Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre debuted in 1977, created by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, whose idea was to create a pizza parlor that combined food with the feeling of being at a carnival. It eventually evolved into a pizza arcade whose centerpiece was an animatronic band of animals led by a singing rat, inspired by Disney attractions such as the Country Bear Jamboree. The other members of Chuck's band included Mr. Munch, a purple monster guy who played keyboards; Jasper T. Jowls, a guitar-playing hillbilly hound dog; Helen Henny, a singing chicken, and Pasqually, a stereotypical Italian who plays drums.
In the '80s, Chuck E. Cheese was acquired by one of their main competitors, a pizza place with their own animatronic animal band. But what happened to the Rock-afire Explosion from Showbiz Pizza is that the Chuck E. Cheese characters proved more popular, and the Rock-afire Explosion was phased out.
However, in 2017, Chuck E. Cheese announced that they would be getting rid of the animatronics in order to modernize the look of their restaurants. Despite rumors, Chuck E. Cheese denies the idea that they got rid of the robots due to the popularity of the "Five Nights at Freddy's" franchise, which centers on murderous animatronic pizza mascots. The only location to still serve as home to Mr. Munch and crew is the restaurant's Northridge, California, store, where the band is said to have permanent residency.
