The Rock-afire Explosion Show (Johnsonverse)

The Rock-afire Explosion Show is an American animated series developed by Tim Johnson and Aaron Fechter, based on the eponymous band by Creative Engineering, Inc, which plays at all ShowBiz Pizza Place locations worldwide, with the exception of the Japanese states, as well as the Munch's Make-Believe Band and Pizza Time Players from the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant chain, and characters from the K-On! manga. It has aired on Netflix since December 16, 2016, and all of the bands' voice actors (with the exception of many of the Pizza Time Players) reprise their roles.

Development began in February 2015, two months after the acquisition of CEC Entertainment (now ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc.) by Johnson Industries. It was officially announced at that year's San Diego Comic-Con, alongside the first pieces of concept art for the show, and the first teaser was released in December.

Hugely anticipated, the show has been critically acclaimed for its fluid, detailed animation, its voice acting and writing, and its songs. It has been renewed to Season 9 in 2024, and has been nominated for a Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program in 2018, 2019, and 2020, winning an award in 2019; it has also won an Annie for Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Children that year as well. Reruns of the series have aired on The Hub's daily schedule since 2018.

Synopsis
The Rock-afire Explosion experiences various adventures, sometimes with Munch's Make-Believe Band, the Pizza Time Players, and/or Ho-Kago Teatime. Many episodes feature performances from at least one of the bands, with some of them even having all three bands perform the song.

Rock-afire Explosion

 * Aaron Fechter as Billy Bob, Looney Bird, Rolfe DeWolfe, Earl Schmerle, and Sun - Billy Bob is the series' protagonist. He is an overall-clad bear who owns a gas station, in which he created a new gas known as "Gasahol". Looney Bird is his sidekick; he is constantly drunk on Gasahol and loves technology. Rolfe DeWolfe is the resident comedian who is an arrogant jerk who is clueless, but beneath that, is a geek with a fondness for disco, unaware that disco is no longer in vogue. Earl Schmerle is his ventriloquist dummy. He is always Rolfe's biggest critic, and it is implied that he might actually be a sentient dummy. The Sun is a backup singer, along with the Moon, with a mellow, peace-keeper attitude.
 * Burt "Sal" Wilson as Fatz Geronimo, Antioch, and Santa Claus - Fatz is the band's pianist. He is outspoken, and has a commanding presence, but is shown to have a softer side as well. Antioch is Fatz' pet spider.
 * Rick Bailey as Beach Bear - The band's guitarist. Beach Bear is usually calm and laid back, as well as sarcastic and snarky. Oftentimes he is the only sane person of the group along with Chuck E. and Mio.
 * Duke Chaupetta as Dook LaRue - The band's drummer. Dook is normally slower-witted, and is often the butt of jokes.
 * Jeff Howell as Uncle Klunk and Moon - The only human member, Uncle Klunk is a recurring guest during their performances. He is goofy and eccentric, but well-meaning. The Moon is a backup singer, along with the Sun, who is snippy and obsessed with propriety.
 * Sarah Locke as Mitzi Mozzarella Jr. - The daughter of former vocalist Mitzi Mozzarella, Mitzi Jr., though wearing the same wardrobe as her mother, is more independent, and can also play guitar when she wants to.
 * Shalisa James as Mitzi Mozzarella Sr. - Mitzi Jr.'s mother. A retired member of the band, Mitzi Sr. is also the guardian of Rockstar Chuck E.

Munch's Make-Believe Band

 * Jaret Reddick as Chuck E. Cheese (Jr.) - The current "Rockstar" incarnation, Chuck E. is a tiny mouse, making him the target of ridicule from other characters. He is the son of PTT Chuck, and the younger brother of Avenger Chuck.
 * Carolyn Richardson as Helen Henny - The bass player. Helen is in a relationship with Chuck E.
 * Jeremy Blaido as Jasper T. Jowls - The lead guitarist. Jasper is sharp-witted, and can be cynical, but is otherwise friendly.
 * Earl Fisher as Pasqually P. Pieplate - Pasqually is an Italian chef who is also the band's drummer. He is also an aspiring comedian who is somehow even worse than Rolfe.
 * Chris Hill as Mr. Munch - The keyboardist and songwriter. Mr. Munch is slow and dim-witted, but is well-meaning. His favorite food is pizza.

Ho-Kago Teatime

 * Stephanie Sheh as Yui Hirasawa - The lead guitarist and vocalist of the band. Yui is air-headed, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a nicer person. Her very presence can defuse an argument, as she's too innocent for anyone to want to harm her.
 * Cassandra Lee Morris as Ritsu Tainaka - The band's drummer and self-appointed president of the Light Music Club.
 * Cristina Valenzuela as Mio Akiyama - The band's bassist and second vocalist, Mio is mature but cowardly, and
 * Shelby Lindley as Tsumugi "Mugi" Kotobuki - The keyboardist. Mugi is wealthy and gentle, and serves as "team mom" to the group. Despite her soft exterior, Mugi is actually very strong, once beating Fatz at arm-wrestling with absolutely no effort and ending Tina Tiger's winning streak.
 * Christine Marie Cabanos as Azusa Nakano - The rhythm guitarist of the band.
 * Xanthe Hyunh as Ui Hirasawa - Yui's younger sister (Beach Bear and Jasper think they're twins).
 * Michelle Ann Dunphy as Jun Suzuki - Azusa and Ui's classmate.
 * Laura Bailey as Nodoka Manabe - Yui's childhood friend, Nodoka is a member of the Sakuragaoka High School's student council.

Pizza Time Players

 * Scott Wilson as Chuck E. Cheese Sr. (PTT Chuck) - The original incarnation of the character from the Pizza Time Theatre days, Chuck Sr. is the father of the Rockstar version. He is sarcastic and rude, but deep down, has a heart of gold.
 * John Widelock as Crusty - PTT Chuck's straight man, Crusty was one of the original members before being replaced by Mr. Munch. According to PTT Chuck, he was fired by Nolan Bushnell for turning Communist; fortunately, Crusty happens to be the worst Communist in the world, often shouting "DOWN WITH THE PROLETARIAT!", unaware that he himself is the Proletariat.
 * Paula Mulcahy as Helen Henny Sr. and Madame Oink - Helen Sr. is the mother of the modern Helen. Madame Oink is a French-accented pig who would often snort whenever someone told a joke.
 * Helen Reynolds as Foxy Colleen - An Irish fox who actively tries to snap back at PTT Chuck for his insults.
 * Lady Bianca as Sally Sashay and Dolli Dimples - Sally is a disco-singing skunk who is mentally stuck in the 1970s, and also tries to snap back at PTT Chuck. She thinks disco is still in vogue. Dolli is a blues/jazz/piano-playing hippo who often reminisces of her former husbands.
 * Karlissa Hager as Harmony Howlette - Harmony is a cowgirl coyote from west Texas who likes flirting. She also tends to howl when she's excited.
 * Jim Cunningham as Artie Antlers - Artie is a classical rock-piano playing moose who is known for his wisecracks, often at PTT Chuck's expense.
 * Mariette Sluyter as B.B. Bubbles - B.B. is a pink elephant with a high-pitched voice and tends to giggle a lot.

Recurring characters

 * Aaron Fechter as Queenie Fox - Queenie was an original member of the Rock-afire Explosion's predecessor, the Wolf Pack 5. One day, when the executives at ShowBiz Pizza Place wanted a mouse to go with the pizza theme, Queenie was reluctantly fired from the band.
 * Aaron Fechter as Mini Mozzarella - Mitzi Sr.'s older sister who was a member of the Rock-afire Explosion during a brief period before falling ill.
 * Roger Craig Smith as Jon Read - Jon is a 15-year-old who likes playing video games. He also likes to play basketball in his spare time.
 * Kate Higgins as Gloria Eaton - Gloria is a 14-year-old basketball player who is Jon's girlfriend.
 * Joe Alaskey as Happy Fox - Happy is an orange fox. He is a screwball who often torments his victims, but can't bring himself to harm Yui; Happy also loves to eat steak, and is known for his catchphrase "What's the skinny, neighbor?", a parody of Bugs Bunny's iconic catchphrase "What's up, doc?"; Alaskey has voiced Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and other Warner Bros. characters in various Looney Tunes movies, television series, and video games after the death of Mel Blanc.
 * Eric Bauza as Wendy Fox - Happy's girlfriend. She is known for her high-pitched voice, and is Happy's female counterpart, looking the same as him, but with feminine features and hair, a white long-sleeved jacket, and a red silk dress with matching pumps.
 * Jeff Bergman as Sappy Fox - Happy's brother, Sappy is based on Tex Avery's Droopy Dog, with an eternally downtrodden facial expression and mannerisms, but can (and will) put up a fight when needed.
 * B. J. Ward as Kailyn Deer - Kailyn is a deer who is based on leading ladies of the 1950s such as Marilyn Monroe.
 * Tress MacNeille as Maisie Moose - Maisie is a jungle-loving moose who distrusts technology.
 * Billy West as Bobby North - Based on West himself, Bobby is a voice actor who can do a great number of voice impressions. His name is a play on West's.
 * Rob Paulsen as George "Goofball" Green - George is a green-colored pony who, as his nickname suggests, is a goofball.
 * Erica Lindbeck as Rose Raccoon - Rose is a rich, snobbish raccoon who owns a mansion and a yacht.
 * Dan Green as Jimmy Jackrabbit - Jimmy is a lumberjack. He is soft-spoken most of the time, but when he does speak, he has a deep baritone.
 * Mike Pollock as Dr. Frizz - Dr. Frizz is a scientist who constantly makes evil schemes in a bid for world domination, but thanks to his own ineptitude, always fails. He is described as a "more benign" version of Dr. Eggman from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
 * Constance Shulman as Honey Hedgehog - Honey is a pretty hedgehog who, despite her feminine looks and mannerisms, isn't afraid to get her hands dirty when need be.
 * Cheryl Chase as Tina Tiger - Tina is a brash, somewhat egotistical tiger who loves boxing. She claims she's never lost, but loses in the episode "Tina Loses" after challenging Mugi to a match (as Mugi is deceptively strong, stronger than even Fatz).
 * Jess Harnell as Connor Crow - Connor is a crow who often relays messages to other characters.
 * Donald Fullilove as Walden Lynx - Walden is a lynx who, despite his menacing looks, is actually a nice person.
 * Mary Jo Catlett as Gerri Giraffe - Gerri is an elderly, grandmotherly giraffe.
 * Fred Willard as George Giraffe (Seasons 1-6) - George is an elderly giraffe, and Gerri's husband. He is kind and grandfatherly, and is jovial. He will be demoted to non-speaking roles after the death of Fred Willard, who recorded his lines for Season 6.
 * Chelsea Peretti as Gina Giraffe - Gina is George and Gerri's rebellious granddaughter.
 * Sherri Stoner as Brooklyn Bear - Brooklyn is a cranky, wisecracking bear from Brooklyn, New York who is based on Slappy Squirrel from the Animaniacs television series, even using the same voice Stoner used for Slappy.
 * Atticus Shaffer as Caesar Lion - Caesar is a sarcastic lion who is the son of King Zeus, and is set to become King of the Jungle one day.
 * Alex Désert as Arnold Phoenix - Arnold is an action movie star. He is based on Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.
 * Norm Macdonald as Texas Tom - Texas Tom is a cowboy horse from Texas who is based directly on the late Burt Reynolds, who Macdonald famously impersonated in the Celebrity Jeopardy! skits on Saturday Night Live.
 * Kate McKinnon as Calamity - Calamity is Texas Tom's girlfriend, who is also a horse. She is excitable and peppy, and loves taking care of her stables and has a rebellious streak.
 * Adam West as Super Bird (Seasons 1-3) - Super Bird is a bird-themed superhero who acts under the secret identity of Kevin Peters, a doctor in education. Because of his age, he has several screws loose. He was voiced by Adam West, who portrayed the title character in the 1966 Batman television series, and was retired after West's passing in 2017; after Season 3, Super Bird was reduced to non-speaking roles, with Bird Boy doing all of the talking whenever the duo is seen together.
 * Burt Ward as Bird Boy - Bird Boy is Super Bird's young ward. Acting as Kevin's star pupil Bradley Corsack, Bird Boy is voiced by Burt Ward, who portrayed Robin in the 1966 incarnation of Batman.
 * Duncan Brannan as Chuck E. Cheese (Avenger) - The "Avenger" incarnation of Chuck E., he is a washed-up street performer who was replaced by his "Rockstar" counterpart in 2012 for being "a relic of the worst part of the 90s", first appearing in the episode "The Avenger Strikes Back". In the episode, Avenger Chuck E. is out to sabotage Rockstar Chuck E.'s career so he can become famous again, by getting Rockstar Chuck E. on helium, but accidentally blowing it on himself so he is on helium, dropping a sandbag on him but missing, slamming a mallet on him, but hitting himself, and trying to make Rockstar Chuck E. eat so much junk food, he'd be unable to move, by buying up all the food in a supermarket and placing it in a giant basket, but Yui gets to the food first, eats it all in a flash, and walks away thanks to her high metabolism. In the end, he makes up with Rockstar Chuck E.; they, along with PTT Chuck E., become drinking buddies (on soda). Jim Cummings voiced Avenger Chuck E. throughout much of the episode, as Avenger Chuck E. was wearing a black cloak hooded over his head, with red eyes and black gloves being his only discernible features.
 * Frank Welker as Hugo Hamster and various animals - Hugo is a ditzy hamster who loves cheese, and is surprisingly knowledgeable on cheese, having memorized various types and regions.

Guest stars

 * Judy Garland as Dorothy Oz - Directly based on Garland's character Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy Oz is an elderly woman who greatly cares for her friends.
 * Wink Martindale as Daniel Nova - Daniel is a game show host who hosts a quiz known as "The Cheesy Show" in the Season 5 episode of the same name.
 * John O'Hurley as King Zeus - The father of Caesar, King Zeus is the King of the Giggly Forest. He is dignified, serious, and strict, but fair to his subjects.
 * Dolly Parton as Eliza Elf - Eliza is one of Santa's elves, appearing in the Season 1 episode "A Rock-afire Christmas". She is peppy and takes her job seriously.
 * Alex Trebek as himself - Trebek appeared in the Season 4 episode "Quiz Troubles" as the host of a quiz bowl Rolfe and Earl participate in.
 * Little Richard as Shorty - A rock singer who likes his guitar, Shorty is directly patterned after his voice actor.
 * Johnny Depp as Longcoat Scissors - Longcoat is a rabbit spy who has a variety of gadgets at his disposal. He is a parody of James Bond.
 * Amy Poehler as Bunny Babbitt - Bunny is Longcoat's wife. She often helps her husband with his plans.
 * Al Pacino as Don Tigerone - A parody of real-life Mafia dons, Don Tigerone is the leader of a group of cats known as the Purrfellas in the Season 5 episode of the same name. He is based on both Vito Corleone from The Godfather and real-life Mafia don John Gotti. He has it out for Mugi's father, but nobody knows why, not even Mugi.
 * Burt Reynolds as himself - Reynolds appeared in the Season 3 episode "Reynolds v. Tom", in which he squared off against Texas Tom, believing him to be an impostor. Reportedly, Reynolds ad-libbed most of his lines with Macdonald.
 * Nolan Bushnell as himself - Bushnell appeared in the Season 2 episode "Pong", in which he plays a Pong tournament with the bands, and wins.
 * Jim Carrey as Bob Walkman - Bob is a standard Jim Carrey-type character: exaggerated movements and facial expressions, hammy delivery, and charisma.

Development
The idea of a Rock-afire Explosion cartoon was first floated in the late 1980s, and was one of the reasons Fechter refused to sign over the rights for the characters to ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc., in addition to SPT's assumption that Fechter would do so for free, and cut all ties with the company in 1990.

Production began in earnest in February 2015 (two months after Johnson's acquisition of CEC Entertainment, Inc., which was renamed back to ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc.) after months of negotiations. Johnson and Fechter made sure that the series would not be an advertisement for ShowBiz Pizza Place, Chuck E. Cheese, or their products, instead opting to make them incidental locations within the series. Johnson and Fechter themselves serve as executive producers alongside Kathleen Helppie-Shipley, best known for her work with Warner Bros. Animation and the Looney Tunes series, and Bobs Gannaway, known for producing television series for Disney.

The series was announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2015 by Johnson and Fechter, along with a showing of the first concepts for the show. The first teaser was posted on December 1, 2015, along with a full cast list. The announcement was met with praise on various fan sites such as Retro Pizza Zone. By the time the series premiered, the second season was mostly completed, and development was underway for a third season, which was released in 2018.

Casting
All of the voice actors for the Rock-afire Explosion, Munch's Make-Believe Band, and Ho-Kago Teatime reprise their roles for the series. The Rock-afire Explosion's voice actors record at the Creative Engineering headquarters in Orlando, Florida, and Ho-Kago Teatime's voice actors record at 4K Studiopolis in Los Angeles, California. The voice of Happy is Joe Alaskey, best known as the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other characters in various Looney Tunes projects since the 1990s, using a voice similar to his Daffy voice, albeit without the trademark lisp and somewhat exaggerated. Mike Pollock voices mad scientist Dr. Frizz, who was described by Johnson as "a benign version of Dr. Eggman".

Other cast members are based in either California, New York, or Vancouver, Canada, and in many cases, guest stars record separately from the other actors, mainly in Los Angeles, California. Scott Wilson, the voice of Chuck E. between 1982 and 1990, voices his Pizza Time Theatre counterpart, who is depicted as the father of the modern "Rockstar" incarnation of the character, while all of the other voice actors for Pizza Time Players reprise their roles as well. Former Saturday Night Live cast member Norm Macdonald voices Texas Tom (using the voice he famously used for his impression of the late Burt Reynolds in the series' Celebrity Jeopardy! sketches), a cow in a cowboy outfit, while current SNL cast member Kate McKinnon voices Texas Tom's girlfriend, Calamity, also a cow.

Guest stars for the series have included Duncan Brannan (the voice of Chuck E. between 1994 and 2012) reprising his role as the 1997-2012 "Avenger" incarnation of the character, John O'Hurley as Caesar's father, King Zeus, Wink Martindale as game show host Daniel Nova, the late Alex Trebek as himself, and the late Little Richard as Shorty, a rock-singing horse.

Writing
The writing team consists of Johnson, Fechter, Wilson, regular Johnson writers Robby Victors and Jennifer Tennville, Rachel Ramras, Animaniacs writers Sherri Stoner and Paul Rugg, former Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder, Happy Tree Friends writers and former Sonic the Hedgehog English translators Ken Pontac and Warren Graff, and former SpongeBob SquarePants writers Merriwether Williams, Aaron Springer, Dani Michaeli, Kent Osborne, Zeus Cervas, Richard Pursel, and Paul Tibbitt, while Springer also serves as the story editor.

Animation
The animation is produced by Johnson Television Animation; with a budget of $150 million per season, this is one of the highest-budgeted productions from the studio. Veteran animator Eric Goldberg is one of the directors, alongside Rich Moore, Terry Lennon, Darrell Van Citters, Milt Gray, former animator Greg Duffell, and Chuck Jones protege Stephen Fossatti, while Derek Drymon and Jeff Degrandis serve as supervising producers. The characters have realistic shading, and have slight drop shadows behind them to emulate cel animation, their outlines even being made to resemble brush strokes. The K-On! characters are animated separately by Kyoto Animation using their original artstyle, with Naoko Yamada directing the K-On! characters' animation.

Before production began, many artstyles were proposed and/or tested, before it was decided to narrow down to [[Media:D8uo8ab-7d4bce3b-0fae-41f9-8d69-1e578de391c9.png|three]] [[Media:Mitzi Mozzarella Jr. concept art.png|possible]] [[Media:The mice of showbiz by theantleredwolfie ddcwuu0-fullview.jpg|artstyles]]; the third concept, which was a drawing of Mitzi Sr. and the PTT-era Chuck E. from 2015, was ultimately chosen for matching the K-On! artstyle closely, though the "M" on Mitzi's sweater was changed to match the one on the animatronic; the PTT-era Chuck design was used, while Mitzi Sr.'s design was altered to look older. Additionally, the "Avenger" Chuck E.'s design is exactly the same as in the commercials and official materials between 1997 and 2012.

Critical response
The series has been critically acclaimed. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a score of 100%, and on Metacritic, it has a perfect 100 as well. Entertainment Weekly called it "one of the best things to come out of the ShowBiz Pizza Place resurrection", while also stating that "with a great team of writers and animators, (The Rock-afire Explosion Show) is positioned for future success". In addition, it has also seen positive reception from fans of the band and the ShowBiz and Chuck E. Cheese chains, along with fans of the K-On! anime.

Viewership
Viewership for the series has been consistently high since its first season. It has been one of the most-watched series on the platform, and it has garnered high ratings via reruns on The Hub.

Accolades
The series has been nominated for Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program in 2018, 2019, and 2020, winning in 2019 for the episode "The Avenger Strikes Back", and won an Annie Award for Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Children in 2019, while Goldberg won another Annie for Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production in 2020, as did Locke for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production.