Honeycomb Kid

The Honeycomb Kid was the mascot of Post's Honeycomb cereal for several decades until 1995, when he was replaced by Crazy Craving. Over the years, the Kid appeared in various incarnations.

High-tech Honeycomb Kid

In the early 1990s he was redesigned as a sort of Science hero adventurer who had two young sidekicks. In this form, elements of his original cowboy image were still present. For example one commercial features him in an undersea with an octopus in an adventure entitled “Showdown at the O.K Coral Reef” an obvious reference to the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Dare-devil archaeologist Honeycomb Kid

His final reworking saw The Kid as a young Indiana Jones style character who sought the “Secret of Honeycombs' great taste” in various ancient temples and tombs around the world. In the first of these commercials a genie tells him that there are actually three answers which, when combined, reveal the secret of Honeycombs' great taste. The first is the “Crunch”, the second is the “Shape”, however before the Genie can reveal the third secret he sneezes, which causes him to vanish. In all the subsequent commercials the results were essentially the same: Honeycomb Kid would show up in a temple, ask some sage figure “the secret of honeycombs great taste”, be told the first two parts of the secret (crunch and shape) and then inevitably be somehow prevented from hearing the final secret. In the final commercials of the series (which were rendered in a noticeably different style of animation than those preceding them) The Honeycomb Kid changes the phrasing of his question. Instead of asking what “the secret of honeycombs great taste” is he instead claims to be looking for “The Honeycomb secret”.

Opera bear

In the very last commercial, Honeycomb Kid battles Opera Bear a mysterious ursine version of the Phantom of the Opera. Opera Bear’s one appearance was the final commercial of a several-part series, in which the Honeycomb Kid was seeking what he called “The Honeycomb Secret.” Honeycomb Kid had learned from his prior adventures that the secret consisted of three separate parts: The first was the Crunch, the second was the Shape, however the third and most important answer had always eluded him.

Presumably clues from his past adventures had led him to this location. Suddenly he was attacked by Opera Bear, who swung in on a rope. Opera Bear tells the Kid that he will never discover the honeycomb secret. The Kid responds “I don’t think so Opera Bear!” (This is how his name was revealed to the viewer). Upon defeating Opera Bear, Honeycomb Kid discovers the third component of the Honeycomb secret to be the Taste. Since the Kid had originally claimed to have been looking for “The Secret of Honeycomb’s great taste”. The taste seems a somewhat unusual third component to the riddle. For further examination of this issue see Honeycomb Kid.

Upon defeating his opponent, it is revealed to the Kid that “the honeycomb secret” is The “Crunch”, “the Shape” and finally “The Taste.”

At the end of the commercial, Opera Bear and the Kid take a bow on stage, leading one to believe the entire series of commercials were meant to have all been a play. This was the last the world would see of both Opera Bear and the Honeycomb Kid as Crazy Craving would become Honeycomb’s new mascot by the next commercial.