How The California Raisins Became a National Phenomenon 

My grandpa LOVED the California Raisins! He used to joke that he looked just like them. When he passed away, I inherited two vintage stuffed raisins that I used to play with when I was little. They mean the world to me, and I intend on restoring them in his memory.

For whatever weird reason, I was a pre-teen obsessed with the Raisins! My entire bedroom was decked out in Raisin gear - curtains, bed sheets and comforter, posters, figurines, tshirts, robe, slippers……. I remember my mom being a little confused about the whole thing and why her sweet, 12 year old daughter was into these Motown fruits, but bless her heart, she bought me all the Raisin crap I wanted. ❤️

a video about the cereal mascots would be dope

When I was in elementary school, it was pretty common for students to bring treats for birthdays or when they were moving away and changing schools. My family was moving, so I begged my dad to bring cookies and juice for my class. He brought boxes of raisins. I was so mad lol. But he taught the whole class how to use the empty boxes as noisemakers, so I forgave him lol.

I full on yelped with laughter at "grapeshit". Had to look around and make sure no one heard me lol

I loved the California Raisins growing up and I even had some of the happy meal toys. I always looked forward to watching them and as an adult couldn’t remember what their deal was but now I know! This really brought me back thank you so much! 💜

When I worked for a minor league baseball team in Central California, we did business with Sun-Maid. They have a product now that are meant to be raisin-based fruit snacks (no added sugars, no gelatin/gummy additives, etc) and they were kind enough to donate a few crates of the sour ones (which are actually pretty good, imo) for one of our kids events. The product went over pretty well (kids like sour things, who knew), BUT the best part was when I went to their HQ to pick up the product and got to see a TON of OG California Raisins merch and product and just... stuff. It was honestly really fascinating and pretty cool.

Glad to see this, my memories of my great grandfather in the early 1990's, a raisin farmer in Fowler, CA always include him wearing a red California raisins hat.

The Vinton Christmas Special is a tradition at our house and we still have all of our Hardee's California Raisins figurines, which they also have away with their cinnamon raisin biscuits. That Christmas claymation was the reason my family and I couldn't get through a Christmas church service without cracking up. Once you've seen camels in tennis shoes singing We Three Kings, you just can't unsee it.

Loved the California Raisins as a kid. Had me fall in lovs with claymation. 👏🏾👏🏾🤩👏🏾👏🏾

Without raisins, oatmeal raisin cookies would be just oatmeal cookies. This is a fact.

We had the California Raisins Christmas special recorded on VHS. I remember watching it several times as a child. Ah memories.

I still have the California Raisins pillowcases 😁😂

The California Raisins are still cool 😎 today. 😀👍

Could you do the history of vegemite/marmite, please? And why their flavour is so controversial. Curious minds would like to know.

I'm 24, and when I was growing up and would go to my grandma's house, she had a ton of toys, mostly from my mom's childhood, and there were three raisin jazz musicians action figures. I loved them and never really questioned them and then in the last few years I've been hearing about them, and it feels like an answer to a childhood question I never bothered asking

I loved The California Raisins. Their Christmas special remains one of my favorites, up there with Charlie Brown, Rudolph and Frosty.

My grandmother had a big hand in these commercials! She was one of the heads of Foot-cone!! Of course during that time they didn’t mention the women who had a hand in it. She also has all of the commercials she worked on VHS! But she had hour’s and hours of commercials!

Wow, you guys are really bringing back my childhood lol. I think I had little plastic figurines of the California Raisins when I was a kid. I still don't like raisins though 🤷.

Oh man, I drove a 90 minute round trip this past winter to pick up 5 of the 3” tall raisins for $10. So worth it.

I really enjoyed those commercials. Cooking-wise, I found the raisins were looked forward to when soaked overnight in sherry or brandy. Raisin bread or braids were so popular there was never any left over at potlucks.

30+ years later and we still listen to “Christmas With the California Raisins” during the holidays.

Okay so this is definitely telling my age because I absolutely loved the California raisins when I was a kid. I collected almost all of them when I was little. Wow this really took me back LOL

I believe that was a young Molly Ringwald in those "Nature's candy" commercials. Apparently, she's never not been adorable.

7:33 "people went grapeshit" lmao 🤣 😂 😆

don't matter what version of the song I hear if heard it through the grapevine comes on I think of the claymation version

I watched your video on the olestra stuff, I remember thinking I’ve never seen the futurama clip you featured in your video before, but i was watching futurama the other day and and saw it i laughed my a*s off. Made my day lol

"Grape shit"... yea that was indeed a good one! Lol 😆

I was born and raised in California and yes! I remember them well! 😀👍🏻

Some where in my parents hording is my set of the California raisins figures.

my cousins and I were obsessed with them! We never missed any of their programs and drove our parents crazy singing the songs lol!

When I was a 5 or 6-year-old girl, one of my fondest memories was sleeping in my twin-sized bed with my California Raisins tent. If only I could have that tent again, I would be On Top Of The World. My raisin tent made me feel safe and secure. I have so many memories of different 80's products that I wish I could have kept.....

I still remember my dad taking me to Hardee’s, getting a cinnamon roll and a California Raisin figurine. Good memory. Thanks for the backstory.

I was in elementary school at this time, & my sister and I went crazy collecting these guys from Hardee’s. I had no awareness they were an advertisement for actual raisins, though! I thought they were just funny tv characters.

Best narrator by far 💯💪🏾🔥

I've loved raisins and raisin bran for as long as I can remember, before the California Raisins came out.

It worked man, I loved raisins as a kid and I loved the California raisins.

I had the figurines. I loved the California raisins. It's how I learned how claymation works.

Memory unlocked: My childhood babysitter had all the raisins VHSes. We BEGGED to watch them, especially the Christmas one. We loved the dinosaurs and it made total sense that they would be hiding a Christmas special

I remember my mom sitting me in front of the TV when they first officially premiered.

Oh lawdy do I remember the California Raisins! So well that in fact, I cannot hear "I heard I Through the Grapevine" without picturing raisins singing it. I was the perfect age to have grown up thinking they were they original performers, were it not for a music obsessed family to set me straight 😂

I had each of the action figures and the sandwich stage that played, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." I was caught up in the California Grapes. 🤣

I was 5 when the first California Raisins commercial aired. I don't recall being particularly wowed by them, but I do remember seeing that claymation Christmas special a few times over the years.

I remember them and I live in the uk 🇬🇧 So, they obviously had international fame under their hats, too x

I loved this growing up. Their first album was the first cassette tape I ever owned, and I was excited to have the Christmas special as apart of my Christmas that year. Thank you for making this video!

I had every one of the California Raisin toys from Hardee’s. Almost 40 years later we still remember them. I watch a Claymation Christmas every year

Love listening to these vids with my coffee at work

You ought cover pistachios. I remember when they had the red gunk but Americans taking over the pistachio market and mechanizing it ended it.

When I was a preschooler in the early 1960's, my sister and I considered a little box of raisins a real treat. I think I had stopped enjoying them somewhere in my teenage years. They _are_ good in pastries and sweet breads, though. And you can't make mincemeat filling without them. I thought the California Raisins were cute, but I had no idea that such a big national fuss was made over them.

I've always been a big fan of raisins and didn't need this ad campaign to convince me to buy them. But I'll concede that the MJ one cracked me up when I first saw it (still does, come to think of it)

I still don’t understand why some people hate raisins. I love them. Such complex flavours.

4:44 "Off to the raisins" proooobably woulda been the line of choice xD

I remember and miss the California Raisins. I still have one of the Raisins toys from a Hardee’s kids meal. Their merch was everywhere in the 80s.

I could have sworn that one of the raisins was named Rocksteady. I must be thinking about the Ninja Turtles.

My momma would always call them nature's candy (I was born in 89) so I totally loved raisins. I never heard of the California Raisins until that show I Love the 80s.

I love these guys. They have the perfect charm and audacity.

Seems like those California raisins t shirts and sweatshirts were everywhere back in the late 80s.

I was a big California Raisins fan. I remember how my sister and I looked forward to going to Hardee’s during that summer where they were offering the figurines. I collected all or almost all of them. They’re currently safe and sound in my walk-in closet, but maybe it’s time to put them back on display.

When I was a kid, my grandma had the California Raisin bed sheets in her guest room! It was so cool!

Loved the California Raisins! As a kid, my sister’s dance teacher choreographed a huge dance number for the whole dance school and had them enter the theatre that way doing the dance up the aisles. Ironically- along the whole “dancing turd” idea- they achieved the raisin look with trash bags. They just added white gloves & wore giant sunglasses. 🤦‍♀️

That Christmas claymation special brings back some serious nostalgia

I remember doing an elementary school recital where a bunch of us dressed as California Raisins and sang "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" in a chorus line. We wore trash bags stuffed with newspaper. 😆 I also remember watching the Christmas special. I still don't like raisins but I do buy them all the time to feed to the birds.

I still have the toy set that was made for these. Little figurines holding instruments and the came with a little stage. It was my older brother's, back in the 80's or early 90's he was really into them. I just really like toys 😆

I use to have a bucket full of the toy raisins. I loved those action figures back then. I would play with the raisins action figures all the time .❤

I recorded the Christmas special on VHS and used to watch it every year. 'We Three Kings" was gold.

Loved the California Rains Commercial. ❤️

I loved that Christmas special. Good childhood memories ❤

My brother had a California Raisins birthday party in the 80s. Thank you for this video!!

I remember the toys. Unlocked a memory. I’m really enjoying this new offshoot channel.

The raisins haunted my dreams for years. I love claymation as an art form but my God were they bizarre.

I had the California Raisins album on cassette tape as a kid and was a huge fan. They were huge!

I was a California Raisin for Halloween one year & had the toys of them too. They were just the weirdest looking things to me & they had music so I was in love as soon as I first saw 'em

I ❤️ Alanis!!! her music helped me get thru my worse years growing up in the 90s and I'm a mid 80s baby

I remember them well and still enjoy seeing them when they show up somewhere.....

I was born in ‘86 and there’s a good chance I’m here today because the California Raisins set the mood.

I remember that Christmas special a claymation Christmas being heavily advertised for the California raisins… We were out that night, and recorded it on a timer on the VCR. We got home and kept fast forwarding it looking for the California raisins, and they didn’t show up until almost the end. My young self was so angry!

I used to get the Raisin toys from Hardees as a kid. We had dozens. The Claymation Christmas special was a staple of my childhood. We recorded it on VHS and would watch it every year.

Now do one about the Tang Talking Lips. I forgot that was a thing up until that shot of Will with his creations.

I have fond memories of the California raisins. I never realized it was a commercial.

I remember being a fan. Loved every minute of it.

This made me laugh several times. Nice narration 🙌🏻

I collected all the Hardee's Toys. Couldn't wait to go get them

I watched this growing up! I loved the Christmas special. I forgot about the mark twain claymation movie!

Not only do I remember the California Raisins, I have a VHS with both specials.. that I’m not afraid to say was played in the last six months!

As mentioned in the biofilm, "Straight Out of Compton," the story of the rap group, N.W.A., the California Raisins contributed to the rise of the infamous 1980's most dangerous band. The connection between the C. Raisins and N.W.A. was the recording producers of the songs that were attributed to the California Raisins. These producers would end up recording and releasing the first "commercially available" albums from the Los Angeles based group of rap artists.

I was a bit old to get involved with all the merch, but I certainly enjoyed the songs and the commercials!

I'm old enough to remember the commercials and toys. They were fairly popular. My grandma had the entire set of the little figurines.

we still have some of the california raisins toys. they are so hefty and no toy near its manufacturing. so glad we kept them from my parents.

I definitely remember the California Raisins!! I was so young at the time they came out, that I hadn't even started school yet, but somehow I remember the ads. I think I even saw a few of the specials. I even had one of bendable figurines, lol. My grandma had a giant stuffed California raisin, sitting on the bed, in the room, where my lil bro now resides.

Loved the "Raisin D'etre" joke. I actually gave that a slow clap as I was watching this. I have fond (and slightly disturbing) memories of the California Raisins. The Motown songs were fun but there was definitely something unsettling about Will Vinton's claymation specials.

I LOVED THE CALIFORNIA RAISINS! AND THE RAISINETTES! The Christmas special is still one of my favorites! 🥰🥰

The California Raisins Christmas special, and A Wish for Wings that Work get watched every year in my house.

I loved em! I was a little kid back then. I had the toys, the bedding and many other things. And I watched em on tv.

Those toys in the Hardee’s meals were out when I was in elementary school. My music teacher had them all.

Those comemrcials with stop motion were beautiful

To think, my grandfather loved both Arby's AND California Raisins. No wonder my grandmother gave us creepy raisin toys to play with in the bath.

One of my earliest memories was being a little kid and liking the California Raisins

I had a California raisins sweater as a kid, I loved it

I had no idea the Noid And the Mark Twain animation were by the same guy.. nice

Sounds like the weirdest fever dream, a bunch of clay animated raisins selling music albums.