"Follow your nose! It always knows!"
Kellogg's cereal Froot Loops is known for its fruity smell, a smell often illustrated in its commercials with a beautiful, rainbow-colored odor that attracts all who smell it. The keeper of this delicious-smelling breakfast is Toucan Sam.
Created by Manuel R. Vega in 1963, the character of Toucan Sam has gone through various redesigns and voice actors throughout the years. Originally played by Mel Blanc (yes, that Mel Blanc), then followed by Paul Frees, Maurice LaMarche, Matthew Curtis and then Colin Cassidy who voices him to this day, Toucan Sam has been a staple of the brand and has become one of the most iconic cereal mascots ever made.
Toucan Sam provides examples of:
- Adjacent to This Complete Breakfast: Like other examples of breakfast cereals, past commercials have shown a box and bowl of Froot Loops sitting alongside healthier breakfast alternatives as the announcer says "Part of a complete breakfast."
- Alice Allusion: In the mid-Aughties, there was a serial (as in "Film Serial", not "breakfast") of commercials where a Queen of Hearts-esque character has her card-like guards steal Sam's Froot Loops through a portal in his bedroom mirror. At the end of each commercial, there is a Audience Participation element to it: the first had kids solve a puzzle to put the shattered mirror back together so that Sam could go after the thieves, and then they got to vote on what new flavor they could add to the cereal (the winner being cherry-cherry)
- Artistic License – Ornithology: Toucan Sam has gone through a lot of tweaks in his design over the years, but not one of them is accurate to what a toucan looks like. For one, his feathers are blue instead of the more accurate black. For another, while toucan beaks come in many colors depending on the breed, no toucan beaks are striped, with the curvature of his upper-beak being grossly exaggerated compared to the lower beak.
- Crossover: One commercial
for Strawberry Froot Loops has Toucan Sam taking refuge in a cave and having a run-in with Snap, Crackle and Pop (the Rice/Cocoa Krispies mascots) and Tony the Tiger (of Frosted Flakes fame). - Follow Your Nose: The Trope Namer; he follows his nose to the flavors of fruit for Froot Loops.
- Hero's Evil Predecessor: Captain Black Beak was a toucan pirate who stole and hoarded Froot Loops cereal for himself, unlike Toucan Sam who always shares his cereal with anyone who asks.
- Nice Guy: Unlike a lot of cereal commercial characters, Toucan Sam is nothing if not a nice guy. Special mention goes to the end of the Alice Allusion Arc where, after he manages to take back his cereal from the Queen and add a new flavor, he gives the Queen a bowl as a show of good faith. This act not only gives her a cherry-theme makeover, but she also shares this new cereal with her subjects.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Toucan Sam's voice is modeled on the standard impression of Ronald Colman. This was averted with Mel Blanc's, Matthew Curtis' and Colin Cassidy's portrayals however, Blanc's portrayal having Toucan Sam speak with an normal American accent with Pig Latin, while the latter two (while still giving Toucan Sam an British accent) don't have voices modeled on the standard impression of Ronald Colman unlike Paul Frees' and Maurice LaMarche's portrayals of the character.
- Same-Sex Triplets: Not unlike Donald Duck, Toucan Sam has a trio of identical nephews who go on adventures with him. Even their names — Puey, Susey, and Louis — sound an awful lot like Donald's own nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
