Through the 1980s and 90s, if you went out to pizza with kids or to a childs birthday party, chances are you went to a Chuck E Cheese or Showtime Pizza restaurant. The restaurants are a kids’ dream: their favorite foods, an arcade with games (and tickets for prizes) and the animatronic show.
Animatronics, the use of robotics and sound to recreate a character with movements and a voice, was already in places like Disneyland, but it was in the original Chuck E Cheese and Showtime Pizza restaurants where animatronic characters could be seen just down the street. With characters such as Chuck E. Cheese, Helen Henny, Mr. Munch, Jasper T. Jowls, and Pasqually P. Pieplate, who couldn’t be awed by a performance. Showtime restaurants featured Billy Bob Brockali, a banjo-playing bear; Mitzi Mozzarella, a mouse chanteuse; and Fatz Geronimo, the gorilla keyboardist and frontman.
Picture of the Chuck E Cheese original band, via Yelp by Sara S.
Chuck E Cheese and Showtime merged in the 1980s and took on the Chuck E Cheese brand. The ShowBiz bands — called the Rock-afire Explosion — were phased out and its performers repurposed into Chuck E. Cheese’s-led bands. As time went on, worn out robotics were replaced and in the last couple of years, band characters are finally being retired. The move is to a single, more modern animated version of Chuck E Cheese in restaurants, although there are still full bands in some locations.
Saving History
Some fortunate Makers have managed to find or buy original Chuck E Cheese or Showtime Pizza animatronics.
Tested interviewed one such Maker at a Maker Faire last year. The clip is at the top of the article and on Youtube here.
Jack Turner is obsessed with Showbiz Pizza’s iconic animatronic robots. He and his father have scrounged up these old characters to restore them to their music-playing glory! We chat with Jack about his project and how he learned to rebuild these robots to animate the same way they did in the 80s.
Here are some photos of mechanics that have been posted on the web:
Folks like the Turners are looking to restore the animatronics, perhaps to make characters of their own. Jack controls his robotics using an Arduino and relays which activate solenoids controlling compressed air hoses which in turn activate movements.
You can see the eyes and eyelids have movement, along with the mouth and arms. Today, recreating such movements and controlling them programmatically is much easier than “back in the day”.
Adafruit sells motors, servos, and many other parts which can help restore a robot or build your own. And the upcoming Adafruit Crickit Board provides a one-stop motion and sound controller for robotics. It’s never been a better time to get into robotics. #MakeRobotFriend today.
References
- Tested Interview on Youtube
- Article on downsizing
- Wikipedia article on Chuck E Cheese’s
- Picture of the Band on Yelp by Sara S
Do you have photos, info, and other details about the Chuck E Cheese and Showbiz Pizza Animatronics? Post up in the comments or tweet us @adafruit (tag: #MakeRobotFriend) and we’ll update the post!
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