A Documentary All Muppet Fans Should See

[beaker]

I was absolutely thrilled and touched to see the trailer to this documentary film coming out soon.

It's called "The Rock-afire Explosion", and is a full length theatrical
documentary film about Chuck E Cheese's main compeditor(and eventual partner) ShowBiz Pizza Time and the fan community that brought it back.

trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ETK24ax-9A
site
http://www.rockafiremovie.com/home.html

Going to Showbiz and Chuck E Cheese Pizza Time Theater in the 1980's growing up are some of the best childhood memories I have(modern Chuck E Cheese's are absolutely nothing like these)
And the Showbiz Pizza brand was just incredible, with really advanced animatronics for the time.

Seeing this trailer, it reminded me instantly of the undying love of Muppet fans, even when it seemed like the Muppets were pretty much almost gone from existence.

 

[Colbynfriends]

I want to see it so badly, I hope it comes out on DVD soon.

 

[frogboy4]

It appears to me that kids today are far too jaded to enjoy those theme restaurants the way we did decades ago. They're too busy on their mp3 players and/or iphones to even look up when in public.

I'm still on the fence whether a Muppet animatronic restaurant would have been a good idea once upon a time. As good as Showbiz was it could still come off a little creepy.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Yeah I agree! There was nothing like Showbiz Pizza!

 

[beaker]

It appears to me that kids today are far too jaded to enjoy those theme restaurants the way we did decades ago. They're too busy on their mp3 players and/or iphones to even look up when in public.

This is true, as far as older kid age demographics. The local Chuck E Cheese's, which are nothing compared to the dark cabaret awesomeness of the 80's; are always insanely packed.

But kids today...they have their home consoles, so no interest in arcade culture. They got their computer effects heavy movies, so no love for "old school" animatronics and puppetry in film. Everythings instant. Im surprised kids go outside these days.

I'm still on the fence whether a Muppet animatronic restaurant would have been a good idea once upon a time. As good as Showbiz was it could still come off a little creepy.

In the 80's, even if it was at just a couple test locations swapping out showbiz stage mechanics, it would have been perfect. Showbiz pizza's stage show as a template would have been perfect, coupled with the old 80's vaudeville cabaret red curtain theme.

You would have had 3 stages. main stage would have been the electric mayhem. on the other side would be a swamp with kermit on log and banjo. and flanking the other side of the main stage would have been Fozzie doing comedy with statler/waldorf balcony to the upper right of that.

Totally 100% would have worked. Not sure why we never even heard a proposal for that.

 

[beaker]

I've actually been giving serious consideration and time toward opening up a small wacky themed pizza eatery with animatronics for awhile, based on my own offbeat concepts and designs. I'd have flat screens displaying puppet sketches/animation I'd do, and have full bodied characters on street corners holding up signs advertising. I know in this economy any sort of startup business idea is frowned upon
but sometimes you have to go with your weird dreams.

I want to see it so badly, I hope it comes out on DVD soon.

Oh me too. Me too. Just is so good to see a documentary about people continuing on a dream, however silly some may think.

 

[Drtooth]

It appears to me that kids today are far too jaded to enjoy those theme restaurants the way we did decades ago. They're too busy on their mp3 players and/or iphones to even look up when in public.

Oh yea, totally... that, and all the neighborhood arcades are gone too. Only one I can go to is one all the way in Salem, MA... and I have to get a ride there, and it's only open in summer.... One of our best, if seediest, locally owned arcades was bulldozed for an Ikea that hasn't even been built yet. There's just a sad vacant snow and mud covered lot now.

Having only been to Chuckies in the early 90's a couple times, I never got to see it's 80's greatness, but I never bothered seeing what it's become since then. Bunch of bad games to win tickets to win lousy prizes, I'd imagine. I remember going to Chuckies and play the X-Men arcade game and that rare Simpsons game where Lisa drops ski balls representing cup cakes into metallic jawed hinges of Bart and Homer.

Kids wouldn't appreciate any of the robots or kooky characters... and X-boxes pretty much put small arcades out of business anyway.

I'm still on the fence whether a Muppet animatronic restaurant would have been a good idea once upon a time. As good as Showbiz was it could still come off a little creepy.

Even if they did exist, I don't think it would have been too long. There was a similar Chuckies/Showbiz type place founded by Jay Ward and his crew with Rocky and Bullwinkle themed animatronics, voiced by June and Bill themselves (don't know if they also had Paul Frees, or if they used Corey Burton...I have to reread The Moose that Roared....) but they were extremely regional, and they closed down pretty fast, as I recall.

 

[beaker]

Oh yea, totally... that, and all the neighborhood arcades are gone too. Only one I can go to is one all the way in Salem, MA... and I have to get a ride there, and it's only open in summer.... One of our best, if seediest, locally owned arcades was bulldozed for an Ikea that hasn't even been built yet. There's just a sad vacant snow and mud covered lot now.

Having only been to Chuckies in the early 90's a couple times, I never got to see it's 80's greatness, but I never bothered seeing what it's become since then. Bunch of bad games to win tickets to win lousy prizes, I'd imagine. I remember going to Chuckies and play the X-Men arcade game and that rare Simpsons game where Lisa drops ski balls representing cup cakes into metallic jawed hinges of Bart and Homer.

Kids wouldn't appreciate any of the robots or kooky characters... and X-boxes pretty much put small arcades out of business anyway.




Even if they did exist, I don't think it would have been too long. There was a similar Chuckies/Showbiz type place founded by Jay Ward and his crew with Rocky and Bullwinkle themed animatronics, voiced by June and Bill themselves (don't know if they also had Paul Frees, or if they used Corey Burton...I have to reread The Moose that Roared....) but they were extremely regional, and they closed down pretty fast, as I recall.

That would be Chuck E Cheese's(or CEC), not Chuckie's
Actually it was called "Pizza Time Theater" in the 1980's, which is what CEC was called when Nolan Bushnell founded and ran it. Then it got bought out by it's competitor Showbiz Pizza time in the mid 1980's, which then sadly by the 90's phased out the Rockafire Explosion and unified them all into the modern day Chuck E Cheese.

Hehe, sorry...I'm a big CEC/Rockafire nerd But yeah, 80's Chuck E Cheese's/Pizza Time Theater/Showbiz was absolutely amazing and magical...and in fact many CEC stores retained that look(least the franchises) until the later 1990's.

 

[peyjenk]

I loved ShowBiz as a kid... I miss it! The movie sounds great... I hope I get a chance to see it.

 

[bazooka_beak]

It appears to me that kids today are far too jaded to enjoy those theme restaurants the way we did decades ago. They're too busy on their mp3 players and/or iphones to even look up when in public.

You know, that's VERY true. A few years ago I was at a Rainforest Cafe with my mom, and a few tables away there was a kid listening to his iPod while he was eating. Will all the awesome sounds and animals and special affects around him, he's listening to his iPod?