| Charles Entertainment Cheese | |
| Franchise: | Chuck E. Cheese |
| First: | May 17, 1977 |
| Creator: | Nolan Bushnell |
| Full Name: | Charles Entertainment Cheese |
| Gender: | Male |
| Nationality: | American |
Charles Entertainment Cheese, or Chuck E. Cheese for short, is the mascot of CEC Entertainment Concepts L.P.'s Chuck E. Cheese chain of family entertainment centers (FECs)[1] From 1977 to 1992 he was an anthropomorphic rat, changing to a mouse in 1993.[2] [3] [4] [5] In 2012, he was rebranded into a smaller, Rockstar version in response to an ongoing decrease in sales during 2011.[6]
The character was originally created as the mascot for a restaurant proposed by Nolan Bushnell (founder of Atari) in 1977. Bushnell attended the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) conference in Orlando and saw walk-around character costumes for sale. Among them, Bushnell spotted a costume that appeared to be a coyote, so he bought it for his planned Coyote Pizza restaurant. When the costume arrived at Atari, it was discovered that the costume was actually a rat with a long pink tail; this costume was also much larger and furrier than the final product seen in all of the original locations. Bushnell decided to change the restaurant's name to Rick Rat's Pizza. However, Bushnell's group of planners believed that a rat for the name of a restaurant would not be appropriate. Bushnell's group of planners finally decided on the name Chuck E. Cheese for the mascot and changed the restaurant's name to Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre.[7] The first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre opened in San Jose, California on 370 South Winchester Boulevard, in the same year Chuck E. Cheese was proposed – 1977.
The rat mascot was originally given a New Jersey accent, telling jokes – sometimes holding a cigar. His voice was delivered by John Widelock for the first seven years, then by Scott Wilson. In a June 1986 showtape, Chuck E. and Mr. Munch, the two characters Wilson voiced at the time, were voiced by Lonny Wilder, due to PTT's merger with ShowBiz Pizza Place into ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc., with Wilson returning with the next released show. In 1993, Duncan Brannan was hired as the new voice of the mascot, with the task of transforming him from a rat to a mouse. By circa 1994–1995, the mouse was given a more child-friendly makeover, with a wider cheek structure, a less pointy, shorter snout, longer eyes, smaller ears, and a slimmer physique. The character began being characterized as a skateboarder in commercials from 1997, with this appearance starting to appear in restaurants by 2004.
In July 2012, the mascot was changed into a Rockstar version of the character, who played guitar. Jaret Reddick, the frontman and guitarist for the band Bowling for Soup, replaced Brannan.