Chuck E. Cheese pulls the plug on Munch’s Make Believe Band, the animatronic robots that have frightened children and their disapproving parents with musical performances for decades. The New York Times reports that the arcade pizzeria franchise will soon shut down the bands at all but two of the chain’s more than 400 locations across the United States. Two tribute bands in Los Angeles and Nanuet, NY will survive the rest.
You have until the end of 2024 to hear the sweet melodies of Chuck E. Cheese and Helen Henny on vocals, the springy keys of Mr. Munch, the epic guitar riffs of Jasper T. Jowls and the rhythmic beats of Pasqually on drums. After that, the band will be replaced by more screens, digital dance floors and trampoline halls. It’s part of what CEO David McKillips calls the chain’s “most aggressive transformation” ever.
In an interview with NYT, McKillips describes how the pandemic devastated Chuck E. Cheese, forcing many locations to temporarily close. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the summer of 2020, and now its executives are trying to bring the arcade chain into the modern age. Apparently that means fewer smart-eyed robots and more screens.
Anyone who experienced a post-1980s childhood remembers sitting at a Chuck E. Cheese stand back and forth between arcade games, bites of pizza, and an animatronic jam session. It feels like a fever dream I had just yesterday. However, the stage that has hosted so many great performances at Chuck E. Cheese locations will soon be replaced with a jumbotron screen, a dance floor and more seating.
Chuck E. Cheese did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.
Some Chuck E. Cheese locations have already eliminated Munch’s Make Believe Band. Employees at a location in Paramus, New Jersey, told the Times that not much has changed. They say kids these days are drawn to modern screen-based activities like a Paw Patrol video game.
Modern children will certainly miss the cultural touchstone of Chuck E. Cheese’s animatronic band. These furry robots that barely moved were adorable in some ways and nightmare-inducing in others. They didn’t know many songs, but that made each one even more special. As other robots begin to improve, the Chuck E. Cheese robots will only live on in the memories of countless adults who were traumatized by them as children.