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Pizza purveyor Chuck E. Cheese plans to retire Munch’s Make Believe Band, the stilted animatronic ensemble that was once one of the chain’s main attractions.
Over the weekend, the company confirmed it would be decommissioning its fleet of robots, in what CEO David McKillips described to The New York Times as the brand’s “most aggressive transformation” to date.
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After the curtains close on Chuck E. Cheese and bandmates, locations will install giant TV screens, digital dance floors and trampoline gyms for its pint-sized visitors, McKillips said.
“Kids are consuming entertainment differently than they were 10, 20 years ago. Kids, really of all ages, are consuming their entertainment on a screen,” McKillips told the Times.
Mel Melcon via Getty Images
A popular choice for children’s birthday parties and other school-aged celebrations, Chuck E. Cheese was established in May 1977 in San Jose, California.
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Originally intended to be Coyote’s Pizza, the eatery had to pivot after its owner mistakenly bought a rat costume for its robotic mascot, who was later dubbed Charles Entertainment Cheese, or “Chuck E.” to his friends.
Inspired by the high-tech robotics at Disneyland’s Tiki Room, Chuck E. and his bandmates Helen Henny, Jasper T. Jowls, Pasqually and Mr. Munch were known for their vacant eyes, jerky movements and uncanny interpretations of popular songs.
Still, Chuck E. Cheese thrived for years as an inexpensive option for kids’ parties, until COVID-19 pandemic forced it to close dozens of locations, sending the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy by summer 2020.
Though nearly all of Chuck E. Cheese’s 400 locations will be getting rid of their robots by the end of the year, its restaurants in Los Angeles and Nanuet, New York, will hold on to their bands.
The company has not revealed what it will do with the rest of the hundreds of robotic animals.
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