WARNING! This article contains spoilers for Unfrosted (2024)!
Summary
- Unfrosted presents an alternative history of how Pop-Tarts got their name, involving a humorous mix-up on the news.
- The movie suggests Pop-Tarts were originally called “Trat-Pop,” but in reality, the name was inspired by Andy Warhol’s pop art movement.
- Unfrosted gives a nod to Pop-Tart’s real-life inspiration with a cameo by Dan Levy as Andy Warhol.
Jerry Seinfeld’s 2024 comedy movie Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story presents an “unreality” about the origins of the titular breakfast pastry, including an erroneous suggestion of how it earned its name. Set in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1963, the cast and characters of Unfrosted depict the feud between cereal giants Kellogg’s and Post in their efforts to popularize non-cereal breakfast pastries. While loosely inspired by the true story of the Pop-Tart’s creation, Unfrosted takes numerous creative liberties in bringing the Kellogg’s vs. Post battle to the screen.
One of the most bizarre sequences occurs when Jerry Seinfeld’s Bob Cabana is trying to figure out what to call the new Kellogg’s product, shortly before Unfrosted’s various breakfast mascots attack the company’s headquarters. Recruiting the two kids who reignited his interest in the idea, the young boy explains that the name should be “Trat-Pop,” an abbreviation for “Toaster Ready Anytime Treat – Put on Plate.” Later on, when Walter Kronkite is introducing the product on the news, he accidentally reads the name backwards, with Kellogg’s thus ultimately landing on the label of “Pop-Tart.” However, the story happened quite differently in real life.
The Pop-Tart’s Name Actually Was Inspired By Andy Warhol’s Pop Art Movement (Not An Abbreviation)
Walter Cronkite wasn’t involved in its naming either
While Unfrosted makes a note that the name was not inspired by the pop art movement of the late 1950s often associated with Andy Warhol, that was exactly the case in real life. Playing on the association with the popping of a toaster and a tart pastry, the Pop-Tart’s name was a pun based on the pop art movement. Pop-Tarts’ own website affirms as much, stating that Kellogg’s “took inspiration from the Pop Culture movement of the day and renamed it ‘Pop-Tarts.’”
While
Unfrosted
makes a note that the name was
not
inspired by the pop art movement of the late 1950s often associated with Andy Warhol, that was exactly the case in real life.
Although Jerry Seinfeld’s Pop-Tarts movie tells an alt-history version of their creation, Unfrosted’s ending still includes a nod to the product’s real-life inspiration. After the Pop-Tart becomes a sensation, Bob Cabana goes on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to promote the pastry, where he’s absurdly shot by pop art icon Andy Warhol (played in a cameo by Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy). Bob claims that his life was saved by Pop-Tarts’ new titanium foil wrapper, continuing the ridiculousness of the fictitious event.
Bill Burr Playing JFK In A Pop-Tart Movie Is Not Something We Predicted, But We’re Here For It
Jerry Seinfeld’s casting of Bill Burr as President John F. Kennedy in Unfrosted may be surprising, but it makes the Pop-Tart story more exciting.
Unfrosted
is now available to stream on Netflix.
Pop-Tarts Were Initially Called “Fruit Scones” – Not Trat-Pop
Pop-Tarts briefly went by another name before Kellogg’s changed their mind
It’s true that Pop-Tarts originally went by another name before landing on the label it maintains today, but not the one that Jerry Seinfeld’s fictional Unfrosted story presents. In reality, Pop-Tarts were initially called “Fruit Scones,” but, as the product’s own website puts it, “that sounded terrible.” Considering a significant number of Pop-Tarts’ subsequent creations would be absent of any fruit flavors, such as brown sugar cinnamon, chocolate, hot fudge sundae, and s’mores, the company made the right decision to change the product’s name. As far as the true story has revealed, Silly Putty was also entirely uninvolved in the naming of Pop-Tarts – unlike in Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story.
Source: Pop-Tarts.com
Unfrosted (2024)
Unfrosted is a 2024 biographical comedy directed, written, and starring Jerry Seinfeld. The film takes place in 1963 Battle Creek, Michigan, where Kellogg’s and Post are fighting to create a new world-changing breakfast pastry.
- Release Date
- May 3, 2024
- Distributor(s)
- Netflix
- Cast
- Jerry Seinfeld , Melissa McCarthy , Jim Gaffigan , Hugh Grant , amy schumer , Max Greenfield , Christian Slater , Bill Burr , Daniel Levy , James Marsden , Jack McBrayer , Thomas Lennon , Bobby Moynihan , Adrian Martinez , Sarah Cooper , Fred Armisen
- Runtime
- 93 Minutes