Do your remember Fun Shapes “3-D Monster Pops” Popsicles?

Many moons ago, I got a little obsessed with finding proof that “Monster Pops” actually existed. A long drought of information finally ended when limeglimmers surprised me with scans of the wrappers from this rare confection, with a promise of scans of the box.

Well, that promised has been fulfilled! limeglimmers sent me scans of the actual Monster Pops’ box from all sides.

Thanks to limeglimmers for these scans. It allowed me to close the door on one of my web obsessions and allow readers of this site to connect with a forgotten piece of their past.

As you can see right away, one of the things that confounded me in my search for these gems was the name. “Monster Pops” was a hard search term since it has been used by so many products over the years. “3-D Monster Pops” and “Fun Shapes” on the other hand is very clarifying.

The box does not disappoint. All black, it is handsomely and horrifically illustrated with classic monster creeps.

On the front, we see the 3 flavors and their 3-D Monster Pop Shapes. We have:

• Vampire Grape

• Frankenstein Cherry

• Devil Orange

It feels like the blood-red cherry is a natural fit for the vampire or the devil, but the dark grape does match the classical vampire outfit. Speaking of classical vampire, if you look to the left, you will a gang of monsters. Two of these Monsters are featured pop shapes, but the other two, the Lizard Monster and Skeleton, are not. I am not sure why the devil didn’t replace the skeleton?

You will also notice that the pops are being held by what could be a more details version of the lizard creature? Hard to tell.

That goofy askew font is a great choice and really works well on the 3-D effect. I also like the addition of the snowflake.

The bars are described as Quiescently Frozen Confections. This has been something I have spotted on other Ice Pops, but I had never looked it up. Basically, it means that the frozen mixtures that the ice pops are made from is not stirred or agitated at all after the mixture is prepared.

Now are you ready for the back of the box? Well, prepare to be disappointed.

That’s right, the back of the box looks identical to the front of the box. Don’t worry though, some details lurk on the other sides of the box.

On the bottom we have that skeleton from the front of the box, who had been enjoying an orange Monster Pop, now enjoyed a cherry vampire. The skeleton’s teeth almost look like weird skeleton lips here.

The left side features the Lizard creature enjoying an Orange Monster Pop. This might be my favorite of the illustrations. The Lizard is posing and I love his expression.

We also get to see a copyright date here.

This product is manufactured under license from DCA. “Fun Shapes” is a trademark of DCA.

I cannot find much info about DCA Food Industries. At least, nothing that mentions their involvement in the making of ice pops.

The right side of the box is pretty boring, but does give us a list of ingredients for when we all want to home brew our own Monster Pops.

3-D Monster Fun Shapes (Monster Pops) consist of:

Water, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Guar Gum, Karaya Gum, Artificial Flavors, and Artificial Colors.

Finally, we get to the top of the box. I save it for last because, while getting this box closed one mystery, this box top, opens yet another.

What were the 3-D Monster Fun Shape Toys? It says they were inflatable, but then why is this kid using it to catch a baseball? I have looked online repeatedly for what these might have looked like, but have come up short each time. So if anyone out there has seen them before, please let me know.

A lot of people have asked me if I know when they stopped making Monster Pops. I do not have an exact date, but I can tell you that they were still selling them, with this exact box, until 1994. I found this ad from Kroger celebrating National Ice Cream Month when 3-D Monster Pops were featured prominently.

The Monster Pops were a very reasonable $1.50 a box in 1994. Which is about the same from a listing I found for them in the early eighties. So it looks like Monster Pops, in addition to being a Freezer Pleezer, were also inflation proof.

I am over the moon to have gotten to see this box again. It brings back all sorts of memories. I hope that if you have been looking for these as well, it gives you some closure. We might not ever get to enjoy this treat again, but we at least have proof of its existence and some wonderful packaging to admire.