MoonPie is celebrating one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors with a sweet tribute just in time for the holiday season.
The iconic snack cake brand announced Thursday, Nov. 5, that it has released a limited-edition “Lasso the Moon” box honoring Jimmy Stewart and his enduring legacy, both as a movie star and a decorated World War II veteran. The special release coincides with the upcoming biographical drama Jimmy, starring KJ Apa as Stewart, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the United Service Organizations (USO).
The commemorative box contains 12 classic chocolate MoonPies and takes its name from one of the most memorable scenes in the 1946 holiday favorite It’s a Wonderful Life, when Stewart’s character, George Bailey, offers to lasso the moon for Mary Hatch, played by Donna Reed.
The collaboration goes beyond Stewart’s famous movie career. MoonPie has a long history of supporting American troops, having shipped its graham cracker-and-marshmallow treats to service members overseas since World War II.
“We’ve been shipping MoonPies to service members overseas since World War II, so we jumped at the chance to partner with the makers of ‘Jimmy,’ to honor our troops in this way,” said Tory Johnston, vice president of sales and marketing at Chattanooga Bakery, in a press release. “The ‘Lasso the Moon’ special limited-edition box from MoonPie and ‘Jimmy’ honors our military, past and present, veterans and their families.”
The company continues to work with the USO, Friends Of The Troops and Veterans of Foreign Wars to distribute MoonPies to active-duty service members and veterans throughout the year.
The limited-edition release also has a connection to the new movie itself. MoonPies appear in Jimmy, with the filmmakers incorporating the snack cake’s World War II-era packaging to help recreate the period.
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Directed by Aaron Burns, Jimmy follows Stewart during one of the most consequential periods of his life, beginning with his Academy Award win for The Philadelphia Story and his decision to leave Hollywood to serve in World War II.
Stewart flew 20 combat missions over Europe before returning home and struggling with post-traumatic stress. He considered abandoning acting altogether, but ultimately returned to the screen in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, a performance shaped in part by his wartime experiences.
Stewart continued serving in the U.S. Air Force Reserve after the war, eventually earning the rank of brigadier general in 1959. He retired from military service in 1968.
“MoonPie has been providing All-American sweet treats to our military for more than a century. We were honored to include MoonPie’s World War II packaging to help recreate Jimmy’s world in ‘Jimmy,'” Burns said. “For the Chattanooga Bakery to step forward with a special movie-tie inspired box to honor Jimmy Stewart’s legacy just adds to the magic as we head into the Christmas season.”
The 12-count “Lasso the Moon” chocolate MoonPie box is available through LassoTheMoonPie.com, as well as Food City, Ingles and select grocery retailers nationwide, while supplies last.
A portion of sales proceeds will support the USO and its work serving military members and their families.
MoonPie itself dates back to 1917, when a conversation between a Chattanooga Bakery salesman and Appalachian coal miners inspired the creation of the now-famous marshmallow-filled snack. By the late 1930s, MoonPie had become the bakery’s best-selling product, a distinction it continues to hold today.
More than a century later, the company is using that familiar treat to honor an actor whose legacy extends far beyond the silver screen.
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