A cherry I didn't want to pop
My daughters are 12 and 10 and we've just finished the dreaded birthday season. For the eldest, slumber parties have been de rigueur for the past few years, and I confess that I enjoy them because they're quite manageable, especially in our old house with its finished basement. For the younger one, movie parties at home have been successful, along with decorate-your-own cupcake activities or just good old tree climbing.
Until last Saturday, I had never set foot in a Chuck E. Cheese's. But an invitation to celebrate the fifth birthday of one of our cousins here in our new town was impossible to refuse, and the girls, being good sports, said they absolutely wanted to go.
We said of course, but with fear in our hearts. And so we entered.
On the plus side: Surprisingly clean bathrooms. On the minus side: Scarily intrusive PA system broadcasting promotional information about the place in creepy cartoon-character voice. I could see that being a serious impediment to the progress of potty-training. Hell, it nearly set me back a few years!
Next, the eponymous star of the place:
As mascots go, he's just ugly. Not cute, not endearing. Just ask Pixar about making a rat adorable — it can be done. But this guy is just creepy. Proof: a good 25% of the kids present ran away when the guy in the rat suit came out.
Apparently, I also made the wise choice by declining a piece of pizza.
But most importantly, the problem that only concerned yours truly: Is it Chuck E. Cheese or Chuck E. Cheese's? Well, your faithful researcher can confirm that it's both: the mark was first used and registered as Chuck E. Cheese, but no doubt through colloquial usage, it has morphed into the possessive form. I did some more searching and found that restaurant names that incorporate a personal name, fictitious or otherwise, almost always use the possessive form — J. Alexander%sq243%s (not the runway coach on America%sq243%s Next Top Model), Marie Callender%sq243%s, T.G.I Friday%sq243%s— but not, to my surprise, my new neighborhood grocery store, King Soopers. I am sure there is some linguistic twitch that prompts this possessivization (hey, neat coinage!), but will have to defer to the experts on the topic.
I also noticed uses of "Must C TV" in posters promoting the ubiquitous video screen images of Mr. Cheese. I can't imagine that the folks over at Rockefeller Plaza would approve. But hey, I'm just commenting.
Anyway, we got out alive and have made a vow never to return. Still, on the bright side, it did provide blog fodder.
Stay tuned for more trademark reportage from Denver and the suburbs!
Until last Saturday, I had never set foot in a Chuck E. Cheese's. But an invitation to celebrate the fifth birthday of one of our cousins here in our new town was impossible to refuse, and the girls, being good sports, said they absolutely wanted to go.
We said of course, but with fear in our hearts. And so we entered.
On the plus side: Surprisingly clean bathrooms. On the minus side: Scarily intrusive PA system broadcasting promotional information about the place in creepy cartoon-character voice. I could see that being a serious impediment to the progress of potty-training. Hell, it nearly set me back a few years!
Next, the eponymous star of the place:
As mascots go, he's just ugly. Not cute, not endearing. Just ask Pixar about making a rat adorable — it can be done. But this guy is just creepy. Proof: a good 25% of the kids present ran away when the guy in the rat suit came out.
Apparently, I also made the wise choice by declining a piece of pizza.
But most importantly, the problem that only concerned yours truly: Is it Chuck E. Cheese or Chuck E. Cheese's? Well, your faithful researcher can confirm that it's both: the mark was first used and registered as Chuck E. Cheese, but no doubt through colloquial usage, it has morphed into the possessive form. I did some more searching and found that restaurant names that incorporate a personal name, fictitious or otherwise, almost always use the possessive form — J. Alexander%sq243%s (not the runway coach on America%sq243%s Next Top Model), Marie Callender%sq243%s, T.G.I Friday%sq243%s— but not, to my surprise, my new neighborhood grocery store, King Soopers. I am sure there is some linguistic twitch that prompts this possessivization (hey, neat coinage!), but will have to defer to the experts on the topic.
I also noticed uses of "Must C TV" in posters promoting the ubiquitous video screen images of Mr. Cheese. I can't imagine that the folks over at Rockefeller Plaza would approve. But hey, I'm just commenting.
Anyway, we got out alive and have made a vow never to return. Still, on the bright side, it did provide blog fodder.
Stay tuned for more trademark reportage from Denver and the suburbs!
I don't think anyone anywhere has ever put that much thought into Chuck E. Cheese. I too have only been once - and I agree that it was plenty! Glad to know you escaped unharmed by the experience.
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I've still never set foot in a Chuck E. Cheese. When my kids used to get invited to parties there, we were always, um, busy that day....
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Believe me, I'd used that excuse in the past as well, and even simply "lost" invitations. But with this cutie-pie of a cousin turning 5, and my 12 and 10 year old daughters cooing about how happy it would make him if they attended, how could I say no?
Thanks for stopping by the blog! I assume Nancy sent you, and I already visited yours - did I miss step 2 of the limoncello recipe, or is it just my advanced age?
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