Crispy Critters

Crispy Critters was a breakfast cereal manufactured by Post Cereal starting in 1963. The sweetened cereal, made of oats, consisted of animal-shaped pieces akin to animal crackers. Television commercials featured a cartoon lion, Linus the Lionhearted, voiced by Sheldon Leonard, with the slogan "The one and only cereal that comes in the shape of animals," sung to the tune of "Trepak" from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker ballet. The next year, Linus was spun off into a Saturday-morning cartoon show, which ran for two years on the CBS network, then reran on the ABC network for three more until 1969. After a decline in popularity, the cereal was discontinued.