Send your nostalgic picture or video to onceuponawin@gmail.com All our submissions come from you. You can vote on other people's submissions on the Voting page.
« Previous Epic Win: Tales from the Crypt | Epic Win: Skip It Next »
Submitted by W Bickford
The commercial that started it all:
In the late 80’s, there was a Raisin invasion! They were EVERYWHERE! The Raisins had four albums (the first is pictured at the top), two TV specials, a cartoon, and there was supposed to be a video game. “California Raisins: The Grape Escape” was never released. But we found a clip for you, because we care:
We can understand why this wasn’t unleashed on the general public.
 | N on Epic Win: Choose Your Own Adve… |
 | Kay on Epic Win: Waterfuls |
 | Jeff on Airplane! |
 | Tempestates on Epic Win: Read Along Book… |
 | RonTayan on Epic Win: Jem and the Hol… |
| RonTayan on Epic Win: Jem and the Hol… |
 | thisfriend on Epic Win: Special Folded … |
 | MK on Epic Win: Literal Music Video… |
 | ceallaig on Epic Win: Die Hard |
| ceallaig on Epic Win: Turner & Ho… |
| ceallaig on Epic Win: Big Trouble in Littl… |
 | The Risu on Epic Win: Strawberry Shor… |
 | LuckyStar on Epic Win: Special Folded … |
 | Jon on Airplane! |
 | Scottm on Epic Win: Literal Music Video… |
It’s a shame about raisins….they’re just humiliated grapes!
what movie is that from?
The best movie of all time, Benny and Joon
cchh chh chhh check it out
I knew it! I could *not* place it though. Thanks!
They may have been humiliated grapes, but I had ALL the little raisin figurines. I would play with them on long car trips, creating vast vistas in the backseat. The raisins lived in the mighty Foldout Ashtray Manor and would occasionally spelunk down towards the cavernous depths of the Underseat Tunnels (when dropped).
I had those plastic figures too, loved their smell. Didn’t they come from Hardees? (mmmm, I miss those cinnamon raisin biscuits)
I had that pictured album ON CASSETTE (of course)…dude, I rawked so hard!
This is what the chips ahoy cookies aspire too, and even though the raisins creeped me out as a kid (and therefore forever ruined that song for me– i can’t stand it to this day) they will never reach that level of fame.
They look like turds, but then again so does real life californian people. So I guess it’s okay.
I have the ROM for this game, and yeah, I know why it wasn’t released officially, too. Putting it as nicely as I possibly can, it just plain sucks hard. If ever given the opportunity to play it, DON’T, and save yourself the trouble.
Yeah it doesn’t look like anything special, but I think I’ll download and beat it anyway just to see whether it’s that hard or if everyone else has no old-school skillz.
by the way they were playing on the vid I’d guess no old school skills. was that fool trying to die?
And of course, now the vid is pulled. Ever since YouTube sold to Google… Wankers!
There was a game for the PC. I vaguely remember playing it on an old Tandy 1000.
When visiting my Nan one time, she let us use her phone to call a 1-900 number to listen to the California Raisins sing. She made my bro, sis and I gather around the phone so we all could hear it at the same time, then hung up after 1 minute so as to not acrue any more charges.
I still have the toys from Hardee’s!!! man im gettin old…
Me too! I wonder if they’ll be worth something on eBay… *checks* hmm.. nope.
I guess it was Hardee’s… awesome! (for non-midwesterners – now that I live in California, I sympathize – Hardee’s = Carls Jr, basically…minus the cinnamon raisin biscuits! Wahhhh)
I had the old PC game, too! And the album….wow, I’m pretty sad.
I actually remember the Christmas special with fondness. It did nifty things with animation–essentially Christmas carol music videos. The one for Joy to the World, I think it was, was beautiful.
I’m sad that they don’t play this on tv anymore.
Because of the popularity of these guys, my jazz dancing class did our routine to this song in 1990 when I was 10.
My grandmother made costumes of these for my brother, sister, and I one year. Full on, over the head, padded, wrinkly costume. Best ever.
Awwww, sounds fun!
I love home-made costumes! My friend’s mom made her 13yo grandson a whoopie-cushion costume out of pink felt for Halloween this year!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXzriJ2LDpI
California Raisins – Rudolf the Red nosed reindeer
can’t forget some of the christmas specials which included them.
Man I loved those things and had to go Hardee’s forever to get them all! Even through all that, I still hate raisins! They had cool action figures though.
I lurve the California Raisins. Grew up watching stuff like that. Well stop-motion and claymation has always been awesome to me. Of course it helps that I’ve actually met the creator of the Cali Raisins and Claymation.
“The California Raisins reportedly grossed more in the year that was their heyday, 1988, than Californian farmers made selling raisins.”
Long live Wll Vinton studios… local boy done good.
Little dancing raisins?
AAAIIIIIIGGHHH!!! KILL THEM! KILLL THEM! THEY”RE GONNA GET ME!!!!
*hides under a blanket with his teddy bear*
I HATE the California Raisins. It’s a huge step to my therapist that I even managed to look at this web page and comment on it.
Seriously, my husband will sometimes start humming the theme song to torment me. Talking raisins with arms and legs is #2 on my list of things at freak me the %^&* out. *shiver*
The boy narrating the video game preview… Sounds just like Strong Sad of homestarrunner.com
Erm… I actually *did* have a California Raisins video game for my computer.
I so remember this commercial!!! The California Raisins were the coolest things on TV! I think “Heard it through the Grapevine” is one of my favorite songs now because of the Raisins. I had a few of the little figures too.
If the word “cool” was included in the word “food”, the Raisins put it in there!
i had little raisin stuffed dolls. it was awesome.
It just so happens that I have an old VHS tape of “Meet The Raisins” lying around here somewhere. If it’s in good condition, I wonder if Youtube would mind? >>
There used to be a pie shop in NZ called Gorgie Pie (I’ll epic it later) and they gave out the Californian Raisins as their happy meal toy.
I still use the one with the tamborine as a key ring (keyring goes through the tamborine). No one knows what it is… though the handful that do recognise it are just wonderful!
I still have that original album; my kids hate me putting it on, but what do I care? It’s a proud part of my music collection. *grin*
i stil have all of my California Raisins.. action figures.. I dont know if thats an accurate name for them, they werent very active, but yea, I still have the whole set. I dont remember where we got them though, happy meal? cereal box?
This game is basically a “California Raisin” shell placed on top of a few levels (nearly identically) from the DuckTales game and game play from the Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, both also from Capcom. Perhaps this was just a cheap way for the California Raisin managers to make a few bucks on the video game band wagon.
haha my parents went to a halloween party together dressed as the california raisins… not kidding.
I don’t know why, but they kinda creeped me out.
i still have my flexable action figures for these guys
cool commercials, but either you like raisins or you don’t.
We didn’t have a TV when I was a little kid, so when an elderly neighbor gave me the action figures for my 4th birthday, I had no idea WTF they were or why anyone would want something so hideous. I still haven’t figured that second part out.