A Brief History of Movie Tie-In Food

I don’t keep in mind a time earlier than films and meals have been inextricably linked in my thoughts.

As a child, I ate cereal impressed by E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. When I received somewhat older, I fixated on gathering cups from quick meals eating places emblazoned with the characters from blockbusters. (I nonetheless contend there has by no means been a extra spectacular feat of glasswork within the historical past of Western civilization than McDonald’s Batman Forever cups etched with the likeness of Jim Carrey’s Riddler and a mug deal with formed like his question-mark-tipped cane.)

These days, my job one way or the other entails visiting multinational pancake homes every time they devise elaborate menus themed to movies concerning the origins of precocious and presumably homicidal chocolatiers. Covering (and filling my poor abdomen with) movie-inspired meals has turn out to be an inordinately giant portion of my beat right here at ScreenCrush — to the purpose the place the primary query I are likely to get from readers (after, y’know, “Why would you do this to yourself?!?”) is “Where did all of this movie food come from in the first place?”

For a very long time, I truthfully didn’t know. I went to high school for movie research, not promoting (a lot much less culinary arts). Eventually, I made a decision to do the one factor I get pleasure from greater than consuming iced tea adjoining drinks impressed by Spider-Man spinoff movies: Research.

What I uncovered could be discovered beneath. Keep in thoughts: There hasn’t been that a lot written about this matter previously. (I can’t think about why!). So this isn’t meant because the definitive account of this matter. It’s extra of a primer on the important thing moments within the weird and barely incestuous relationship between Big Food and Big Movies. I hope future tie-in students look to it because the jumping-off level for their very own deeper investigations.

Reading this would possibly simply make you nostalgic. I doubt it’ll make you hungry — however hey, should you grew up like me, you by no means know.

READ MORE: I Ate Everything on IHOP’s Addams Family Menu