(formerly Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre and then Chuck E. Cheese's) is a chain of family entertainment centers. Chuck E. Cheese is the main brand of CEC Entertainment, Inc., which has its headquarters in Irving, Texas.The concept is a sit-down pizza restaurant with arcade games (from the classics like Pong, Space Invaders, Galaxian and Pac-Man to the modern ones like Cruis'n World, Jambo Safari!, Brave Firefighters, Star Wars: Racer Arcade, The Maze of the Kings, Faster Than Speed, NeoWave: The King of Fighters, Metal Slug 5, The Fast and the Furious, Dirty Pigskin Football, Johnny Nero Action Hero, Let's Go Jungle, Hummer, After Burner Climax, Terminator Salvation, and H2Overdrive), amusement rides, an animatronic show (which retired as of April 2018), and indoor playground equipment called Sky Tubes that are all directed primarily at children.
The brand is represented by Chuck E. Cheese, an anthropomorphic mouse who is outgoing and loves to sing and entertain families. His current friendship circle consists of Helen Henny, Mr. Munch, Jasper T. Jowls, Pasqually P. Pieplate, and Bella Bunny, and they form a Garage Band, Munch's Make Believe Band, to perform for their guests.
Chuck E. Cheese's, originally referred to as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, was founded in 1977 by Atari founder Nolan Bushnell. It was officially labeled as the first family restaurant to integrate food, animated entertainment, and an indoor arcade. Pizza Time Theatre, Inc., began to suffer financially in the mid-eighties due in part to The Great Video Game Crash of 1983 before its purchase by rival ShowBiz Pizza Place, Inc. (known for its own animatronic band, The Rock-afire Explosion). Under the name ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc. (currently CEC Entertainment,) both concepts were run side-by-side for several years. Eventually the decision was made, in a process referred to as "Concept Unification", to convert all locations into Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants,note which meant replacing the cosmetics on the Rock-afire Explosion animatronics in order to turn the characters into Chuck E. Cheese and his friends note . A good handful of these are still around; Any time you walk into a Chuck E. Cheese's with an animatronic show split up onto three stages, that store was likely a ShowBiz Pizza.
In 2012, Chuck E. Cheese's announced that their mascot would receive a major makeover to make the rodent look thinner and more like a rock star. Chuck E.'s longtime voice actor Duncan Brannan was replacednote by Jaret Reddick, lead singer of the musical group Bowling for Soup.
Trope Namer for Suck E. Cheese's.
Speaking of ShowBiz Pizza, compare Chuck and his friends with The Rockafire Explosion.
Associated Tropes:
- Absent Animal Companion: In the early Avenger years, Chuck E. had a pet dog named Pepperoni which only appeared in merchandise and artwork, and was never featured in any of the showtapes. Pepperoni was replaced with the more recurring Copernicus the cat when the Rockstar reboot launched.
- Anthropomorphic Shift: Chuck originally more resembled a mouse but became more anthropomorphic.
- Art Evolution:
- In the 1970s, Chuck E. had looked more like a rat than a mouse. Then in the mid-1990s he looked more like a mouse.
- Originally, Helen Henny looked more like a goose, and was more of a parody of Helen Reddy; even her name was designed as a pun. In the 1980s, she looked older and more like a saloon showgirl, before gaining her familiar, Mitzi Mozzarella-inspired look her animatronics continue to wear today (in spite of the Rockstar redesign).
- The Artifact: The name "Munch's Make-Believe Band" was due to Munch becoming the leader of the band in the Concept Unification era. After the 1990s, however, his prominence was downplayed, with Chuck E. becoming the band's leader.
- Art Shift: For most of the commercials he was 2-D animated. In 2012, he was then switched to CGI which gave him a re-design and shortened to the size of a normal rodent (which is rather awkward considering most places still have the robot shows.)
- A Wild Rapper Appears!: The "Birthday Star 2002" show features a guest rap verse by Eddie Coker.
- Brought to You by the Letter "S":
- Chuck E. wears a shirt with a yellow "C" on the front since the "Cool Chuck" design. Certain Avenger artworks and his walkaround form have him wear a baseball cap with the same "C" on the front.
- Since the Avenger era, Munch has always worn a shirt with his purple "M" on the chest.
- Since the Rockstar era, Jasper wears a belt with his "J" on the buckle.
- Helen's cheerleader outfits from the Cool/Avenger eras have her "H" below the left shoulder.
- Characterization Marches On: Chuck E. started out as a rude and snarky rat who often makes fun of his bandmates but otherwise cares for them just the same. This stands out from his later incarnations which make him a nice and friendly mouse who is caring and affectionate to both his bandmates and guests no matter what.
- Christmas Special: Had one in the form of The Christmas That Almost Wasn't.
- Diner Brawl: It happens more often than one would expect from a children's pizzeria. Alcohol, heightened emotions, and sources of stress - both within and outside the restaurant - are all contributing factors.
- Doesn't Know Their Own Birthday: According to Chuck E.'s 2012 origin story, he didn't know the day of his birth due to being orphaned, so the people at the orphanage he lived at celebrated a birthday with him almost every day.
- Dolled-Up Installment: Every location you come across with a 3-Stage was most likely a ShowBiz Pizza before the buyout. Every animatronic, sans The Moon, were given different cosmetics because of this (as well as a few changes in position so no one notices). The only animatronic to not be part of the Concept Unification was Billy Bob, who was removed entirely from the stage (locations were asked to keep the animatronic in storage for spare parts). A few locations still have a few Mythology Gags to what the show originally was, such as Jasper wielding Beach Bear's guitar, and the logo still being slightly visible on Pasqually's drums.
- Dreary Half-Lidded Eyes: All the Avenger puppets and early Rockstar puppets had those, as well as the Tux-Avenger walkarounds from that time. Averted with most of the current Rockstar puppets, with the exceptions of Helen, Pasqually, and Bella.
- Four-Fingered Hands: Chuck E. and his bandmates have only four fingers on their hands.
- Fully-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Chuck E., Helen, Munch (since the 1990s), Jasper, and Bella are all fully clothed.
- Funny Animal: The mascot in his early days.
- Furry Confusion:
- Despite the existence of anthropomorphic dogs (Jasper) and cats (Crusty), Chuck E. owned a non-sentient dog (Pepperoni) in the Avenger era, and a non-sentient cat (Copernicus) in the Rockstar era.
- During Chuck E.'s long line in the band's cover of "The Twelve Days of Christmas", he is shown at a computer with a non-anthropomorphic mouse alongside him, which he pets briefly.
- Genius Loci: 3-Stages generally had an anthropomorphic building as a backup singer.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: In the PTT era, Concept Unification mech, and early Studio C mech, Chuck did not wear pants or shoes.
- Happy Birthday to You!: The actual song is sung at most birthday shows, with the third line changed to "Happy birthday from Chuck E." There's also the "Birthday Star" song, which has the actual song performed near the end.
- Iconic Item: Chuck E.'s former red derby hat and later baseball cap. It was removed in 2012, and it wasn't until a year later when locations were required to remove it from the animatronic itself.
- Limited Wardrobe: Although Chuck E.'s base outfit changes each incarnation, he sticks to them by default, albeit his "Cool Chuck" design gave him a variety of base outfits. Played even straighter for Jasper, who stuck to the same base outfit from the Tux era to the Avenger era. The animatronics for his bandmates also stick to their Tux-era outfits even into the present day.
- The Man in the Moon: As a remnant of its roots, the 3-Stage has the Moon as a backup singer.
- Midas Touch: In an Avenger commercial, Chuck E. demonstrates his "Chuck Touch" where he turns anything he touches into something fun.
- Mysterious Middle Initial:
- Uh, the E. Word of God is that it stands for "Entertainment." Yes, his full name is Charles Entertainment Cheese.
- Also subverted for Jasper's middle initial, T. Canonically, it stands for "Tennessee".
- Played straight for Pasqually, as it has never been revealed what the P. in his name stands for.
- Uh, the E. Word of God is that it stands for "Entertainment
- Nice Mice: Chuck E. since the mid-1980s.
- Not Allowed to Grow Up: Chuck E. and his friends show zero signs of aging every incarnation, not even aging one bit. The flashback scenes of the 2017 remake of "Every Boy, Every Girl" even shows Chuck E. and his friends the same as they do currently, from the time Chuck E. left the orphanage to when the band was first formed.
- Odd Name Out: Mr. Munch is the only one of the gang who does not have a long E sound somewhere in his name (Chuck E. Cheese, Helen Henny, Jasper T. Jowls, Pasqually P. Pieplate, Bella Bunny).
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Pre-Rockstar reboot, Chuck E. sometimes loses his New Jersey accent when singing, which is more noticeable throughout the Avenger era.
- Piano Drop: One of the Avenger commercials has Chuck E. falling out of the sky on a piano and a mother and daughter unsuccessfully try to stop it.
- Post-Kiss Catatonia: At the end of an early 2000s commercial, Chuck E. is kissed by a mother and reacts with a surprised shudder.
- Punny Name: As mentioned above, Helen Henny's name is a pun on Helen Reddy.
- Rodents of Unusual Size: The mascot is bigger than Mickey Mouse, though in the early Rockstar days he was a mouse the size of a rat (and smaller than Mickey).
- Roger Rabbit Effect:
- Advertisements as of the Avenger era feature an animated Chuck E. interacting with live-action kids and grownups. The rockstar reboot changes him to CGI.
- Specific showtapes also feature Chuck E. and friends in live-action walkaround or puppet form against animated backdrops and locations; the Galaxy 5000 video is even mostly set on a planet where its surroundings are video game-esque CGI.
- Signature Headgear:
- Chuck E. himself wore a red derby hat until the mid-90s, which got switched out with a baseball cap and became backwards-facing for the Avenger era. This was dropped completely following the Rockstar reboot.
- Jasper is often seen with his brown cowboy hat, which he doesn't wear as much as of his redesign.
- Pasqually has his big white chef hat, which he is rarely ever seen without.
- Singing Voice Dissonance:
- From mid-1995 to early 1996, Chuck E. suddenly gets a deeper, more manly-sounding voice without his signature New Jersey accent when singing.
- From the mid-90s to 2000, Helen Henny's voice is high-pitched and Southern accented when speaking, but becomes softer and deeper without the accent when singing.
- Sudden Eye Color: While most of the stock art and animation of Chuck E. and his friends do not give them eye colors, they receive such for their walkarounds, animatronics, and 2012 redesign. Chuck E.'s and Helen's eyes became blue, Munch and Jasper's became green, and Pasqually's became brown. Chuck E.'s eyes were changed to green in 2012 while Jasper's were changed to brown.
- Totally Radical: Between the mid '90s and 2012.
- Two Decades Behind: The mascot, as well as the restaurant itself (save the arcade machines), seemed to be stuck in this Totally Radical time capsule of the late '80s/early '90s until 2012. Think if Burger King had never done away with or updated the Burger King Kids Club mascots.
- Vague Age: Chuck E. himself, who seemed to be middle aged for the PTT era before he was revamped to look like being in his late teens to early 20s. The rockstar revamp makes him appear to be around his mid to late teens.
- Vocal Evolution:
- Originally Chuck E. had a stereotypical and snarky tone, which became higher and more friendly-sounding when Duncan Brannan stepped in. Jaret Reddick gives him a more teenaged voice with a husky tone, and completely drops the "New Jersey" accent he had for years.
- When Duncan Brannan started voicing Chuck E., he imitated a tone similar to Scott Wilson's portrayal, but slowly evolved into his own tone over time, finishing with the Barney-esque voice known by everyone.
- During the final years of the Avenger era, Brannan's voice for Chuck E. sounded deeper and more nasally.
- Reddick's voice for Chuck E. was more soft and quiet in the first few showtapes of the Rockstar reboot before evolving into the louder and wild Large Ham tone of today.
- Munch originally had a scratchy monster voice, but got a more smooth-talking voice in 1990. Then when Chris Hill took over, Munch regained the scratchy voice and sounded more Hulk-like.
- Annagrey Labasse's voice for Helen got softer, deeper, and more older-sounding in the later years of voicing her.
- Earl Fisher's voice for Pasqually got progressively higher pitched as the years went on.
- Unlimited Wardrobe:
- Chuck E.'s "Cool Chuck" design gave him a wide variety of base outfits in promotional artwork, such as the yellow sweater outfit used for the signfront on the building exteriors, the red "coach" outfit in some merchandise, and the blue shirt with yellow C outfit which can be seen on some stage animatronics.
- Helen has a series of different base outfits throughout the Avenger era in promotional art, in addition to having two different versions of her cheerleader outfit (purple and green) from the "Cool Chuck" era.
- You Dirty Rat!: Averted or at least subverted with the early incarnation of the mascot, although the comic books (yes, there were comic books) did have a rat antagonist.
Tropes from the animatronic shows include:
- Actor Allusion: A 2013 showtape has the band perform Bowling for Soup's hit song "1985," and among finishing the song, Jasper T. Jowls comments on how Chuck E.'s voice sounds a lot like the lead singer for Bowling For Soup (as Chuck E. was indeed voiced by Jaret Reddick, lead singer of the band.)
- All Just a Dream: The "Best of Boo-Tacular" compilation special on YouTube revolved around Chuck E. trying to investigate a spooky noise calling his name in the Framing Device; the special in whole was revealed in the end to be a dream he had when he passed out on the couch before trick-or-treating, and the voice turned out to be Munch trying to wake him.
- Amateur Film-Making Plot: This 1997 animatronic show tape involved Chuck E. and his friends making their own low-budget secret agent movie, set appropriately to the song "Secret Agent Man"...
- Ancient Egypt: The first Awesome Adventure Machine showtape had a scene where Chuck E. and his band mates get sent back to Ancient Egypt and encounter a grumpy King Tut and a horde of crummy mummies.
- The Artifact: Starting with CU they introduced a winking head of Chuck E. on the center stage valance. It orginally had its own music as a cue into intermission but by 1994 the music has all but been dropped (despite briefly coming back in 2011, and in 2017 for a remake of 1989's "Together We've Got It"). The Wink is still programmed in however making it more random than a cue into intermission. Interestingly, The Wink is somewhat acknowledged in the 2017 remake of "Together We've Got It", where, in the 3-Stage version, all the band members look up at it after the song.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Jasper T. Jowls once handled an actual banjo... which damaged his arm as well as the banjo itself.
- Big Eater: Chuck E.'s friend, Mr. Munch. He seems to love just about anything edible, but pizza is of course his favorite.
- Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti:
- One scene of the August 1997 show has Chuck E. and friends using the Awesome Adventure Machine to travel to the North Pole in search of the "Abdominal Snowman" ("Abby" for short), who happens to be a friend of Munch.
- The 2013 remake of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" features a Sasquatch performing live in concert for Chuck E. and his friends.
- The rockstar reboot introduces the recurring Sasquatch neighbor Nigel, who is on good terms with Chuck E. and Ronnie.
- The Big Race: The first segment in the May 2011 show had Chuck E. and friends have a footrace against one another to see who would win a free pizza, set to "I Ran (So Far Away)". Munch ends up winning, with Pasqually in second, and Chuck E., Jasper, and Helen tying for third.
- Book Ends: The "Only in My Dreams" video from the September 2000 show starts with Helen waking up in her bedroom and getting ready for a road trip with Chuck E. The video ends with her back in her bedroom that evening and going to sleep.
- Bowdlerise: Some of the more adult-oriented songs covered by Munch's Make Believe Band had their lyrics adjusted or altered in order to fit the more family-friendly audience.
- Call-Back:
- The Studio C Beta stage setup includes a clock in the background that says "Pizza Time," a clear reference to Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre.
- The September 2007 show has Chuck E. and the gang recalling Dr. Googolplex and his time machine which served as the basis for the April 2003 show.
- The Studio C Beta stage setup
- Cannot Spit It Out: Chuck E. just cannot bring himself to reciprocate Helen's feelings for him, as he's too embarrassed to admit it.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Justified, as the restaurant chain is restricted in how much space and money they can dedicate to their animatronic characters.
- Crusty, one of the original characters, was eventually replaced by Mr. Munch.
- Numerous side characters - including guest stars and side attractions - went as quickly as they came.
- Pizzacam. He's an anthropomorphic camera in Pasqually's speaker box, who replaced Looney Bird during Concept Unification. Because he's rarely used in shows, most locations have removed him entirely. If you're lucky enough to find a location that still has their Pizzacam installed, he still pops up every once in a while, but for the most part he's never used. And since he's just a prop character, his appearances in shows are trivial anyway.
- Similar to Pizzacam is Munch Jr, who was created to replace Choo-Choo. If you’re curious, he isn’t actually related to Munch- he’s just from the same planet as him. Due to rampant vandalism, you’ll rarely find a location that still has him. He was later given a proper introduction in the song "Zorp-Ah-Glorp Dor-Bah Is Coming Tonight", where he's revealed to be one of Mr. Munch's hundreds of siblings.
- At newer locations, ALL of the animatronics. Chuck E. Cheese's business philosophy has been changing from animatronic performers, to having the characters performing on televisions in the form of puppets, since the animatronics are becoming more and more expensive to maintain and, due to lax security, vandalism by unsupervised children, rowdy teens, sneaky collectors, or (at locations with the 3-Stage) disgruntled Rock-afire Explosion fans bitter over Concept Unification.
- Colorful Song: In the April 2005 show after the feed on the monitor suddenly fails after Helen's rendition of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", Pasqually is distracted by the various colors on the no signal screen, which prompts Chuck E. to initiate a song all about them.
- Cool Old Lady: Broadway Helen Henny, all the way. The fact she actually has wattles, a comb, and clucks makes it even better.
- Costume-Test Montage:
- In the August 1997 show, Chuck E. and the gang use the Awesome Adventure Machine to change his clothes so he can try a different style, set to the song "Sharp-Dressed Mouse".
- From the September 2000 show, the "Only in My Dreams" video features a brief scene of Helen trying on different clothes to wear on her road trip with Chuck E.
- The Cover Changes the Meaning:
- "Walk Like an Egyptian" had its original nature of present day life compared to Ancient Egypt changed to revolve around an actual trip to Ancient Egypt itself.
- The Backstreet Boys' "Larger Than Life", which was covered in January 2001, changes its background of their affection to their fans to focus more on Munch and his status as a Big Eater.
- The band's cover of "Let's Go" by The Cars for the April 2003 showtape was originally about the singer's love for his significant other and how she is unable to resist their relationship; Chuck E. revises the lyrics so that it is delivered to the listener about how much he has fun with them.
- The Dentist Episode: The "Shout" cover from January 2009 features a video of Chuck E. going to the dentist to get braces.
- Disney Acid Sequence: "Dreamin'" from the April 2004 show, a live-action/animated lip-dub video as Chuck E. sings about all the fun dreams he has when he goes to sleep, complete with trippy visuals.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Anyone who looks into the restaurant's history will be surprised to know how different things were when it was still Pizza Time Theater: there were a wider variety of characters, different character designs and personalities, and stage designs that would seem unorthodox to any kid born after The '80s (the original restaurants didn't even have a stage, but a portrait show). Many of the early shows also contain content that would get the entire chain in hot water with Moral Guardians if they were made today.
- Easter Egg: The "Circles of Light" stage has one. When a show currently isn't playing, there's a light that still stays on. Pushing one of these lights causes a short strobe light to happen.
- Epic Fail: In the "Pizza Survivor" skit, Munch is one of the contestants (along with Jasper and Helen) who must go as long as they could without eating a pizza. When Pasqually starts the game, Munch immediately eats the pizza, getting him eliminated.
- Exposed to the Elements:
- In the August 1997 show during the "North Pole" scene, Chuck E. and his bandmates don't wear any snow clothes to the North Pole (aside from earmuffs when riding their bobsleds), especially Helen who sticks to her cheerleader dress, and yet they are able to stand the freezing atmosphere.
- Specific holiday-themed showtapes from the Avenger era depict Helen having her legs exposed as part of her winter gear when out in the snow.
- Extreme Sports Plot: The 1999 Made-for-TV Movie Chuck E. Cheese in the Galaxy 5000 deals with Chuck E. and the gang entering an interplanetary race to raise money for their friend Charlie Rockit and to compete against its cheating champions.
- Fake Shemp: Beginning in July 2014, Chris Hill replaced John Bowen as Munch. The beginning of "The Chuck E. Cheese Show" (which played in July and August 2014) begins with Munch introducing Chuck E. Cheese in Bowen's voice, before he coughs to reveal Hill's voice and continues the introduction. Bowen's Munch uses a voice clip from the January 2007 showtape.
- Faux Furby: Chuck E. Cheese's Holiday Party had a sketch called "The Durby", which is about a Furby-esque toy.
- Fear Song: In one of the Halloween videos from 2018, Chuck E. and Munch are taking a spooky shortcut and Munch is afraid there may be monsters around out to scare him, which in turn cues the song "I Didn't Need to Be Afraid".
- Fun with Subtitles: "El Rey Guitarrista" is almost entirely in Spanish, which is subtitled in English. Likewise, the bits of Gratuitous English are subtitled in Spanish.
- Glad I Thought of It: Near the end of the "Rainy Day" video, Chuck E. gets to speak up after his friends have ignored him throughout and suggests a trip to their restaurant as something they can do in the rain, only for Jasper to say the same exact idea.
- Hold Up Your Score: In a CEC TV News skit promoting a "Chuck E. Cheese Olympics", Helen, Munch, and Pasqually hold up cards with their scores for the kids participating in the ball crawl diving event.
- "I Am" Song: Chuck E. has "Just Bein' Me" from the April 2004 show, as he expresses how much he enjoys being himself and the things he embraces doing.
- Incredibly Long Note: Chuck E. manages to sustain a super long note during the band's cover of "Hourglass".My watch has stopped, no more turning hands/Little green neon haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaands!
- Irony: The "Future of Chuck E. Cheese's" videotape, at least according to some sources, showcases the Road Stage at the Mississauga, Ontario, Canada location - one of the first to be installed. The showtape being played? American Pride '91.
- Later-Installment Weirdness:
- Songs covered by older singers and bands were phased out after the September 2014 show, restricting the band to completely original performances.
- Starting in 2015, the original sketch format for the showtapes was discontinued in favor of a new format consisting of a series of sketches separated by intermissions of family-friendly music videos.
- Lazy Bum: In the first segment of the April 2002 show, Pasqually prefers to be lazy and not do anything, which leads into the song "I Don't Wanna Work" where he sings about his apathy and Chuck E. and the others provide the aesop that he always has to be in action no matter what.
- Lead Singer Plays Lead Guitar: Since the 2012 reboot, Chuck E. is the lead singer and lead guitarist of the band.
- Looped Lyrics:
- The 2019 video "Pumpkins in My Pockets" has Chuck E. and the gang sing nothing but the title over and over, ad infinitum.
- 2023's "Wash the Bus" consists of mostly the title in terms of lyrics.
- Me's a Crowd: The "Halloween Hijinks" compilation special features a subplot of Ronaldo Sagittarian summoning multiple Chuck E.'s from alternate universes, each with a different feature. One is a robot, one is entirely purple, one is muscular, and one looks like the original but makes Pterodactyl noises.
- Motor Mouth:
- Jasper's performance of "I've Been Everywhere" for the April 2007 show has long, wordy lists of the cities he has been to, true to the original. When Chuck E. attempts a verse, he couldn't keep up with it and screws up.
- During the band's rendition of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" in the "Chuck E.'s Holiday Party" show, Chuck E. gives a long and wordy request for the final day in just one breath:Chuck E.: Twelve months of internet access with free unlimited email and a complimentary 56k x2 modem that is only slightly used and has been reconditioned...
- Musical World Hypotheses:
- The showtapes up until 2014 all followed the diegetic format, which had Chuck E. and his bandmates performing the songs to the restaurant guests through the animatronic bands. Specific showtapes however, especially those using the Awesome Adventure Machine, use a bit of Alternate Universe in the favor of the more adventure-based storylines.
- Since the sketch showtape format was discontinued as of 2015 in favor of the various video presentations, the Alternate Universe format started to become more common, and alternates back and forth. The Chuck E. Live performances seem to transition from Diegetic to Alternate Universe following the retirement of the animatronics in favor of the new dance floor setup.
- Noodle Incident: Pasqually once tried to cook a pizza over a campfire. Exactly what happened is a mystery, other than that "it didn't turn out so well".
- Not What It Looks Like: Towards the end of the "Zorp-Ah-Glorp Dor-Bah is Coming Tonight" video, one of Munch's siblings takes a whiff at the cookies meant for Zorp-Ah-Glorp Dor-Bah (Planet Purple's Santa Claus). Chuck E. comes over to investigate, and because he was the only one next to the plate when Munch walked by, Munch assumes Chuck E. ate the cookies and is considered naughty, prompting the siblings to attack him.
- Ode to Apathy: Pasqually has "I Don't Wanna Work" from the April 2002 show, which is a parody of Smash Mouth's "Can't Get Enough of You Baby", as he voices his laziness and apathy over working, while Chuck E. is against it and voices the aesop that being lazy is unhealthy.
- Ode to Family: The band's song "My Family" is about the various relatives in one's life, even those who are honorary, who are all out there who love and support them no matter what.
- Ode to Food: In the September 2001 show, Munch sings "Combo No. 5" about his obsession with all types of food.
- The Oner: From the April 2009 showtape, the video for "I Need a Holiday" consists of a single uninterrupted shot of four CEC employees taking turns dancing on treadmills.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The April 2009 showtape features a storyline where Munch is not feeling well. What causes the band to realize something's wrong is when he turns down Pasqually's offer to cook a pizza they planned.
- Patter Song: "Chuck E.'s Middle Name", a really fast song that squeezes in 16 syllables per line where Chuck E.'s friends try to figure out what the "E" in his name stands for.
- Pep-Talk Song: Several of them.
- "Lend a Helping Hand" is a song by Chuck E. to encourage the viewer to go out and help someone in need.
- "Nothing Like a Walk" is sung by Jasper to encourage a gloomy Chuck E. to join him on a daily walk and learn there's lots to discover.
- "Be Yourself" is sung by Chuck E. to Gary the Ghost who is in low spirits (pun intended) and to just keep embracing his true ghostly self.
- "Stay Positive", sung by the band over getting in rough situations and that there's always a solution if they just keep staying positive so they can work it out.
- The January 2011 show has Chuck E. sing "On the Bright Side" to encourage his bandmates and the viewer there's lots of fun things to do inside on a rainy day and nothing will ever go wrong.
- In the September 2011 show, Chuck E. sings "Keep Your Head Up" to encourage the audience to not feel bad about themselves and to keep their spirits high.
- "Setting Off" Song: In the August 1997 show, Chuck E. and the gang sing "Deep Freeze" as they traverse the North Pole to find the Abdominal Snowman.
- The Sixth Ranger: Around 2020, a new character named Bella B. (who first appeared in the January 2018 show with a different design) was introduced to the shows. Bella is a brown rabbit who speaks Spanish as well as English. This is slightly downplayed in that she only appears as a puppet due to Chuck E. Cheese's having commenced the removal of all animatronic shows for dance floors in 2017.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: The "Pizza Survivor" animated interstitial featured Helen, Jasper, and Munch competing on a game show hosted by Pasqually where the last person remaining who does not eat his pizza will win a big prize. Munch loses, and Helen and Jasper go neck-and-neck for over a month; when Helen asks Pasqually what the prize is, he reveals the prize is another pizza, so they both eat the game pizza and prize pizza to even it out.
- Ship Tease: Chuck E. and Helen are this in spades, especially helped since Chuck E. is often sent into embarrassing gibberish and stammering whenever Helen flatters him during the showtapes.
- Slumber Party: April 2005's third segment features Helen hosting a slumber party with some girls, while set to her rendition of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun".
- Smelly Skunk: Sally Sashay, the singer with a beautiful voice and an awful smell. Scent-related jokes were frequently made at her expense.
- Shout-Out: This video is basically one to Five Nights at Freddy's.
- The Smurfette Principle: Helen Henny was this for decades before Bella was introduced as a major character in the 2020s. The now-discontinued guest stars (which Helen was originally a part of) also served this role.
- Solo Duet: "The Windowsill" has Munch singing with a conscience version of himself, about his struggles over whether he should eat the pie Pasqually has put in the window or let it be.
- Straight Man:
- Crusty played one to Chuck E. during his tenure.
- Chuck E. himself would become this in later years.
- Strike Episode: In one CEC TV News skit, Chuck E.'s friends have gone on strike until their demands have been met. Fortunately, Chuck E. quickly resolves their issues, and they end the strike before the newscast is over.
- Take That!: The Fall 2013 show introduced a new character, a beaver antagonist with a shrill, high-pitched voice. His name? Justin Beaver.
- Team Chef: Pasqually. Justified because the characters are in a pizzeria.
- Truck Driver's Gear Change:
- The song "Possibilities" starts in G major, then modulates down to F major beginning with Chuck E.'s verse onward.
- "Where is Chuck E.?" from the Just for Kids Show starts in F major, modulates up to Gâ™ for Munch's part, then to G for Pasqually's part to the end.
- Also from the Just for Kids Show, "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" is mostly in G major, then shifts up to A major for the final chorus.
- Jasper's song "That's a Deal" starts in G major then modulates up to Aâ™ toward the end.
- The original version of "Every Boy, Every Girl" starts in Bâ™ major, shifts to B major at the third verse, then to C major for the fourth verse. The 2007 version adds a shift to Dâ™ major for the final verse and chorus. For the 2017 remake, it starts in Dâ™, shifts to D major for Jasper's part, to Eâ™ for Helen and Munch's part, and last to E major for the final verse and chorus.
- In all versions of the song "Chuck E.'s Place", each verse begins in G major, then shifts to Bâ™, back to G major for the pre-choruses, then to A major for the choruses.
- The summer song "Fun" starts in G major, then modulates to A major from the third verse to the end.
- Lampshaded during Helen's performance of "Fame" for the January 2007 showtape when Munch notices the song modulates up one whole step (from F minor to G minor) before the final chorus.Munch: Hey, who put this key change in here? I don't remember that!
- The Twelve Spoofs of Christmas: In the "Chuck E.'s Holiday Party" showtape, Chuck E. and the gang sing their version of the song which is about them wanting various gifts, starting with "A trip to Chuck E. Cheese's" and consisting of normal gifts like "Two tokens" and "Six little green army guys", as well as some licensed products such as "Three Barbie dolls", "Four Hot Wheels", and "Five Batmobiles". On the final day, Chuck E. gives an increasingly long request for internet access.
- Unexpected Kindness: In the "Pumpkin Patch" video, Chuck E. encounters living jack o' lanterns who chase him all over town, spooking him. When he hides inside an old shed only to be cornered, he is surprised when one of them recognizes him, revealing the jack o' lanterns were friendly and wanted his autograph, and Chuck E. happily invites him to join his show.
- Visual Pun: The CEC TV News sketches have loads of these. In one skit, Chuck E. announces today's "hard-hitting news" while getting hit in the head with a newspaper. In another, he presents the "news briefs", while showing a pair of briefs with "News" written on them. In a third, he presents the "breaking news" which he drops on the ground and breaks, followed by the "late breaking news" which he also drops, but takes three seconds before breaking.
- Wingding Eyes: In the "I Love Sparkles" video, Chuck E.'s eyes have little sparkles in them as he mentions such.
- You Can Say That Again:
- This bit from "Chuck E.'s Variety Show" in 2000:Munch: Is anybody else hungry?
All others: MUNCH!
Munch: What, what? Did I say that out loud?
Chuck E.: You've definitely got a one-track mind, Munch.
Jasper: You can say that again!
Chuck E.: You've definitely got a one —
Jasper: Don't.
Chuck E.: (giggles) Sorry, I couldn't resist! - The April 2012 show does this same exchange with the roles reversed:Jasper: I'll tell you one thing, there's never a dull moment around here.
Chuck E.: (giggles) You can say that again, Jasper!
Jasper: I'll tell you one thing, there's never a du —
Chuck E.: Don't.
- This bit from "Chuck E.'s Variety Show" in 2000:
- You Can Talk?: Pasqually's reaction toward Copernicus in the "Catsitting" video when he reveals he can verbally speak, albeit not as often due to being shy.
- You Mean X Mas: Munch's home planet in the rockstar relaunch celebrates the Purple Comet Festival, which is similar to Christmas. Their version of Santa Claus is called Zorp-Ah-Glorp Dor-Bah.
