animatronic

Last year, we published an item about the animatronic robots of Showbiz Pizza Palace/Chuck E Cheese getting reprogrammed to perform gangsta rap, including a cover of Miss New Booty.

Lots of people have fond memories of visits to see these cheesy robots as kids, and videos of the reprogrammed robots went on to become hits on YouTube.

Now, there’s a new documentary in the works that looks at the story behind the Rock-afire Explosion:

The Rock-afire Explosion is the story of a small-town car salesman, an inventor, and an animatronic rock band, that quickly becomes an eccentric portrait of childhood memories, broken dreams, and the resilience of the human spirit.

With the closing of Showbiz Pizza Place in the early nineties, and the subsequent removal of the Rock-afire Explosion, a small but determined group of fans persisted with the hopes of reviving their fallen obsession. It wasn’t until 2007, with the resurgence of the Rock-afire Explosion on YouTube with songs like Miss New Booty, Hey There Delilah, and Love in This Club, that the animatronic band found its way back into the public consciousness.

Chris Thrash, a car salesman from Phenix City, Alabama who recently purchased a Rock-afire Explosion, has led the charge with his inventive programming and clever song choice. Aaron Fechter, creator of the Rock-afire Explosion and the sole employee of Creative Engineering, hopes to revitalize what was once a 300 employee, 20 million dollar per-year industry.

It looks like it should be very interesting.

Directed by: Brett Whitcomb
Written by: Bradford Thomason
Sound / Production Assistant: Luke Lukas
Music by: The Super Furry Animals and Data vs Data