All 21 Cameos In Unfrosted Explained

Netflix’s newest comedy film, Unfrosted, is led by Jerry Seinfeld as Bob Cabana and features many notable cameos. Unfrosted is co-written and directed by Seinfeld and follows the breakfast race of 1963 as Kellogg’s and Post compete to see who can get their breakfast pastry on shelves first. Audiences and critics agree on Unfrosted‘s low reviews, negatively comparing the film’s content to soggy or stale breakfast food. However, Unfrosted manages to include exciting cameos that keep audiences on their toes waiting to see who appears next.

Seinfeld has had a long career in comedy and he uses that to his advantage in Unfrosted. Many of Seinfeld’s friends and well-known comedians appear in minor roles and add to the list of breakfast mascots that appear in Unfrosted. Just like Hugh Grant stars as Thurl Ravenscroft, one of the original voice actors for Tony the Tiger, Unfrosted‘s cameos include food mascots, such as Chef Boyardee. Other actors appear as fictionalized versions of famous figures relevant to the ’60s period, including Andy Warhol and Jack LaLanne.

Bill Burr

Portraying John F. Kennedy

During a meeting with Kellogg’s team, a fictionalized version of John F. Kennedy is depicted by Bill Burr. Kennedy discusses the potential international danger that could come as a result of Kellogg’s fight for sugar. Burr’s role is minor, but as the former president, he refers to Marilyn Monroe, suggesting that Kellogg’s makes a cereal called “Jackie O’s” in hopes the first lady forgives him for his famous association with Monroe. Before starring in Unfrosted alongside Seinfeld, Burr had previously made a guest appearance on Seinfeld’s series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

Fred Armisen

Portraying Mike Puntz

Kellogg’s creates a successful product, initially called “Trat Pop,” and the final step before getting the pastry on shelves is to get the stamp of approval from an FDA representative, Mike Puntz. Fred Armisen makes his cameo as Puntz, stopping by Kellogg’s headquarters during a crucial moment. Outside the building, a mob of food mascots are breaking in to halt the approval of their breakfast replacement.

Unsurprisingly, Armisen’s cameo is hilarious, as Puntz is unconcerned with rushing the approval process. Instead, Puntz attempts to make small talk about the origins of his pen and takes his time tasting pastry samples. This leaves the Kellogg’s team visibly frustrated and, in the end, Bob Cabana grabs Puntz’s hand to forcibly lay down the stamp for him.

Christian Slater

Portraying Mike Diamond

Since Kellogg’s began on their journey to create the perfect fruit-filled pastry, a local milk company, Friendly Farms, has felt betrayed by the cereal company making new food items that don’t require milk. One of the milkmen is Mike Diamond, played by Christian Slater. Mike wound up knocking Bob unconscious by tricking him into smelling expired milk, but before this, Mike lingered in front of Bob’s home as an ominous presence. The milkmen believe greatly in the importance of their product and this is hinted at when Mike first speaks with Bob and gives him a threatening reminder that without milk, bones are weak and easy to snap.

Tony Hale

Portraying Eddie Mink

Bob heads to Puerto Rico with Donna Stankowski (Melissa McCarthy) to meet El Sucre (Felix Solis) with inquiries about purchasing all of his sugar. Before getting down to the details of the negotiation, El Sucre suggests live entertainment and introduces a ventriloquist named Eddie Mink. Portrayed by comedian Tony Hale, Eddie’s act consists of a poorly received joke about the grouting job done in El Sucre’s home, in which he’s quickly rushed out of the room when El Sucre does not approve. Moments later, a gunshot is heard and on their way out, Bob and Donna are stunned to see Eddie continue his ventriloquizing while consoling his injured puppet.

Dean Norris

Portraying Nikita Khrushchev

After Kellogg’s completed a successful negotiation for sugar from El Sucre, the team at Post meets with the Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev, depicted by Breaking Bad actor Dean Norris. The travel scenes in search of sugar provide a humorous look at the uncomfortable and intimidating nature of negotiation meetings. Marjorie Post and her assistant Rick try their best to start a friendly conversation with the expressionless Nikita, even offering him a variety of U.S.-made cereal to sell in Russia. Nikita ultimately decides to go through with the deal, so long as he gets to spend time with Post’s owner, Marjorie.

Maria Bakalova

Portraying Rada Adzhubey

Due to the language barrier, Nikita Khrushchev’s dialogue is translated by his assistant Rada Adzhubey, played by Borat star Maria Bakalova. Rada expresses to Marjorie and Rick that she and Nikita are weary and distrustful toward visitors after others have made attempts to poison Nikita, therefore they must taste-test the cereal they brought with them before Nikita does. Following her role as Tutar in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Bakalova has continued to star in other comedies such as Bodies Bodies Bodies and The Honeymoon.

Peter Dinklage

Portraying Harry Friendly

The head of the Friendly Farms milk company, Peter Dinklage, makes an appearance in Unfrosted as Harry Friendly. Once Bob wakes up from being knocked unconscious, Harry introduces himself and explains how he feels Kellogg’s is unappreciative of their relationship with Friendly Farms. Reminiscent of his previous dramatic work, Dinklage gives an intimidating aura to Harry, providing a brief moment of stress as the audience awaits Bob’s fate. However, this tension dies down once Harry declares that Bob’s punishment is to walk down a line of smelly, gassy cows.

Jack McBrayer

Portraying Steve Schwinn

Modeled after NASA, Kellogg’s implemented the use of “taste pilots” to help with the invention that would become the Pop-Tart. One of these pilots, played by Jack McBrayer, is Steve Schwinn. Before working for Kellogg’s, Steve worked at one of the best bicycle-making companies in the United States. Though he’s incapable of solving Kellogg’s food-related issues, Steve does create a bicycle made for children to handle. The bike’s “easy-to-handle” concept sparks an idea within Bob and Donna, who realize that while kids can’t operate an oven, they’ll have an easier time using a toaster.

Thus, a toasting test is done to ensure the safety of children using the appliance for their Pop-Tart. Steve is the taste pilot in charge of placing the pastry in the toaster and all is well until a flammable oxygen tank catches onto the toaster’s heating element, resulting in an explosion and Steve’s death. As sudden as the accident is, Unfrosted ensures the film remains comical and absurd, even during the funeral scene. Replacing the use of dirt to bury the casket, people dressed as food mascots hilariously pour milk and large pieces of cornflakes onto the casket.

James Marsden

Portraying Jack LaLanne

Jack LaLanne is a test pilot and happens to be one of the many real-life figures portrayed in Unfrosted. Depicted by James Marsden, LaLanne was known as the “Godfather of Fitness,” encouraging audiences to engage in a healthier lifestyle. Though LaLanne’s health regime conflicts with Kellogg’s ingredients, he still manages to be useful for the company. Unfrosted shows a fictional version of LaLanne whose invention of puffy foil-lined pants inspired the packaging of Kellogg’s pastry. The technology allows for the product’s fillings to remain fresh while on store shelves.

Adrian Martinez

Portraying Tom Carvel

Adrian Martinez makes a cameo as another taste pilot, the real-life founder of the Carvel brand, Tom Carvel. During the first round of tests in which the pilots show off their inventions to the Kellogg’s team, Tom makes an ice cream cake replica of Edsel Kellogg’s (Jim Gaffigan) face. At first, Tom’s invention is marked as impractical along with the rest of the pilot’s inventions. However, Bob and Donna recall Tom’s pitch where he emphasized the importance of a product’s name. The name of the pastry is a struggle for both Kellogg’s and Post, but in the end, it’s the former’s name that draws consumers to their product.

Jon Hamm & John Slattery

Portraying Don Draper and Roger Sterling

Two memorable individuals from the ’60s are the fictional characters of Don Draper and Roger Sterling, played by Jon Hamm and John Slattery. The actors first appeared as Don and Roger in AMC’s television series Mad Men, which takes place during the ’60s in New York City. Although the characters are never mentioned by name in Unfrosted, it’s clear Hamm and Slattery have returned as the beloved advertisers. Pitching ideas for Kellogg’s new breakfast item, the branding proposed by Hamm and Slattery’s characters is sexually suggestive and unfit for the kid-friendly cereal company.

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Kyle Mooney, Mikey Day, & Drew Tarver

Portraying Snap, Crackle, and Pop

A few actors of Saturday Night Live fame appear in Unfrosted and two of them, Kyle Mooney and Mikey Day, have cameos as the Rice Krispies mascots, Snap and Crackle. The third mascot, Pop, is played by comedian Drew Tarver. The beginning of Unfrosted shows the trio asking for more branding opportunities, such as a record deal and a feature film, but the ideas are denied by Bob. Feeling discouraged, the trio joins Thurl Ravenscroft’s strike with other famous mascots in hopes of better treatment by companies like Kellogg’s and Post.

Sebastian Maniscalco

Portraying Chester Slink

The breakfast race begins when Kellogg’s discovers one of their workers gave information to Post, allowing them to get a head start on the revolutionary squared, jelly-filled pastry. Chester Slink is Kellogg’s head of security, played by Sebastian Maniscalco, and he presents footage taken inside of Post’s headquarters which confirms their suspicion about the stolen files. From this point on, the rival companies try their best to remain one step ahead of the other, all the way until the moment trucks are delivering the breakfast items to nearby stores.

Thomas Lennon & Bobby Moynihan

Portraying Harold von Braunhut and Chef Boyardee

The two final taste pilots are Harold von Braunhut and Chef Boyardee, depicted by Thomas Lennon and Bobby Moynihan. During their time at Kellogg’s, the two join forces and accidentally create a living piece of ravioli. The real-life Harold von Braunhut was an inventor best known for the Amazing Sea Monkeys and X-ray glasses, both of which are featured in Unfrosted. Chef Boyardee is presented as a person in Unfrosted rather than the brand famously known for its canned pasta meals.

When showcasing their combined invention to Kellogg’s, Chef Boyardee mistakenly encloses Harold’s sea monkeys inside the pasta instead of the fruit filling. Despite their mistake, the crimped edges of the ravioli are credited as the inspiration for the Pop-Tarts shape. The absurdity of the duo’s situation continues as the end of Unfrosted shows the two co-parenting their sentient pasta, having named it Eric.

Cedric The Entertainer

Portraying Stu Smiley

Cedric the Entertainer’s cameo occurs early on in Unfrosted and it’s thanks to his character that audiences are quickly made aware of Kellogg’s high ranking among their competitors. Cedric plays Stu Smiley, the host of the Bowl and Spoon Awards. In attendance are popular food companies, including the two most important within the film, Kellogg’s and Post. Throughout the night, Kellogg’s wins one award after the other. The ceremony’s categories are silly, such as the award for the Easiest to Open Wax Bag (which was won by Kellogg’s), but it perfectly sets up the film’s conflict and makes sense of why Post is determined to have victory over Kellogg’s.

Kyle Dunnigan

Portraying Walter Cronkite

With the help of two local children, Kellogg’s decides to name their pastry “Trat Pop,” but due to a misread by CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite, the name is changed to “Pop-Tart.” Cronkite is played by Kyle Dunnigan, whose bit adds details to the film outside its central plot. While off-air, Cronkite nonchalantly relays details about his fragmented marriage in a way that leaves his camera operator uncomfortable and unaware of how to respond. Even though Cronkite reads the pastry’s original name backward, this is a fictional explanation as to how the tasty breakfast item got its name.

Dan Levy

Portraying Andy Warhol

Dan Levy is the last major cameo in Unfrosted, acting as the famous artist Andy Warhol and referencing the true story behind Pop-Tart’s name. Unconcerned with following the true events of Pop-Tarts’ origins, Unfrosted explains that the product earned its name when it was misread on air by a news anchor. In reality, the name was inspired by the ongoing Pop Art movement at the time. Artists commonly associated with this movement include Claes Oldenburg, James Rosenquist, and, of course, Andy Warhol. When Levy appears as Warhol at the end of Unfrosted, he exclaims, “Your 15 minutes is up, Cabana. Only I can be derivative.”

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.

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