the Classic Character Comeback....it's high time!!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

So here we go again with another heated discussion regarding the long-anticipated "return" of Classic Pizza Time Player Characters!

Who here would like to see em' back? Now don't all jump up at once..there is plenty of room for everyone to voice their thougts!

I for one would love to see it happen...most notably as a cameo in a showtape. Even just a name reference in another skit between shows would be fine...it would make any die-hard Pizza Timer giddy with glee at the realization that the Company is tilting a hat to the past. (Captian...are you reading this?? LOL!!!!)

Realistically though...it probably won't happen, but hey, it's nice to dream. You have to start somewhere, and all dreams can reach fruitation with a little thought, motivation, and a lot of work!

So what do you all think? Should there be a comeback? Would you WANT a comeback?

More importantly...HOW would you like to see this comeback presented? The sky's the limit, but realistic ideas would be even more interesting. Let's face it folks, there will NEVER be another Balcony era Show or PTT...but the old stars of yesteryear CAN come back in other shapes and forms.

Retro is VERY HOT right now...EXSPECIALLY anything associated with the 80's!! Have you noticed this...all the popular 80's characters are majorly huge right now...think about it! Care Bears, TMNT, Strawberry Shortcake, Transformers, Masters of the Universe, classic arcade games, 80's movies....YOU NAME IT....it's back, and it's a hot money making property. Why not cash in on this craze?

These things are in style again as today's parents grew up in the 80's heydays and they enjoy the nostalgia of sharing something they enjoyed as a kid with their own offspring now. This is why Disney is the empire it is today....a lot of it has to do with the nostalgia factor: Parents getting a buzz off of reliving their childhood thru their own kids. Nostalgia is very powerful, and as the last few years have proven, it can be a gigantic, inexpensive way to make loads of cash. What company would'nt be interested in doing that??

So here is my thought.....why does CEC just sit by the wayside and miss out on this Golden Opportunity? If they were to put out a few items with the Classic old PTT characters on them, they would see what a treasure trove they are sitting on. This is where i think they could really have the most success...in the collectibles/nostalgia market. Start small by first issuing some new t-shirts using classic designs....old retro stuff...you know what i mean as i am sure you have all seen these types of shirts around. Then, after the shirts catch on...it will be a logical step to issue figures.

Action figures or just plain "collectible figurines" would be HOT among collectors. Yeah, yeah i know...i've raved on in past threads about my ideas for nostalgic PTT charcters collectibles that never were and ideas for playsets and figures but this line would be targeted not to kids, but to their parents. What 25 to 35 year old today has'nt gone to and loved PTT/CEC back in their day? There is already of ready made audience for this stuff and it's NOT just us crazy collectors. I think there would be a good market for this type of item...

So what are YOUR thoughts on the matter? What would YOU like to see, if anything?

[CEC3066]

I want Crusty back. I never saw him but he sounded cool

[Harmony Howlette rules]

It won't happen.
CEC's target audience is children.
Children weren't around for the old PTT Characters...and most adults don't remember them. So the PTT characters in merchandise is highly unlikley.
HOWEVER.
Old Chuck could easily make a comeback, as a nostalgia factor, ala the Carebears. As in T-shirts, keychains, stickers and the like.
A PTT Character cameo in a showtape...
Anything is possible. Dep 18 has a feel for the nostalgia factor of these characters, I'm sure...so you never know.

[captslappy]

I'm with Harmony. I'd love to see it but I've given up. The last we will ever hear of Harmony, Madame Oink, The King, Dolli and the others was those parody posters. They are gone forever. As cool as it would be to see some classic characters used as studio c puppets it isn't going to happen. In fact, in the next 5 years I predict that the remaining MMBB shows will be retired and when that happens Pasqually, Jasper and Munch will be retired. Helen may stay around in puppet and walk around form for a time, but the remaining characters besides Chuck have numbered days. Forget anyone that has already been put in the 'where are they now' file. There will never be any new characters created and we will not see any of the old ones come out of retirement. That's a sad fact...

[Jasper]

When we visited the Support Center a few months ago, that question about whether the remaining characters will eventually be retired was brought up - and they reassured us that Munch, Jasper, and the others will stay in some form or another as long as there's a show to be produced. If all the Existing Stages are switched to Studio C - the characters will remain in puppet form. So don't worry, the Fab Five is here to stay.

And yes, a PTT character comeback is wishful thinking. I can picture a cute little verbal references to existing characters in showtapes...but nothing as big as a puppet, walkaround, or cameo. You never know though. Does CEC still own the rights to these guys?

Eating pizza at a restaurant with a cat character named Crusty isn't exactly appealing to me ;)

[VegaNova]

Yeah it'll probably never happen....

But the whole puppet thing does raise some interesting possibilities. Suppose that the entire system was Studio C (may actually happen someday in the future). It would be so easy to have puppets made for other characters... either old PTT ones or brand new ones.

Look at it this way, figure the price of a custom made puppet (easily under $1000) compared to what the cost would be to have to make new cosmetics and send them out system wide to all the stores... plus all the time it would take to print manuals and man-hours for people to install the new cosmetics and stage props. That one puppet could be made, filmed, slapped on a DVD and shipped out with relatively little cost.

Plus since CECE seems to use a lot of freelance work, it seems like it would be easy enough to find some 'unknown' voice to play the new parts. Heck it might even be cheaper to tap a new talent that isn't used to getting paid big $$ for their work.

It seems to me that this would be a smart move, there would never have to be any merchandise or anything like that made from the new (or old) characters... all that stuff can still be primarily chuck.

I don't know, I'm off on a tangent here. But after thinking about it, I really do think that if it was planned out and done right the extra entertainment value it could offer would far outweigh the cost. The usage of puppets seems like it would bring this little dream to a cost effictive point.

-VegaNova

PS - I don't think that CEC owns any of the old characters... in fact I'm positive that they don't. For what I can tell, PTT copyrighted the early characters... which doesn't make much sense because technically you can't 'copyright' a character.

[captslappy]

Here's an even easier way to bring them back with out using puppets. Animate them. Use those screens behind the show and instead of Veggie Tales, Baking with Betty and Monkey Ninjas, why not have Beagle cartoons, etc? Better yet, instead of replacing Monkey Ninjas and Baking with Betty (they can can Veggie Tales) why not mix these shorts in with other intermission material. I wish instead of the people like puppets they used they would ahve used some of the retired characters instead. I could see a sort of mock fortune teller thing with Dolli. You know like a take off of Ms. Cleo (remember her from a few years back?) and call it Ask Ms. Dolli. I think animated King and Beagles cartoons with them doing songs would be cool. I dont know that we could find a place for all of the retired characters but a few of the main ones would be great.

[Harmony Howlette rules]

Yeah.
You know, I like the old characters, really I do. I love Harmony, the King...but to be honest, I don't want them to come back. I mean, let well enough alone. I like having the Fab Five as the centre of the show...adding more new characters will draw the attention away from what everyone is familiar with...like Jasper said, a little verbal ref would be nice, but to make whole elaborate shebang, adding a character, a puppet, a walkaround, would be too much for me...

[captslappy]

It won't happen anyway. It's all wishful thinking. But I do see Dani's point. Best to leave them as we remembered them...

[dheineCECfan]

Well, the King and the Warblettes (black version with at least 1 feature missing or something like that) live on at Jungle Jim's in Ohio.

[captslappy]

The center one doesn't have a wig on it.

[ChuckEZone]

Well-spoken, Dani! :D

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Well, i never really expected to see the Classic Pizza Time Players return in puppet form...that would be a bit pricey, but i agree with Veganova's thoughts....it would be a cost effective way to bring them back.

I would'nt expect them all to come back either...just a couple...enough to whet the appetite of the die-hard Pizza Timers. Even a simple name reference would blow me away...nothing fancy really, more like a tip of the hat to the fan community.

If the Company does not own the rights to the original Players as Vega notes, this may well be why nothing has been seen or heard. Remember, the CEC of today is not the Company that started the concept...thus the old Players have no interest to them really.

Thank God for Dept 18!!

[dheineCECfan]

And CECPTT founder Nolan Bushnell does not still own the rights to any former CECPTT Pizza Time Players characters.

[captslappy]

I have a feeling the current owners do. They bought the company and generally in doing so, the new owners acquire ALL trademarks. What would the previous owners do by retaining rights to names like Dolli Dimples or Harmony Howlett anyway. Besides, if this were true, would they have used them on the parody posters. Like the name "Showbiz Pizza" I'm sure it falls under the category abandoned trademarks. I think it was J or Melvin that got a letter from the legal dept stating they had no objections to anyone using the name Showbiz Pizza. Likewise, I doubt they'd object if someone were to use the King, or whatever. I'm sure they are aware that places like Jungle Jims are using the old mechs from retired characters but they just don't care. I think their big concern about about ppl getting old one and 2 stage shows is those characters and some of those shows are still in use. I don't think they care about retired charcters however.

[dheineCECfan]

What about Marvin's Marvelous Mechanichal Museum in Michigan? They have several old CECPTT robots on display.

[captslappy]

Yes, what about them?

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

The Bot's on display at Marvin's are all the classic characters in all of their "outdated" glory.

Chuck in his vest, Helen in her showgirl era, etc. And then of course you have the other Players that nobody but the fans here know,,,Harmony, Oink, and the Warblettes.

I seriously doubt Corporate is concerned with these. They are outdated in their eyes, and are today no longer immediately recognizable to today's kids as Chuck E and his pals. They are also not operational, and it's not as if Marvin's was running old shows (which would ROCK!!) so the Company really has no say in the matter.

What they don't like to have happen is have current robots and EXSPECIALLY costumed characters being used by places or the general public for the profit or gain of others. This is why they usually have items destroyed after there usefulness is fullfilled...so it won't fall into someone else's hands who may have such ideas. They own the characters, so the Company does a tremendous effort to ensure that they are properly represented. This is why we have few franchise locations left now and why PTT era stuff is so darn rare (from a Bot' and costume standpoint).

So anyway, places like Jungle Jim's and such need not worry about losing their old stuff....nobody from Corporate will bother them. But then again....part of the reason is maybe Corporate simply has no idea that they are evn there to begin with? I mean, who there would really except the few that visit us here on the Board?

Well, i'm glad that there are still some old Pizza Time Players out there in "service". Here's hoping they keep going!

[captslappy]

Marvin's no longer has Harmony or CEC. He still has the others tho.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Hmmmm.....now i wonder where THEY went to....

Heh Heh (wink)

[captslappy]

Don't know... heard Harmony moved back to Tx.

[Crusty the Cat]

I'd like to see the old characters back again but I think it's not going to happen ... CEC Entertainment doesn't care. This used to be the situation with Godzilla (Gojira) - after Godzilla vs. Biolante, no new Godzilla movies were put out at all in the USA, even though new Gojira movies were being released in Japan. Until the American Godzilla flop came out, no Godzilla for us. And the Japanese versions of the movies (I'd love to see the original version of the original, with no Raymond Burr) still haven't come out, not even with DVD making this accessible now. Eventually Toho did meet demand by putting the movies out onto DVD and putting some new home-made Gojira out into our theaters too, where they were much more popular than the US movie. Someday, CEC might finally turn around too, but I doubt it.

Still though it would be a good idea for them to re-use some of the old characters, like Harmony and King, as they have intrinsic appeal apart from nostalgia, as Harmony would appeal to country/western fans and King appeals fans of Elvis, still the king of rock and roll. I never really cared for 'oldies' as a kid but I always liked Elvis, and still do. Besides, The King was big, and a lion. Gotta love that. I also liked Dolly Parton as a kid even though I wasn't much into country (as I am now) and her voice sure sounds like hers. CEC could use more female characters ... after all, girls (and women) go to CECs too, so Harmony, and Foxy, would make great 'new' additions.
It would be worth considering in the eventuality that they would actually want to replace current members, perhaps in the future, as people's tastes change overtime. Entirely new characters wouldn't be unlikely either.

I don't imagine this happening soon though, as it's cheaper to just keep the same designs and the same equipment. CEC has no incentive anymore to actually dazzle anyone with new innovations, or even to bring back found memories either, as their very-young kid marketing is apparently good enough to bring in the bucks. Keeping things cheap was the very reason robots were used in first place, as Bushnell found it cheaper than hiring live performers, or so he thought.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

This is why Nolan was the genuis he was (and still is!)....he appealed to ALL AGES..not just toddlers like CEC does now. I think they are losing a lot of money in not targeting all ages...PTT was huge because it entertained the WHOLE family...not just the kids. God, i miss those days!!

CEC makes their money off of memories...yes, they do. The reason CEC is so succesful is partly because of all the parents out their....parents who were Chuck's original patrons back in the early 80's. 70% or more of them grew up with Chuck E.'s place and now they want to bring their own kids to experience it. It's nostalgic for the parents even though the place has changed so much over the years since they themselves were kids. This proves the point that CEC today is making a living off of the past, much like Disney does and has done since time immortal. The Company does'nt have to be concerned about wowing new guests with cutting edge attractions as most of the clientel are too busy reliving their childhood through their own kids now. I am convinced that if CEC started off day one today with their current store setup and marketing it would fail as it's current target audience bracket is far too narrow in my opinion. People come to CEC not for the food, and not for the show (unfortutnately)....they come because they know who Chuck E. is and what he stands for. They come because everyone is familair with him....and everyone remembers him from their childhood. It's all about what people are familiar with and what rememeberences they have about it.

I really don't think the Company has any clue as to what a goldmine of profits they could score by marketing CEC in this direction...target the parents who used to come to CEC as a kid and i guarentee the company would see sales skyrocket. Seriously! As i said before, the power of anything nostalgic. EXSPECIALLY 80's nostalgia right now, is amazing and brings in the big bucks now! Toss in a few collectibles for the parents and some fun nods to the past and CEC will be bigger then ever from a Corporate perspective standpoint.

[Harmony Howlette rules]

CEC makes their money off of memories...yes, they do.
No, they don't.
If this was the case, they would include more nostalgic references in their ads, and etc.
CEC makes it's money off of kids.
Sadly, many parents, whether they grew up with CEC or not, don't enjoy going to CEC. Most of them simply dread it, as to them, it's a 'noisy, hot toddler hell'...
Not to mention, I've only met 2 people outside this message board who actually remember any of the older characters.
That was then, this is now.
We need to move on. CEC will most likley never look back...because, like I said, the fanbase simply isn't expansive enough.
8o

[MatHat13]

I don't care if they bring the old characters back ever, I think that five characters is enough, and we don't need more coming in or guest starring.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Just had to ressurect this thread as it was on page 6 and about to dissapear into space.


Now that it is 2007, and the 30th Anniversary is here.....it would be nice to see some of the older characters show themselves in some form. I know it's a slim chance we will, but here's hoping CECE incorporates some sort of nod, however small it may be, in the coming months.

[captslappy]

It wont happen sadly. Whats gone is gone and I would not be suprrised in the next few years if they just get down to Chuck and retire the other 4 permanently.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Well as we both know Captain, that was the original plan when Studio C was first introduced! I am SO glad it did'nt happen though...as how horrid would that be? I know how much you HATE Studio C....lol...


Originally Studio C was introduced as a way to not only update the show, but also as a means to make the shows more cost effective ( aka "cheaper to install and run"). The other characters were supposed to be totally phased out in a show sense, with only one Bot'. I cannot confirm however that they were planning on phasing out the others TOTALLY though ( as in no where to be seen at all...not even on walls, merch, or promo materials!).

In the end it turned out Studio C was too expensive, so it was "downsized" considerably and thus we ended up with what we have today at most newer stores: Studio C "Beta".

[captslappy]

Well the original original plan was the Awesome Adventure Machine which was even better than what you guys call Alpha. Even with that I still dont like it. But instead of Baking with Betty and all these other characters they made like Eddie Rocket or whatever his name is they could have easily revisited older characters and it would hvae been cool. But they didn't and maybe that's for the best.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Yeah i agree....

Maybe it is best that they leave the classic ol characters alone.

I really don't want to see them "update" someone like Harmony. They would probably put here in a "trendy gril" outfit or some crazy crap claiming she needed to change to make her appealing to today's kids.

What a crock!