‘Preserve the history’: Pineville’s animatronics band survives Chuck E. changes

PINEVILLE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Chuck E. commerce may never be quite the same, with a host of features geared toward the next generation of cheeseheads.

On Friday, July 26 a grand reopening from 5-7 pm will showcase a host of changes the Chuck E. Cheese chain has implemented nationwide.

Pineville is one of a handful of locations left where the familiar animatronics band is staying put.

“Almost like the Rolling Stones, how do they do it ha-ha,” jokes assistant manager Tea Monfils.

“They’re calling it the ‘Newer, better, now’ Chuck E. Cheese,” he told Queen City News. “We are always changing and evolving”

The remodel includes a Trampoline Zone, a TV wall, and a dance floor. Last month, workers swapped out the sign with a fresh mouse mug, indicating a new era.

In 2017, corporate announced plans to modernize the entertainment options. But across the country, fans lamented the end of the line for the mechanical marvels they grew up with.

“One of the things about the remodel is that they are phasing out the animatronics show [at most locations]” Monfils said.

Recent high school graduate Everett Johnson says it’s too bad many kids don’t appreciate Chuck E.’s cheesy spectacle.

“Some of [the kids] are interested with that, ha-ha!” superfan Everett Johnson said, pointing to the arcades behind him while he was fixated on the stage.

Munch’s Make Believe Band features front mouse Chuck, vocalist Helen Henny, keyboard player Munch, and Pasqually, the drumming chef.

“This type of show is probably like the best one of all,” Johnson says.

“This was some sort of project about traditions,” he said, holding up a poster board with a collage of Chuck E. Cheese photos, including shots of him with the band of renown.

“Most of us, including myself, were very very concerned about the animatronics being removed. Because they’re a part of like history,” said Johnson.

Animatronics enthusiasts nationwide called for the kid’s entertainment chain to save the supergroup.

In May, the spectacle at the Pineville location got a reprieve from the “big cheese,” we presume.

“They came around and they have selected us as one of the five stores that will keep the animatronics show out of 400 that we have across the country,” Monfils says.

The show goes back to 1982 when the place opened as ShowBiz Pizza. Soon it will be the only Chuck E. Cheese location in the entire country with animatronics on its three original stages.“A one-of-a-kind tourist attraction, basically,” says Greylen Deem, who was a customer for years with his sister.

Now an employee, he’s relieved the animatronics relics will stay for visitors from all over the country.

“It’s still such a cool experience as a kid to see such technology at work,” Deem said.

“I feel like it’s important to preserve the history of what makes Chuck E. Cheese special in the first place,” says Johnson, who still lights up while watching the spectacle.

Even with all the changes, this store still gives a nod and a wink to the past as the band plays on.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.