For kids today, singing animatronics are a staple of the horror video game genre, with Five Nights at Freddy’s raking in millions of dollars and launching a movie series. For the older crowd, however, they’re a nostalgic, yet sometimes off-putting memory of birthdays past. The most iconic of all animatronics were the Chuck E. Cheese Munch’s Make Believe Band and Showbiz Pizza Place’s Rock-afire Explosion bands, mascot characters for each brand that would mime singing and playing instruments.
Something that is now seen as spooky and menacing was once an essential piece of atmosphere that made two kid focused pizza places a major part of the childhoods of hundreds of thousands of people. The histories of Chuck E.Cheese and Showbiz Pizza are intertwined, as one wouldn’t exist without the other. Nolan Bushnell, also known as one of the creators of the mainstream gaming console and the founder of Atari, had the idea for a kid-focused food and gaming establishment…
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