Publication Date: 12-04-2025

A Chuck E. Cheese Christmas (2025) review

Dir. Steve Trenbirth and Zac Moncrief

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★½

I suppose it was only a matter of time before Chuck E. Cheese was to be the basis for a cartoon series. Tis pity it wasn’t during the mid-aughts, when the character took on a radical skater persona, in an era where a lot of mascots had more edge to them as opposed to the squeaky clean aesthetic so ubiquitous today.

Growing up spoiled with Enchanted Castle in Lombard, IL, I only went to Chuck E. Cheese’s a handful of times. Looking back, it was a shameless child casino. The flashing lights, noisy games, and overstimulation definitely helped prepare me for knowing my way around casinos and sportsbooks in my adult age. The pizza was mediocre, but it was served hot, and after a long afternoon of playing skee-ball and Bozo’s Grand Prize Game, it hit the spot. Fun-fact: during the pandemic, when the thought of going into a germ-infested incubator like Chuck E. Cheese sickened most, the company pivoted and established itself as a ghost kitchen under the name Pasqually’s Pizza and Wings. You’d be more likely to order food via a delivery app from a place you’d never heard of than willingly order something from Chuck E. Cheese.

What the hell have I gotten myself into? Anyway, A Chuck E. Cheese Christmas serves as the unofficial pilot for the upcoming TV series Chuck E. and Friends!, which I presume will be a fixture on the company’s YouTube channel. At 45 minutes sans credits, it’s a surprisingly enjoyable romp with some chuckle-inducing sarcastic wit and a memorable bunch of characters that are amusing enough that they could probably go the distance and sustain a series.

Chuck E. Cheese (voiced by iCarly‘s Nathan Kress) and his friends — a chicken named Helen (Kari Wahlgren), a smug dog named Jasper (Nolan North), an adorable, diminutive bunny named Bella (Grey Griffin), and a Grimace-like blob named Mr. Munch (Fred Tatasciore) — are barreling thru the city delivering Christmas gifts when they make the startling realization that nobody seems to have the holiday spirit anymore. Even Santa Claus (Tatasciore) has so many responsibilities that he finds himself overworked to the point of exhaustion. Part of the problem is a conniving elf named Leggymos (Trevor Devall) working around-the-clock to rob the land of anything resembling joy. He’s zapped all the Christmas trees, confiscated presents, and takes great pride in being a malcontent.

Chuck E. and his pals decide that Santa Claus needs to be celebrated in the form of a surprise party. They know just the place. Their friend Pasqually (Michael Gough) happens to run a pizza parlor, and “The right party can solve any problem!,” so says Chuck E. himself.

The plot is a vehicle to get children to crave Chuck E. Cheese pizza. Curiously absent is the presence of arcade games and blinding neon lights, but I digress. The real treat is Chuck E. and his crew; so motley yet distinct that they reminded me a bit of the Recess gang, which is high praise in my book. I found myself especially enamored with Jasper’s coy remarks to any and everything, including referring to Leggymos — who looks like a micro-mini vigilante — as “Xena Warrior Princess” and other disparaging names. Bella knows how to weaponize her cuteness to her advantage. However, sometimes it backfires. When she proclaims the story of The Tortoise and the Hare to be “anti-bunny, reptilian propaganda,” everyone just “awws” in response.

The best thing you can ask for an inaugural special such as this one is that it posits itself as a fertile ground for plot, character development, dynamic interaction, and jokes. Even in spite of the shameless plot device, the product placement isn’t brazen to the point where it soils everything else. Co-director Zac Moncrief has extensive experience in animation, with credits ranging from Family Guy to Phineas and Ferb. You can feel the influence of the latter in many jokes, specifically the ones that are random-for-the-sake-of-random. When tasked with writing a song, Mr. Munch keeps using the phrase “robot banana.” I never said A Chuck E. Cheese Christmas was great, but it’s far more spirited and thoughtful than most would expect. The legacy of Charles Entertainment Cheese continues to live on for the next generation.

NOTE: As of this writing, A Chuck E. Cheese Christmas is available to watch on YouTube, free of charge.

Voiced by: Nathan Kress, Kari Wahlgren, Nolan North, Fred Tatasciore, Grey Griffin, Michael Gough, and Trevor Devall. Directed by: Steve Trenbirth and Zac Moncrief.