The California Raisins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The California Raisins
First appearance	June 19, 1986
Last appearance	1994
Created by	California Raisin Advisory Board Foote, Cone & Belding
Information
Nickname(s)	The Vine-Yls (Meet the Raisins!)
Aliases	The Singin' Dancin' California Raisins
Nationality	American

The California Raisins were a group of animated characters. They were fictional, meaning they weren't real. These characters were raisins that looked and acted like people. They were a musical group that sang rhythm and blues songs.

The main singer for the group was a musician named Buddy Miles. The California Raisins became very popular in the mid-to-late 1980s. They were famous for their TV commercials and animated shows. These were made using a special technique called claymation. The Raisins even won an Emmy Award and were nominated for another!

How the Raisins Started and Became Famous

The idea for the California Raisins came from an advertising company called Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB). In 1986, they were working on a commercial for the California Raisin Advisory Board. This board helps promote raisins.

One of the writers, Seth Werner, had a fun idea. He said, "We've tried everything except dancing raisins singing 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine'." This was a very popular song by Marvin Gaye. To everyone's surprise, the commercial became a huge hit!

This success led to many more commercials and other opportunities. The commercials were made by Vinton Studios. They used their special claymation technique. The characters were designed by Michael Brunsfeld.

The next year, the Raisins appeared in a TV special. It was called A Claymation Christmas Celebration. They sang the Christmas song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". This special also won an Emmy Award.

The California Raisins released four music albums between 1987 and 1994. Their most famous song, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," even made it onto the Billboard music chart. The characters were so popular that they were used to advertise Post Raisin Bran cereal.

On November 4, 1988, a TV special aired on CBS. It was called Meet the Raisins! This musical show was like a fake documentary. It was also made by Vinton Studios. The special was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. In this show, the band members got their own names:

• A.C. (vocals)
• Beebop (drums)
• Stretch (bass)
• Red (guitar/piano)

A Saturday morning cartoon series came out the next year. It was called The California Raisin Show. But it only lasted for 13 episodes. Even though it used a different animation style, Will Vinton still guided its creative direction. A second special, The Raisins: Sold Out! - The California Raisins II, aired in 1990. In this special, the Raisins hired a new manager to help them make a comeback.

Cool Merchandise and Games

The California Raisins were so popular that many items were made with their images. Some of these items are now kept in the Smithsonian Institution. This is a famous museum in the United States.

You could find the Raisins on almost anything! There were lunch boxes, notebooks, clothes, posters, and even bedsheets. You could even buy a Halloween costume of a California Raisin.

A California Raisins Fan Club started in 1987. Members got a newsletter called Grapevine Gazette. They also received other cool souvenirs. There was even a comic book series called The California Raisins 3-D. It came with special 3D glasses!

Several music albums were released, featuring classic Motown and rock songs. These albums are also part of the Smithsonian collection.

One of the most famous items was the small, non-moving California Raisins figures. The Hardee's restaurant chain gave these away. They were part of a special deal for their Cinnamon 'N' Raisin biscuits. Different sets of these figures were made in 1987, 1988, 1991, and 2001.

In the early 1990s, a company called Capcom made a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was called The California Raisins: The Grape Escape. In this game, you played as a California Raisin. You had to go through five levels and fight evil fruit and vegetable characters. These bad guys had stolen the Raisins' music. The game was finished and reviewed, but it was never sold to the public.

Another computer game was made in 1988 by Box Office Software. This game was for older computers like the Apple II and Commodore 64. In this game, a character named Tiny Goodbite had to rescue his friends. They had been kidnapped and were held in a cereal factory.

Why the Raisins Faded Away

Even though people loved the California Raisins, the campaign eventually stopped. It cost the raisin growers almost twice what they earned from selling raisins. The organization that created the campaign, CALRAB, also closed down. This happened on July 31, 1994. It was because of disagreements among the raisin producers about payments.

The Raisins' Lasting Impact

The California Raisins left a big mark on pop culture. On March 28, 1997, Entertainment Weekly magazine published an article. It was called "The 50 Best Commercials of All Time." The California Raisins' first commercial, "Lunchbox," was ranked #15. It called the Raisins "The coolest wrinkled musicians this side of the Stones."

Because so many California Raisins items were made, there's a big market for collectors. People still look for and collect these items today.

In 2002, the Food Network show Unwrapped featured the California Raisins. They showed interviews with the creators from Vinton Studios. They also showed early drawings of the characters.

The California Raisins have been spoofed, or made fun of in a friendly way, in other shows. In The Simpsons episode "'Tis the Fifteenth Season," they were called The California Prunes. They also appeared in a Christmas special.

In the 2010s, updated California Raisin characters still appear on packages of Sun-Maid Natural California Raisins. You can also see this character on the official CalRaisins.org website.

Claymation versions of the California Raisins were in a Christmas episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia in 2010. They also made a quick appearance in a RadioShack commercial during the Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014. In 2016, they appeared in the cartoon show American Dad. They even showed up in another The Simpsons episode in 2017.

Discography

• The California Raisins Sing the Hit Songs - 1987, Priority Records and BMG
• "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" - 1988 (single, peaked at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100)
• Sweet, Delicious, & Marvelous - 1988, Priority Records and BMG
• Meet the Raisins! - 1988, Atlantic Records
• Christmas with The California Raisins - 1988, Priority Records and BMG

Awards and Nominations

• A Claymation Christmas Celebration - Primetime Emmy winner
• Meet the Raisins! - Primetime Emmy nominee