Chuck E. Cheese has recently overhauled its brand, bringing major changes to its nearly 500 locations that longtime visitors might be surprised to see. The biggest? The removal of its iconic animatronic band.
As the family-friendly entertainment and restaurant chain, which was founded in 1977, looks to welcome the next generation of children, it has modernized and chosen to leave Mr. Munch, Pasqually P. Pieplate and more members of Munch’s Make Believe Band in the past.
Chuck E. Cheese Entertainment CEO David McKillips explained why the furry friends are no longer at every location and if they could make a return in a recent interview with NBC News correspondent Savannah Sellers.
McKillips, who has been the CEO of the company since January 2020, navigating Chuck E. Cheese through bankruptcy, corporate restructuring and the COVID-19 pandemic. After McKillips and his team received a $350 million investment, they decided to use the money to attract younger and older generations. In response, ticketing became electronic, more adult menu items were offered and new play areas with obstacle courses and trampoline zones were installed.
As of January, its birthday business is back to pre-pandemic levels. The company also launched a subscription program last year that includes unlimited visits and discounts on food, drinks and games.
While the company kept and updated many fan-favorites — including adding thousands of new games to its arcades — it also eliminated the animatronic band. It didn’t align with the more modern vision, McKillips said. He revealed that there were “many meetings and debates and conversations” before the decision was made to get rid of the singing group.
“Of course, if you think about entertainment 47 years ago, it was incredible to have the animatronic band and new music,” he told Sellers. “But in reality, the animatronics were getting tired.”
He added, “Kids are consuming entertainment on a digital platform.”
Now at locations around the country, children can interact with digital versions of Chuck E. and Munch’s Make Believe Band during a jumbo screen show. There is also an interactive multimedia dance floor where kids can groove and jump around as different images appear.
Although they are no longer on stage, mascots of Chuck E. and some of his friends still make appearances and wander around the restaurants to meet the guests.
In May 2024, The New York Times reported that fans would need to bid farewell to the animatronic band. The newspaper shared that Munch’s Make Believe Band was being phased out by the end of 2024. At the time, the Times said only two locations, one in Los Angeles and a second in Nanuet, New York, would keep the band.
A couple weeks later, the company announced that Munch’s Make Believe Band would remain at three more locations — Pineville, North Carolina, Hicksville, New York and Springfield, Illinois — following public disapproval, according to the Times.
The news came after the success of the horror mystery film “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” which was based on a popular video game series and features animatronics. The film, starring Josh Hutcherson, was released in October 2023 and grossed over $290 million worldwide. Variety reported in May 2024 that a sequel will arrive in December 2025.
McKillips said that the decision to remove Chuck E. Cheese’s animatronics came “well before” the horror movie’s box office triumph. But, he acknowledged “Five Nights at Freddy’s” did affect the restaurant chain.
“It had some impact regarding the brand overall,” he said about the film. “Obviously, the inspiration from the movie was based on, you know, the legacy of Chuck E. Cheese.”
Unlike the flick, however, he assured, “There’s nothing scary about our animatronics whatsoever.” (Sure, McKillips, sure.)
So, where did the Munch’s Make Believe Bands in the other hundreds of locations relocate to? McKillips only told Sellers that they went “away” after she asked if they were being stored in a warehouse people would not want to visit at night.
He encouraged devoted Chuck E. Cheese fans who wish to see them again to visit the restaurant chain in Northridge, California for a special show.
“If you get out there, it’s really spectacular,” McKillips said before adding that the Munch’s Make Believe Band could come back to other locations in the future.
“Would we bring them back? You never know,” he added.
