WFF: ‘The Rock-afire Explosion’
I’m looking forward to the 2009 Wisconsin Film Festival, which is running April 2-5 in Madison.
Many films in the festival guide caught my eye this year, but one of the strangest has to be the documentary “The Rock-afire Explosion,” which is about the animatronic musical band that played at Showbiz Pizza restaurants.
I still have fond memories of going to Showbiz pizza when I was a kid, and vivid memories of seeing The Rock-afire Explosion play there, so I’m going to have to try to catch this film in April.
Also, the YouTube video revival of The Rock-afire Explosion further convinced me that I’ll have to check this out — some videos included below. I’m usually not swayed by gimmicky premises, but the Usher video is pretty damn amazing.
The Rock-afire Explosion Movie Trailer from The Rock-afire Explosion on Vimeo.
FESTIVAL GUIDE: The world can be divided into two kinds of people: those for whom animatronic musical bands are a source of great satisfaction and delight, and everyone else. With The Rock-afire Explosion, we can all come together and either indulge our secret passion, or see how the other half lives. At the high point, Showbiz Pizza restaurants had almost 200 installations of this cartoon animal band of Fats Geronimo, Mitzi Mozzerella, Dook Larue, Beach Bear, and more. A spectacular corporate demise during changing times (the Showbiz restaurants got converted into Chuck E. Cheese) threatened the memory of the motley musical crew that brought joy to the hearts of so many pizza-eating kids. And then came YouTube. A small but persistent fan group has been restoring the good name of the Rock-afire Explosion, salvaging parts and rebuilding complete band installations. The animals are reprogrammed to sing along to contemporary songs, and these have become online hits. At the heart of this effort is Chris Thrash, a car salesman from Phenix City, Alabama who purchased a Rock-afire Explosion, which is now housed in its own air-conditioned trailer in his back yard. In this film, you’ll also meet Aaron Fechter, the inventor who created the animatronics and once had over 300 employees making rubber molds, airbrushing faces, and soldering the electronics that keep these animals singing. Go ahead, check out the YouTube clips and you too might be converted.
Usher - “Love In This Club” (Performed by The Rock-afire Explosion)
Arcade Fire - “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” (Performed by The Rock-afire Explosion)
BTW, ShowBiz Pizza will always be way better than Chuck E. Cheese.
