Creative Engineering Inc. (partially lost audio of animatronic character's showtapes; 1970s-1980s)
Creative Engineering Inc. is an animatronic company founded in the early 1970's. They are most recognized for producing the Rock-afire Explosion band that operated in Showbiz Pizza Place food chains in the 1980's. Other than the Rock-afire, Creative Engineering manufactured several other animatronic bands/retrofits for their own shows. Many showtapes/segments of showtapes have never surfaced online or have since disappeared.
The Rock-afire Explosion
Debuted in 1981, the Rock-afire Explosion animatronic show was Showbiz Pizza's primary distinction from other arcades at the time. In 1989, however, Showbiz Pizza made the decision to remove the Rock-afire entertainment from their restaurants via a process known as "Concept Unification". This involved them retrofitting the existing stages with cosmetics to make the show appear as if it were "Munch's Make Believe Band", which was also owned by Showbiz Pizza. Despite being Creative Engineering's most successful product, many Rock-afire showtapes have gone missing.
Showtape / Showtape Collection | Released | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Classic Collection | Various | Found | Fan-compiled showtape collection with most of Rock-afires's earliest tracks |
Tribute to Abbey Road | 1982 | Found | Contains many fan-favorite shows |
New Years '82 | 1982 | Found | Promotional showtape released in December 1982 |
Tribute to the Beatles' White Album | 1983 | Found | Considered one of Rock-afire's greatest show collections |
1983 Christmas Album | 1983 | Found | |
Crazy Colander Head Night | Unknown | Found | Produced as part of Rock-a-Fire's "Crazy Colander Head Night" event |
1983 Uncle Klunk Show | 1983 | Found | Released to accompany the then-new Uncle Klunk animatronic |
1983 Santa Klunk Show | 1983 | Found | Accompanied a rare variant of Uncle Klunk dressed as Santa Clause |
Country 1 | Unknown | Found | Album of country-themed Rock-A-Fire songs |
Country 2 | Unknown | Found | Album of country-themed Rock-A-Fire songs |
Country Klunk | Unknown | Found | Special album of country-themed songs for the Uncle Klunk animatronic |
Magic Night | Unknown | Found | Contains many song covers, as well as rare "Letters to Looney Bird Segments |
1984 Senior Citizens | 1984 | Found | Contains the theme for the 1984 World's Fair, as well as renditions of modern and classic songs |
Trivia Night | Unknown | Found | Primary contains covers, but also contains "Letters to Looney Bird" segments |
Homely for Christmas | 1987 | Found | Contains a variety of covers. |
New Years '88 | 1988 | Found | The longest Rock-a-Fire tape. Recorded in one continuous take |
Cyberstar Segments | Unknown | Found | The first Rock-a-Fire shows to feature video playing alongside the animatronics |
Show Selector Shows / Voice Clips | Unknown | Partially Lost | These were used with the "Show Selector" to allow customers to pick from different showtapes. Only some of them have resurfaced |
Showbiz Corporate Voice Shows | 1986 | Found | These were produced by Showbiz Pizza and are widely considered low quality in audio and programming |
Showbiz Pizza Fiesta Shows | Unknown | Partially Lost | Featured at "Showbiz Pizza Place" and "Showbiz Pizza FIesta" in Mexico. Clips of the show performance and a low quality recording of a rare vinyl copy of "Raton vaquero" and "Las mañanitas" exist. |
Talking Billy Bob Walk-Around Shows | Unknown | Lost | Featured the character's mouth syncing with the show's audio. Very little information is known about the showtapes from these shows |
Yogi Bear Showtape | Unknown | Partially Found | This show saw animatronics retrofitted as Yogi Bear and Boo Boo. Only the transcript and the instrumental track have resurfaced. |
Looney Bird's and New Rock-afire Explosion Showtapes
Looney Bird's was a different restaurant to Showbiz Pizza Place. However, they largely featured the same entertainment, and are therefore included in this page.
Showtape / Showtape Collection | Released | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Looney Bird's Tapes | Unknown | Lost | These were produced specifically for the Looney Bird's chain of restaurants |
New Rock-a-Fire Explosion Misc. Tapes | Unknown | Lost | Very little information is known about the showtapes from these shows. |
Golden Showtape Collection/1990's Show Audio | 1990s | Partially Found | Some shows, such as "Life is Highway" and "Runaround" have resurfaced. However, many others are still missing. |
International 1990's Rock-afire Explosion Showtapes | 1990s | Partially Found | Many of the 1990s showtapes were programmed in different languages for international audiences. "The Twist" and "Para Madura" have resurfaced in full. A clip from "Que Pasa" has also resurfaced in the 1994 Rock-a-Fire promo video. Many other shows are still missing. |
Wolf Pack 5:
Created in 1976, the Wolf Pack 5 was Creative Engineering's first animatronic band. In 1980, Bob Brock approached Creative Engineering about installing their entertainment into the then unnamed Showbiz Pizza Place. Later that year, the Wolf Pack 5 was installed in the first Showbiz Pizza location. Later, in 1981, the Wolf Pack 5 was removed from Showbiz Pizza Place, as the Rock-afire Explosion animatronic band had debuted earlier that year, and took over as the primary entertainment.
Showtape / Showtape Collection | Released | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
IAAPA Showtape | 1980 | Partially Found | This was the demonstration tape for the Wolf Pack 5. When ompared to the other Wolf Pack 5 showtapes, this one is described as having more characters onstage interacting |
Showbiz Pizza Segments | 1980 | Found | This was an edited version of the IAAPA Showtapes made for Showbiz Pizza. It was split into six parts, and added an intro and outro jingles, as well as an announcer |
Misc Wolfpack 5 Shows | Unknown | Lost | The Wolfpack 5 is known to have been sold to restaurants other than Showbiz Pizza. Little information exists for the content of the shows. |
Beto Carrero World Introductions | Unknown | Lost | The Wolfpack 5 is known to have been present at the Beto Carrero World theme park in Brazil. They are known to have sung a sped-up version of "Keep That Music Simple Boys" and talked about the stores inside the tent at the park. |
Hard Luck Bears:
Creative Engineering's second animatronic band, these characters were installed in a wide variety of venues, primarily theme parks, but also having permanent residence in other venues.
Showtape / Showtape Collection | Released | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Original Creative Engineering Showtape | Unknown | Found | This was the most widely heard show from this animatronic band. The tape contains their most well-remembered personalities. |
Rockin' Billy and the Bearcats | Unknown | Found | This showtape was produced for the Knoebel's Theme Park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. |
Show De Osos | Unknown | Partially Found | This was a custom set of Spanish showtapes used at locations in Chile. Some footage exists online, but very little clean audio has surfaced. |
Blackpool Beach Park Tape | Unknown | Lost | The Hard Luck Bears were briefly installed at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. A single showtape was produced.
UPDATE 2/25/17: A worker at the Blackpool theme park has been stated to have the show in its original quality. He said it included a quick and rushed character introduction, but with deeper voices than the CEI original promo tape. They sang a song called "Feet Nailed to the Floor" and included the same Pete/Repete gag from the promo tape, many other songs from the CEI show were featured in this tape as well. It is known they would sing "Mama don't allow no guitar playing in here" and another song called "The Blackpool Belle" Thanks to Lukas for this new information! |
Honey's Bear Show | Unknown | Lost | This was a retrofit of the Hard Luck Bears into a fully female band with lipstick and new outfits. The contents of the show are largely unknown |
Hard Luck Bears (Rock-afire Retrofit):
This was one of the many Rock-afire retrofits to have been produced over the years and was installed in the 3 Gulliver's themed parks. The characters in this show have all been retrofitted to appear more country-esque, and very little of the show remains unchanged.
Showtape / Showtape Collection | Released | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Show 1 | Unknown | Lost | This show contains primarily country covers with some character dialogue. It is known for sluggish and lazy programming. |
Show 2 | Unknown | Found | This show primarily contains country covers. It is considered to have poor programming and lazy voice acting. |
Misc. Creative Engineering Shows:
Showtape / Showtape Collection | Released | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
The Moon Rockers | Unknown | Partially Found | It is unknown how many tapes were produced for this project. A small amount of video and audio can be found in a CEI Demo tape. |
"Creepy Clown" Animatronic | Unknown | Lost | This obscure animatronic was only seen for a fraction of a second in a 1990s Creative Engineering demo tape. A showtape for the Creepy Clown was discovered in 2015, but the audio was not recoverable. It is unknown if any other showtapes exist. |
Reginald J. Flootsnoot | Unknown | Existence Unconfirmed | This character was completed and featured in at least one Creative Engineering demo tape, but it is unknown whether he was ever given a showtape. |
Castle Dracula Dark Ride Audio | Unknown | Found | This was one of CEI's first animatronic shows, as well as their first Dark Ride. The audio was freely released online by CEI. |
Wizard of Oz Show | Unknown | Partially Found | This was Creative Engineering's second dark ride. It was featured in the 1992 Creative Engineering demo tape. The Scarecrow is known to sing part of "If I Only Had a Brain", and the Tin Man is known to sing part of "You Gotta Have Heart". It is not known how many characters were programmed, although CEI still holds animatronics for Scarecrow, Tin Man, and a few Talking Trees. It is rumored that this show was featured at one of the Looney Birds locations, but this is unconfirmed. |
Bubba the Shakespearean Gorilla | Unknown | Partially Lost | This animatronic was praised for his variety of sophisticated movements, as well as a charming concept. Two pieces of footage have surfaced online. However, it is unknown whether a full showtape was produced. |
Dook and Mitzi 2.0 Prototype Shows | Unknown | Existence Unconfirmed | Prototypes of these characters were produced. It is not known whether Dook 2.0 was ever programmed. Mitzi 2.0 appeared in a demo reel. However, it is unknown whether either character ever had proper showtapes. |
Talking Head Shows | Unknown | Existence Unconfirmed | These were one of Creative Engineering's earliest projects, featuring talking heads. Virtually no information exists, and it is unknown whether any showtapes were produced. |
Lazlo the Fortune Teller | Unknown | Lost | Lazlo the Fortune Teller was one of Creative ENgineering's earlier works. It is believed to have used a showtape, but it has not resurfaced. |
The Mijjins IAAPA Tape | 1992 | Lost | The Mijjins animatronics were briefly seen in a demo tape performing at the IAAPA. Very little information exists about the contents of this show. |
The Jungle Juke Band | 1983 | Existence Unconfirmed | Pictures of the Jungle Juke Band, which contained a monkey, tiger, and hippopotamus were featured in a 1983 CEI Promo brochure. It is unknown whether a showtape was produced for this band. |
The Cosmic Combo | Unknown | Existence Unconfirmed | This show was advertised as having five alien creatures. However, it is unknown whether the band was completed, or whether or not a showtape was produced. |
The Hannah Banana Shows | late 2000s | Partially Found | This was a retrofit animatronic produced in the late 2000s for the "Hannah Banana" chain of restaurants in the UK. Only some of the shows, including a Christmas show, have resurfaced. |
Mini-Billy Bob Showtapes | early 1980s | Existence Unconfirmed | This animatronic was advertised in the early 1980s, but was never sold. It was able to use the existing Billy Bob showtapes, but was also advertised as able to tell stories. It is unknown whether any new showtapes, such as the intended story-telling showtapes, were ever produced. Additionally, Mini-Billy Bob was intended to be part of an entire Mini Rock-A-Fire line. It is unknown if any other mini animatronics were produced or if any showtapes were produced for them |
The Confederate Critter Show | 1970s | Lost | The Confederate Critter show was produced by CEI in the 1970s. Not much information is known about the content of this show, save for one video clip and a few photos. |
Willy Wabbit | Unknown | Lost | Willy Wabbit was the second character produced by CEI. It is known to have stood at the Orlando airport singing songs for the visitors. Very little information exists on the show content. |
Friendly Freddy | 1970s | Lost | This guitar-playing bear was the very first character that CEI built in the 1970s. He was last seen in New York in 2008 but has not resurfaced since. The content of his show is unknown. |
Gaslight Jamboree | Unknown | Lost | This show features Wolfman and Fats Geronimo from the Wolfpack 5 and Friendly Freddy in a 3 character band. Only a few photos of the show exist, with no video or audio resurfacing. |