WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Unfrosted (2024)!

The “unreality” presented in Jerry Seinfeld’s Unfrosted movie happens to leave out Thurl Ravenscroft’s most famous kids-related role after being the voice of Kellogg’s mascot Tony the Tiger. The cast and characters of Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story feature various celebrities and comedians portraying real and fictional figures in a semi-true telling of the origin of Kellogg’s hit Pop-Tart brand. Unfrosted includes numerous mascots from breakfast products and cereal brands of the 1960s, some of whom were originally voiced or portrayed in real life by famous actors, such as Thurl Ravenscroft.

English actor Hugh Grant stars in Unfrosted as Thurl Ravenscroft, a real actor greatly renowned for his voice work, with his most memorable role being Tony the Tiger, the mascot for Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes cereal. In addition to Tony the Tiger, Ravenscroft also contributed his voice to numerous classic animated Disney films and Disneyland theme park attractions between the late 1930s and early 2000s. However, his most famous and enduring voice role next to Tony the Tiger is associated with Christmastime, though Unfrosted’s 1963-1964 timeline doesn’t reach this part of Ravenscroft’s real career.

Thurl Ravenscroft Became The Vocalist For “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” Only 2 Years After Unfrosted’s Ending

Ravenscroft’s voice is a staple in pop culture

While Ravenscroft has an enduring legacy through his “They’re Gr-r-reat!” line as Tony the Tiger, the actor’s voice can also routinely be heard each December in the classic song “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” Ravenscroft was cast in the 1966 animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas as the main vocalist in “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” which has become a staple song and televised special of the Christmas season for the past 58 years. However, Boris Karloff is often misremembered as the singer of the classic Christmas tune, as he serves as the spoken narrator throughout the remainder of the 1966 TV special.

Ravenscroft’s casting as the vocalist for “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” arrived only two years after Unfrosted’s ending in real life, though without the film’s fictional version of events in which the actor absurdly incites an insurrection-style attack on Kellogg’s headquarters. While the song has been re-recorded over the years by other artists, including for subsequent The Grinch movie adaptations, Thurl Ravenscroft’s remains the most famous and perennially played iteration. Just as Ravenscroft’s Tony the Tiger voice is the best-remembered version of the cereal mascot, the actor’s “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” is the quintessential rendition of the Christmas track.

Thurl Ravenscroft Continued To Voice Tony The Tiger Until 2005 (& Reprised His Grinch Role In 1977)

Ravenscroft voiced Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger for another 40 years after Unfrosted

Netflix’s Unfrosted movie doesn’t conclude with a bigger update on every real-life figure presented in the film, so Ravenscroft’s role with the company after the Pop-Tart’s creation isn’t explored. In reality, Ravenscroft would maintain his role as Tony the Tiger until his death in 2005, having played the mascot since 1953. Tony the Tiger would remain Ravenscroft’s longest-running character, but the impact of his How the Grinch Stole Christmas role wasn’t forgotten after his 1966 song. Ravenscroft would return for the 1977 animated special Halloween Is Grinch Night, providing his voice for the project’s songs and various Monster roles.