The Protomen’s cover of “In The Air Tonight” plays — felt pretty darn epic.
Best laid plans and all, the year went to hell in a handbasket.
I wasn’t sure when I’d get back to a movie theater. I’m sure many of you have felt the same way.
As I’m writing this post, I should be getting ready to go to Baxter Arena to watch the UNO Hockey team take on North Dakota in front of a limited number of “socially distanced” fans.
Unfortunately, the hockey series was postponed because of positive COVID-19 tests involving the Omaha Hockey team.
I’d told my buddy Scott a few weeks ago that if the hockey series was called off I would go with him to Aksarben Cinema to see “Wonder Woman 1984.”
Well, the series was called off and I just finished watching “Wonder Woman 1984” with him at Aksarben Cinema.
When the first “Wonder Woman” outing dropped in theaters back in 2017, fans instantly embraced the fresh take on one pop cultures’ most enduring superheroes.
“Wonder Woman” was a critical and financial success. Director Patty Jenkins’ superhero opus left many believing Warner Bros. had finally crafted a superhero movie that imbued the fun and excitement epitomized by Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe.
I really had a good time watching “Wonder Woman” at the theater in 2017.
Jenkins is once again at the helm for “Wonder Woman 1984” (dubbed “WW84” in marketing materials). Jenkins also gets a writing credit on the sequel (her first since 2003’s “Monster”).
In addition to her superhero credentials, Jenkins is slated to helm the next “Star Wars” theatrical film titled “Star Wars: Rogue Squadron” (which I’m very excited about).
Considering all the career accomplishments and positive buzz a filmmaker like Jenkins has achieved the past few years, I was excited going into “WW84.”
What could go wrong, right?
Unfortunately, some things went very wrong with “Wonder Woman 1984.”
The film starts off well enough. The opening prologue sequence finds a young Diana Prince (Emily Carey) competing in a multi-pronged athletic competition on Themyscira against much older Amazon women.
It is an entertaining sequence, and seemingly has nothing to do with the movie’s overall story arc. Prince learns a lesson about taking short cuts in life, and (depending on your interpretation) that lesson may or may not have anything to do with the rest of the movie’s narrative.
(The only thing specifically referenced again from this opening sequence is a “golden warrior” that is the basis for a suit of armor Prince wears later in the movie.)
The movie then jumps to 1984, and we find an older Diana Prince (the terrific Gal Gadot) leaping and lassoing her way around a 1980s shopping mall (as alter-ego Wonder Woman) in an effort to stop a robbery.
Some of the opening 1980s references were a tad cheesy and cliche for my taste. However, the movie started off with a pace and energy that worked for me.
(I was in 6th grade in 1984. Honestly, most of the nostalgia presented didn’t feel quite right.)
Unfortunately, after the first 20 minutes of “Wonder Woman 1984,” things slowed down dramatically, and the story became much less compelling.
It was around the point that the Barbara Ann Minerva character (played by Kristen Wiig) was introduced that things lost steam.
Anytime there is a nerdy/awkward/unappreciated supporting character in this type of movie, you know he/she is about to become a supervillain (in this case, a human cheetah that looked like an extra from “Cats”).
In this movie, you can sense the plot device coming a mile away.
It’s not that I mind predictability in a superhero movie. Most of them utilize tropes we’ve seen before. I just didn't find Wiig’s character (who works with Diana at the Smithsonian Institute) to be terribly compelling.
I also didn’t find the Maxwell “Max Lord” Lorenzano (Pedro Pascal) character to be particularly interesting.
Max Lord is a faltering businessman (a wannabe oil tycoon) who crosses paths with Minerva and Prince when he comes to the Smithsonian posing as a wealthy donor.
What he is really after is the “Dreamstone” – an antiquity Prince and Minerva were asked by the FBI to identify among some stolen antiquities.
The Dreamstone is what all the drama centers around during the rest of the movie. The crystal itself (which looks like a plastic trinket you’d get in the gift shop at “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” in Orlando) has sort of a “genie/lamp” power to it, granting wishes to those who use the stone.
As I mentioned earlier, the film slowed down considerably during this entire sequence.
By my count — after an entertaining first 20 minutes — they spent roughly 70 minutes setting everything up with the Dreamstone and the ramifications of using it. The entire flow got bogged down. They spent too much time on exposition.
The filmmakers also decided to bring military aviator Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) back, even though he died in the first movie.
I thought the “reveal” for Trevor’s return lacked imagination... and really felt odd. It’s almost as if the writers couldn’t find a clever solution for the reveal, so they quickly slapped something together.
The reveal also didn’t jibe with how other wishes were granted in the movie — where things would just appear out of thin air.
As it regards the Steve Trevor character in this movie...
Fans will recall that Diana Prince’s charm in the first “Wonder Woman” movie came from various “fish out of water” plot points during the movie (as she experienced the norms and customs of World War I Europe).
They tried to do the same with Trevor in “WW84,” showing the character looking/acting befuddled as he experienced some of the “social conventions” of the 1980s.
I didn’t find the approach to be effective, and thought the 1980s setting actually “hampered” those moments. His “fish out of water” experience might have worked better if “WW84” had been sent in present day.
To be honest, having this movie set in the 1980s wasn’t particularly “integral” to the overall narrative anyway. It’s as if some studio exec thought it would be fun to trade on 80s nostalgia.
(My FB friend — and hair stylist — Nicky astutely pointed out that there was little-to-no music from 1984 in this movie. Additional tunes from that era might have helped the movie’s sense of authenticity.)
But I digress...
When I go see a “Wonder Woman” movie (or any other superhero movie), I figure there will be a lot of action.
The fact that there is a 70-minute stretch in the middle of “WW84” where little happens is a big problem — no action and no Wonder Woman heroics.
The action scenes that do happen in the later movie didn’t exactly grab me.
I’m not going to delve too much into the various plot points. I don’t want to give anything away.
As I watched “Wonder Woman 1984” at Aksarben Cinema, I thought about how it might have been better with some liberal editing.
I’ve mentioned before on this blog that I think movies have become far too long for their own good. This movie didn’t need to be 2 hours and 35 minutes.
Yet the runtime wasn’t the issue. The problem was the hodgepodge narrative, watered-down characters, and convoluted plot points strewn throughout “Wonder Woman 1984.”
Compared to another recent female-centered superhero movie set in a bygone decade — 2019’s entertaining “Captain Marvel” (read my review) — the flaws become even more apparent.
For the record, I like a number of DC comic-based superhero movies from Warner Bros. I’m not being critical just because I prefer Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe.
One of the recent DC outings I enjoyed was 2019’s “Shazam” (read my review). While I didn’t love 2018’s “Aquaman” (read my review), that movie is better than “Wonder Woman 1984.”
(Truth be told, my opinion of “Aquaman” has become more favorable with repeat viewings.)
I will say this...
Despite serious flaws in “Wonder Woman 1984,” I had a good time going back to a movie theater for the first time in 11 months. (Scott and I were the only patrons in the auditorium.)
I was reminded how fun it can be to watch a movie in a theater.
“Wonder Woman 1984” was released simultaneously on streaming service HBOMax in the United States, and I know some fans opted to watch the film that way.
I enjoyed visiting Aksarben Cinema again after the long layoff. The cinema recently celebrated its 10th anniversary (its grand opening was on Dec. 10, 2010).
Our business worked on marketing/promotional efforts for the cinema when it opened in 2010 (I even designed the initial logo for the theater). Attending a movie there will always hold a special place in my heart.
I should also mention that “Wonder Woman 1984” features an “easter egg” in the middle of the end credit sequence. It was pretty cute, and tried to play on superhero nostalgia.
But, honestly, even that fell a bit flat for me.
At one point in the movie, Diana Prince says, “...greatness is not what you think.”
That sentiment sums up my feelings about “Wonder Woman 1984.” The filmmakers tried to craft a capable movie, but the whole wasn’t greater than the sum of its parts.
It just wasn’t a superhero movie that ever achieved “greatness”...
They're short, quick, and easy. I get to eat what amounts to a bowl of sugar.
As a special holiday treat, I am reviewing Kellogg’s The Elf on the Shelf “Vanilla Candy Cane Cookie with Marshmallows” Cereal (that was a mouthful). The logo on the box reads “OFFICIAL CEREAL OF THE NORTH POLE”... (that’s a bold claim).
I tend to enjoy the various peppermint-themed Christmas foods. Peppermint stick ice cream is one that immediately comes to mind.
I was hoping this would be the cereal equivalent of peppermint stick ice cream. It “kind of” is.
The cereal itself features grain-based stars and peppermint marshmallows (little ones, like the mallows featured in hot chocolate mix).
I tasted a star and a marshmallow by themselves to begin. Honestly, I was a bit underwhelmed. I was expecting them to have a solid mint taste (like a Peppermint LifeSavers Candy).
Instead, I was faced with something much more “muted.” The star didn’t have much flavor, and the marshmallow was too small to make an informed judgment. At that point, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Then I added milk to the bowl and ate a spoonful. The effect was better, and tasted more minty (it still wasn’t quite what I was hoping for).
The box doesn’t feature any games or activities, but there is a “story” (done to “‘Twas the night before Christmas”) telling how the cereal was made.
The site has a page for “Parents” with information on the cereal (they also have Kellogg’s The Elf on the Shelf “Sugar Cookie Cereal with Marshmallows” Cereal). You can also select a “Kids” page that has games and activities.
Overall, Kellogg’s The Elf on the Shelf “Vanilla Candy Cane Cookie with Marshmallows” Cereal was alright, but nothing spectacular. I don’t think it is worthy of becoming a Christmas tradition...
I will say that it is the first Christmas-themed cereal I have sampled, so I’ll have to sample some new ones next year.
Until my next cereal review, I hope those of you celebrating have a very Merry Christmas!
