Snap, Crackle and Pop step out of character for the first time, letting their true personalities shine through in the latest campaign for Kellogg’s Rice Krispies.

Featuring the usual animated suspects in a live-action environment, ‘Nutrition #2’ is the second in a two-spot campaign by The Animation House director Terry Godfrey and animator Fred Wilmot for Leo Burnett. It picks up the dramatic arc from the first spot.

A disgruntled Pop, who has been transformed from a wild young boy to a temperamental actor, is unhappy with the cereal-spokestoon deal his agent negotiated, protesting that he is ‘an artist!’

Meanwhile, longtime pal Crackle, who lies low and does what he is told, pulls out his copy of the Kellogg’s contract, points out to Pop how much cash they are making and convinces him they should be putting their all into the job.

The two 30-second spots shed a whole new light on the three characters; copywriter Denise Rosseto and art director David Popescu decided it was time to give the boys a bit of personality.

Wilmot, who has worked with the wacky and wild threesome on several occasions, says he was ‘thrown for a loop’ when the agency said, ‘Okay, they are no longer cartoon characters, they are real people.’

The spot takes place behind the scenes on a live kitchen set as the boys are about to shoot their latest commercial on top of a table. The camera pulls back just enough to reveal a ladder and lights, showing they are on-set.

All the background plates of the kitchen were shot in 35mm by Videogenic director/cameraman Robbi Hinds.

To best integrate Snap, Crackle and Pop into their live environment, the film was rotoscoped.

Once the live-action elements and the characters were lined up, using the Toon Boom system linear drawings of the characters were taken through electronic painting and then the two portions were married.

The most intriguing part of the shoot, according to Godfrey, was integrating the characters into the live set and making them appear as if they are actually hanging out on the table.

‘We cast shadows from the characters onto the live set, put color highlights on them and integrated them so the light sources that we shot in the live action are reflected directly on the characters,’ explains Godfrey. ‘If the boys walk by a glass, you would see their reflection in it.’

Agency producer for the spot was Tony DeSousa, Animation House producer was Jeanine Sinopoli, production manager was Monika Storr and executive producer was Jo-ann Cook. Animation House’s Francois Valentyne edited and Manta Eastern Sound handled the audio.