"In Pizza We Trust: Chuck E. Cheese Animatronics Research"

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 In June of 2020 I read in an article that CEC Entertainment, the company that owns and operates Chuck E. Cheese, announced that they had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and had created a new financial restructuring plan. Within this plan, included long term business goals that worked towards modernizing Chuck E. Cheese establishments through updating their gaming and show technology. While CEC Entertainment had been testing the waters by phasing out certain animatronics since 2017, this plan ultimately includes the removal of most, eventually all, animatronics from their establishments in favor of the “Chuck E. Live Stage,” also known as “Stage V2”, where live mascot performers interact with party-goers in lieu of animatronics. As entertainment establishments are finding their footing again in a post-lockdown world, there has been a direct increase in the removal of Chuck E. Cheese animatronics as stores rush to update their systems in anticipation of more customers. As of January 2023, only approximately 168 stores out of 471 stores still have animatronics still in them, and that number dwindles everyday. 

Upon hearing the news that CEC Entertainment had been replacing their animatronics since 2017 and now had minimal money to repair, maintain, or upgrade their current animatronics, I knew I wanted to document them before they’re completely phased out, destroyed, or bought by private collectors. For so many people, myself included, Chuck E. Cheese was our first introduction to animatronics in a manner that was set up to be casual, inviting, and more accessible than traveling to Disneyworld or Disneyland. For kids of the 1980s through the mid 2010s, CEC is remembered fondly as a piece of our American childhoods, with the animatronics being the stars of our memories. Because of this, this is why I find this project so compelling and imperative to complete. Not only would the information of how these animatronics were built and maintained be otherwise lost, but the impact that these bots had on millions of childhoods would be completely erased. 

At the time of originally proposing this project for a grant from the Semans Art Fund in March of 2023, only nine original “3-Stage” configuration setups, where Chuck E. Cheese performs with his band of four other full-bodied animatronics, existed in the United States. I proposed to visit six stores that existed along the east coast. These were locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. By the time I had received the grant and was able to travel, of these six places, three stores had already removed their animatronics (Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana). While this was disappointing news, this just further proved my fears that CEC Entertainment was removing their bots- and fast. 

Over the course of the summer of 2023, I visited six different CECs. I was able to travel to Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania to collect photographic and video recordings of each store’s animatronics. I was able to record information about their mechanics, figure finishing, their wear-and-tear over the years, as well as where these animatronics are heading next. In all, it was an extremely exciting and informative experience, and even if Chuck E. Cheese is getting rid of their animatronics, I am extremely happy that I am able to play a part in remembering these history-rich bots.