If you’re unfamiliar with “candy heads,” they were candy-filled containers shaped like the heads of our most beloved TV and movie characters. But you could probably tell that from the photo.

They still exist in many forms, but it isn’t like it used to be. There was a time when virtually every “kiddy character” had a candy head, and though few could’ve loved the cheap treats inside, something about pouring them from disembodied heads always made those experiences feel special.

The samples below barely hint at their collective volume, but it’s a start! Read More…

I wrote about this many years ago. Now I will rehash my thoughts in video form!

Epoch’s DRACULA game was released in 1982. Even if its graphics and noises are way dated, the theme hasn’t lost a step. There are monsters, mazes and coffins, and it’s up to YOU to steal Dracula’s gold!

Get the full scoop in today’s vid:

A hint of Halloween?

Here’s the sequel to something I wrote back in 2007, about old McDonald’s “trayliners.” You know, the paper placemats that lined our trays whenever we ate at McD’s. Truly, the biggest disadvantage of taking your food to go was missing the chance to watch oily fries turn a trayliner translucent.

Since the trayliners were typically used as “ad space,” they’re great reminders of McD’s ancient, awesome promotions. Here are six random examples…

(click for a bigger version)

#1: Richie Rich Trayliner (1994)

I’ve never seen this film. It all started with my unreasonable resistance to anything starring Macaulay Culkin after Home Alone. I don’t know what that was about. Maybe it’s because we’re roughly the same age, and I had some teenage jealousy?

For a movie that I know nothing about and will never see, I’m strangely drawn to its trayliner. A silver platter and a prop newspaper really do make fast food seem more sophisticated. I also dig how those mysterious hands hint less at a butler and more at Mickey Mouse.

If I was making an artsy film, I’d start on this shot. The rest of the movie would play out in flashbacks, slowly revealing the chain of events that led Mickey to serve fries and a phony newspaper on a silver platter. Critics would find it “pandering,” but I don’t give a shit.

Google says that Richie had his own private McDonald’s in the film. So I guess this was the lesser-end of a deal between McDonald’s and Warner Bros.?

“We see the inclusion of McDonald’s in our film to be a mutually beneficial partnership, with substantial rewards for everyone involved. But the candy would be so much sweeter if you threw in some trayliners.” Read More…