The Shelf

The Shelf (also known as the Portrait Show or The Portrait Stage) was the original animatronic show format at Pizza Time Theatre restaurants.

History[]

The Shelf debuted on May 17, 1977, at the very first Pizza Time Theatre in San Jose, California. It gained the nickname, "Portrait Show" because the characters (except for Pasqually and later Munch) were housed in 4-foot-tall picture frames.

Winchester Blvd.[]

The version of The Shelf that appeared at the first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre was called the "1st Gen". Crusty the Cat and Chuck E. Cheese were fixed on flat surfaces, with movable arms, mouths, and eyes. Pasqually was behind a set of closed doors and would pop out to call pizza orders (which would also be later removed). In the center of the showroom, sitting on a raised platform were the Warblettes. Originally, Jasper played a real banjo, but this was changed because it would damage his arm and body along with the banjo itself. Winchester would keep this early version of The Shelf until 1979, when the animatronics were replaced by the standard Cyberamic model.

Kooser Rd.[]

When the second Pizza Time Theatre opened on Kooser Rd, changes were made to The Shelf. Crusty the Cat was replaced by Mr. Munch, and the characters were moved to two walls to create a more focused show, as opposed to the portraits being spread around the dining room like Winchester. The Warblettes were temporarily replaced by The Mopsey Sisters.

Later Years[]

Locations that opened with The Shelf after San Jose used the standard Cyberamic, or "Ottoman" animatronics. Opening in May, 1979, Concord, California was the first location to feature Cyberamics.

The Shelf was confirmed to be installed in 17 PTTs that opened between 1979 and 1981 (Lake Forest, California was the last location to open with a Shelf). Some locations would replace their Shelf with other stages, such as the Balcony Stage. The Huntington Beach, California location (currently the oldest CEC in operation) would replace their Shelf with a C-Stage, and the Simi Valley, California location would replace theirs with a Rocker Stage, eventually becoming the second-to-last Rocker Stage before closing in 2008.

The Shelf was officially replaced by the Balcony Stage in 1980, with the last show being installed at the Lake Forest, California location. The Harmony I show in 1981 was the first show to not include programming for Munch or Pasqually's doors.

The last Standard Shelf remained in the Ogden, Utah location until it closed in 1991. However, it had Cyberamics instead of original Shelf animatronics, which it had in the earlier times. This location used exclusive showtapes that contained the programming for Pasqually and Munch's doors.^[1]

Locations[]

Location	Installed	Removed	Replaced with	Description
San Jose, CA (Winchester)	May 17, 1977	1985	N/A	First gen animatronics used from 1977-1978 second gen 1978-1981 and Cyberamic 1981-1985
San Jose, CA (Kooser)	December 2, 1978	1980	Balcony Stage	Replaced with first Balcony Stage first location with Mr. Munch.
Concord, CA	Within the week of May 28 - April 3, 1979	1991	Road Stage?
Sacramento, CA	August 14, 1979	1985	N/A
Huntington Beach, CA	October 6, 1979	1989/1990	C-Stage	Oldest CEC in operation
Stockton, CA	October 1979	May 1980	Balcony Stage
Sparks, NV	December 20, 1979	1984	N/A	Only Portrait show in Nevada
Citrus Heights, CA	January 1980	1984	N/A
Fullerton, CA	March 1980	1985	N/A
La Habra, CA	May 1980	1984	N/A
Ogden, UT	May 17, 1980	1991	N/A
Sun Valley, CA	July 1980	1981/1982	Balcony Stage
Fresno, CA	July/August 1980	1985	N/A
Tucson, AZ	July/August 1980	1987	N/A	Only Portrait show in Arizona
Covina, CA	August 1980	1981/1982	Balcony Stage
San Ramon, CA	October 1980	1984	N/A
Simi Valley, CA	October 20, 1980	1990	Rocker Stage	Later became the 2nd to last Rocker Stage
Maple Heights, OH	October 1980	1985/1986	N/A	Only Portrait show in Ohio
Raleigh, NC	November 1980	1984	N/A	Only Portrait show in North Carolina
Lake Forest, CA	June 1981	1986 (standard setup), October, 2001 (Lake Forest Stage).	Lake Forest Stage	Last Shelf Stage installed, retrofitted into a unique variant of the Balcony Stage.

Trivia[]

As of 2022, there are three surviving Shelf Era animatronics, those being the Gen 2 Chuck E. Cheese and Crusty the Cat from the Winchester, San Jose, CA location, both of which are owned by Travis Schafer, and a very early prototype of Chuck E. Cheese, which is currently displayed at the home of his designer, Harold Goldbransen.
- Until 2004, the Gen 2 Chuck E. Cheese, Jasper, and Pasqually portrait animatronics from the Winchester, San Jose, California location were displayed at CEC Headquarters, until they were thrown away by corporate during a remodel. Chuck E. was salvaged and put in storage until 2012.
- In 2012, Travis Schafer got the Winchester Crusty the Cat portrait animatronic along with the Winchester Chuck E. Cheese portrait animatronic in 2014. These are the only ones known after 2004.