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I decided to use my lunchbreak today to switch gears and work three-dimensionally. I just could not resist the 10" or more of snow we have on the ground. I wish I could've done a better job, but the time for my lunchbreak is quite limited.

This week’s box is the ultimate ode to the 80’s.

It’s a surprisingly graphic portrayal of Pac Man eating ghosts. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel bad for these particular ghosts- they have sad, horrified expressions while being eaten by the oblivious PacMan. Rather cruel compared with the real game- where both characters were oblivious! That’s how I remember it, anyhow. I also remember my brother and cousins being totally obsessed with the game.

This also happens to be among the last boxes made out of metal.
Apparently, at this point in history, metal lunchboxes were deemed “dangerous” and replaced with soft, safe plastic ones.
BLEAH. That’s also when box art plummeted to the lows that they currently are.

Pity the children!

Here’s something special from Lunch Box Land this week- something with international flair!
Most of my lunch boxes depict TV shows or movies I know and liked.
Not this one.
I have had my “El Chapulin Colorado” (The Red Cricket) box for a long time, drawn to it merely by the weirdness factor. It’s a 10 out of 10 on the weirdness scale, I’d say. NOW, thanks to the wonders of YouTube, I can share with you a snippet of this very wacky Mexican show:

Holy cow! I like this box even more now!! This show reminds me of Benny Hill in a way (LOVE him- wish I had a Benny box!). Has anyone ever seen this on TV before?? I guess it never played up here in New England- triste!

Don’t you hate it when you’re talking to a nun, and a good, stiff wind just carries her away? This week’s box is an ode to Sister Bertrille, the The Flying Nun. It’s a late 1960’s box, chock full o’ weird charm. There is Sally Field, happily flying over her Puerto Rican convent, probably up to good-natured mischief of some kind.
Oh, Mother- that’s Superior comedy!
This deserves a ranking in a special category of shows with the oddest premises- it’s right up there with I Dream of Jeannie, and Hogan’s Heroes. The art is from the celebrated MAD magazine school of realistic-but-enhanced caricature.
Too bad they don’t make ‘em like this any more- the shows OR the lunchboxes!

Was there ever a funner time than the Great Depression? Not according to the Waltons. Sure, times were hard, but they lived on love and had some to spare. This was a favorite show of mine, since two of my Top Favorite decades are the 30’s and 70’s. The show is the perfect combo of both. Anyhow, this gem of a lunchbox is from 1973, and depicts the entire Walton clan with their cow, apparently at the magical moment of birth. Inspiring, and a life lesson, too!

A note about the art: I love the stuff from this era that is, oh, about 15% more cartoony than real life. Each of these actors’ likenesses have been captured; they are all recognizable, but they are also bumped up a couple of notches in caricature. I guess if they were 20% more cartoony, they could go into MAD magazine. But they’re juuuust shy of that! Skill, baby, skill. I wonder who painted these?? Probably a MAD artist!

Here’s a new Box o’ the Week- the elusive 1970 Dr. Seuss!

I appreciate the limited palette used here, especially since at the time, this box was probably on the shelf with any number of technicolor offerings. I am not sure if The Good Doctor did this art himself, but it looks like the real deal to me.

This box came out at around the same time as the delightful Chuck Jones animated versions of Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who, and of course, The Grinch. GREAT books, and GREAT little films that I could watch a thousand times and never get sick of (I think I have)!

Have you ever been to the Dr. Seuss National Memorial at the museum quadrangle in Springfield, Mass? If you like all things Seuss, you need to check it out- think giant bronze Thidwicks! The Eric Carle Museum isn’t far from it, either- a whole museum devoted to children’s book art. Hmmm, makes me want to go back out that way again soon!

I have a decent amount of metal lunchboxes- I think they are beautiful, mainly because there seems to have been actual care taken in composing the images that went on them. At the suggestion of my illustratin’ friend Barb, I will post some of them. Today’s box is a Holly Hobbie one from 1981. This is the stuff I grew up with. Thinking about it now, I am sure Holly’s art and the general “colonial revival” that was going on in the 70’s had a lot to do with what I like today, such as my fabric obsession. I noticed recently that there is an interview with the real Holly here. Holly the character has been revived, in both her old/country form and a new, hipper form. Holly the Person looks great, and I hope she keeps making gorgeous books like Toot and Puddle as long as she can!