Aaron Fechter is to animatronics what Butch Hartman is to animation and Tommy Tallarico is to game soundtracks.

YIKES, I did not know the full extent of Aaron's behavior and, ahem, 'sense of humor'. Nor his heavy-handed use of DMCAing pretty much ANYONE who tries to make anything with the Rockafire Explosion. The only validation here is that he let his own dream rot away. Because he was so prideful, he kept his little creations in a personal box, and that box has slowly turned into a coffin.

"Beach Bear I meet more girls by accident than you'll ever meet on purpose." "I'll break your neck Rolfe" Damn, Fatz

Loved your video! I was an employee of SBPP back in 1983-1986. We used to go to every event possible (even if not invited) with BB in order to complete with CEC. During that time I was the dining room supervisor and we all used to joke how gay BB sounded and would mimic him in the supply room. I got so good at it that when BB interactive came out (which you didn't talk about once in your video), I used to run the BB robot and talk to the audience every night. Even the staff were shocked how close I sounded to the voice of BB. I met my wife who was there for a birthday party and had BB talk about how I was so smitten with her. I called myself the stage manager as I was always going in and out of the booth with the two way mirror to actually perform. She really didn't understand that I was BB on stage! Lots of great memories... until the RAT invaded the store and they were starting to wrap up the whole interactive project. Because we were always competing with the rat, I had to quit as the fun was gone and the shows were not the same. I actually talked to Aaron via email about 10 years ago and he hated that interactive time. Gave him nightmares because the places he visited didn't even try to change their voice. They still have three stages in Springfield, IL but it is more of an open showroom now with no wall between the games and shows. If BB and the gang were still there and I could have made a living from doing the interactive, I would still be working there. One funny side note to your ending comments... when I first went to SBPP when I was 21, I got carded to just go into the place. The security guard thought I was under 18 and they had a strict rule about no one under 18 without a parent. It is sad that Aaron has become so angry with the world... much like my own brother who has disowned his own family and everyone else.

Fechter is a fascinating, sad man to me. If we’re doing FNAF comparisons, I’d probably compare him the most to none other than Afton. One of the central founding figures, sidelined by business drama, grand ideas and ambitions stifled, with a never ending bitterness that he can never seem to let go of in spite of his seemingly genuine love for his own family members and the like. Tbh though, I’d take a guy being a hyperconservative over being an actual serial killer of small children any day of the year

i was stoned out of my mind when i watched this last night and when the colander part came on i almost started crying. EXCELLENT video that touches on a lot of aspects of these animatronics that i rarely see discussed in passing- i really do love the rockafire from a technical and character perspective and i'm very, VERY glad you didn't shy away from the stuff aaron said. absolutely subscribing, i'd love to hear you talk about like. ANYTHING

Thank you for using my footage, I’m actually quite honored! I just sat through this whole video and..wow. I didn’t expect it to hit as hard as it did. My interest in animatronics began around two years ago, and oh man I wish I had a video like this back then! It’s pretty much everything I’ve learned over two years put into one video, something new fans can watch for a thorough deep dive. I’m glad you addressed Aaron’s behavior, a lot of fans (including me) looked up to him and were absolutely devastated to find out how he treated his fans. I don’t want new fans to experience that so thank you! Awesome video :)

Did you know that Aaron Fetcher and Scott Cawthon have met before? It was revealed on the Steam discussion page for one of the FNAF games, and while Scott didn't give any details, he did say that it was a pleasure to meet him since he's a long-time fan of the Rock-afire. I find this interesting not only because its one of the few times when someone meeting their hero turns out a positive experience, but because it makes me think of a couple of things I find funny. The first is that while Aaron can and will shut down fangames and the like, Scott is probably one of the most chill creators when it comes to fanworks. The most prominent example of this being the Fanverse Initiative, a project that exists to allow fangame developers to make careers off of their games. Imagine if Aaron did that with Billy Bob's Wonderland or the Showbiz Bar. The second is that while Aaron is strictly against Death of the Author, Scott fully embraces it. He's completely fine with seeing his characters depicted in this way or that way in fanart . In fact, he actually hired a couple of DeviantArt users to make official art for the series, and one of them went on to design the Glamrock animatronics in Security Breach. I can't help but wonder what were to happen if Scott were to meet Aaron again, and this somehow came up.

This is the funniest, most down-to-earth and passionate “history of” video I’ve ever seen on anything. You are doing God’s work.

You are doing the lord's work with this video. Aaron's been a skeleton in the closet in the fandom for a long, long time due to a mix of fear of his behavior and treating fanworks as trash and lawsuit threat worthy. And while other people tried and usually failed to point it out leading to them ending up with so much egg on their face that they could be turned into an omelette (not naming names, of course), the fact that he actively pissed off the guy who has been running a website that introduced people who'd never heard of these characters before was probably the top ten worst things he could've done. EDIT: yes. The copyright issue, how could I forget. Back in the day I ran this crusty, musty old RP account of Rolfe and Earl for my own personal use. There was no profit being made, there was nothing inappropriate happening. I was 12. Aaron sent me C&D threats over it. No joke. I can speak with absolute certainty that Aaron does this. Then he made his own Rolfe account on the same site and was told to curb the extremely.... I'll leave it at "out of character" behavior and he screamed at that person.

I adore the chemistry the band has. They feel like actual cartoon characters brought to life.

I know you already know that Aaron reacted to your video, but my hope is that it doesn't create any anxiety for you. You've made a wonderful video on these characters. Like Aaron, I've always believed that these characters have potential to live on beyond ShowBiz Pizza with TV, Movies albums, and so much more. It's a shame Aaron is the one who's getting in his own way. Don't let him get ya down. Stay awesome 🎉

1:39:17 aarons reply here sounds like something that would be written by a 13 year old with an anime profile picture and a bio that says "dont mess with me or else... 🐺"

It’s me!!! The friend who couldn’t go to Chucky Cheese as a child!!! Superb video bestie!!!!

I now deadass wanna see a fanfic about the rock-afire explosion that's either a creepypasta or a sorta sad/happy one about the gang being replaced or something and they have lingering memories of their past and how it hurts that they aren't like that anymore. You know what? I'm a writer.....I could write this.....but I'm not all that good at creepypastas or I don't know much about rock-afire explosion except for this video.....hmh...... (Little sidenote but FNAF actually is responsible for videos like these popping up in my recommendations and because FNAF made me genuinely curious about how IRL pizzerias with animatronics work or just how certain animatronics came to be! Plus, I really like history videos about things like this: relics of the past that once were new and now have either been forgotten or they're a passing mention in a convo.)

Finally someone that shows off who fechter really is. This is like the accurate rock afire documentary we always needed. Loved all the roasts you made towards the asshole.

I've been in the fandom since late 2018 and have learned a lot from this fandom. My biggest regret was believing I could count on Aaron. I used to be one of Aaron's biggest fans until 2020 when I found out the hard way that the man is not someone you should count on. I was obsessed with CEI, and the RAE. To the point where I made the mistake of antagonizing Dewmonic when the Dew Vs Fechter war broke out. I was a naive, ignorant and blind fool to believe in Aaron. When I tried to express how much I cared about him, I was subjected to being a topic of ridicule and I was gaslighted by Aaron's fans as well as his GF. Aaron pretty much told me he didn't want me in the fandom anymore and he promptly disposed of me like trash. To say that I'm heartbroken about what happened would be an understatement. Finding out the truth about the ones you once cherished hurts. Joining the anti-Aaron community has been a blessing to me. The people here have treated me miles better than those I was around before. I've found comfort in knowing that I'm not the only victim to be mistreated by Fechter. These people are what keep me going in this fandom and inspire me. They've taught how to practice separating the art from the artist. Which has allowed me to the enjoy the band without the guilt of being on bad terms with Aaron. I'm still mentally damaged by what happened years ago but I know I'm in a better, safer, place of the fandom now. I've been spending my time working on fan content with the rockafire characters and have had more time to focus and pursue my ambitions in the fandom. I love browsing fan art and watching fan programmed shows. I just can't get enough of these characters. I've trying to learn new skills so I can do more with these guys.

My only real goal as a small RAE fan is to see one of the shows in person; The thing that makes me sad is that I live really close to the Volo Auto Museum and I've heard they have all of the animatronics, but they can't operate them (I don't know if it's because of a licensing fee or if it's because of the grey box/blue box controversy, but I do know that Aaron has something to do with it). It's kind of amazing that they made such good music too, if you listened to it on its own I don't think you'd have guessed that it was written for a pizzeria animatronic band in the 1980's.

It seems like Aaron will never change, which is a shame honestly. He seems to be stuck in his llittle bubble, where he is always right and everyone else is wrong. If he only moved past it and just ACCEPTED PEOPLE FOR WHO THEY ARE (really, not being racist, transphobic and homophobic is not that hard) he could have made something great. But he remains so protective over his IP, that it seems like the only way the Rock-afire can move forward is with the death of its creator, which is just depressing.

I so badly want a sequel video about all the other things they mentioned about Aaron

damn... Aaron was a huge inspiration for animatronics and robotics for me, and just too see him do and say all this stuff just breaks my heart...

THANK YOU for shedding light on what aaron has done, i was hyperfixated on the rockafire explosion/CEC/creative engineering projects from around 2020-2022. in 2021 i actually got to go to the creative engineering warehouse via a tour you could purchase on the CEI website. i met aaron myself, and i think he could tell by my short haircut that i was trans. about halfway into the tour after a bit of uncomfortable staring from aaron he decided to go on a 10 minute rant about transgender people to my parents talking about “a girl can not be a boy, it’s so stupid” emphasizing FTM aspects instead of the MTF side.. whatever and so on. i was one of his minion-like defenders back then but hearing him say that in real life definitely directed towards me really hurt. seeing the animatronics was great (i got to hug beach bear!!) but aaron is a terrible person

Stars above, just thinking about Fechtor makes me really, really sad. Because he is obviously a very talented and creative man whose creations have survived the test of time because of it. The Rockafire shows his true potential and how he could still be doing great things with them. But the fact that he's a pretentious, hateful asshole who rejects everything and everybody that doesn't fit perfectly into his worldview makes it so, so hard to be a Rockafire fan. I really do hope he gets help for all his issues, because he truly does need and deserve it... I hope he realizes that without us, he and the Rockafire would be NOTHING and nobody would ever remember them as well as they do today. His attitude is a really touchy subject for me, personally. Sadly I don't think he will ever change. I think he will die harboring so much hate in his heart for the very people who still keep his creations relevant. And that's the worst thing about everything. If only he hadn't become a conservative nutjob, the Rockafire could still be in the public perception, with TV and Movies and such like he himself said he wanted.

As a transmasc, autistc, teen whose special interest is Rockafire/ChuckeCheese bro would hate me

this entire video is genuinely so good. I am so glad you went off about Aaron in the last bit, its something i feel not many people acknowledge and the fact that the creator of something I love so much is such a miserable person is super like... unmotivating??? saddening for sure. and none of these rock afire video essays even touch up on that. I love everything you said, this video is full of passion and love and true criticism and praise. amazing work :)

He responded to your video, oh my god

okay now that i’m kind of calmed down: i noticed you used clips from some of my videos and i’m so happy thanks so much!!!! this was an AMAZING retrospective, probably my favorite actually on youtube!! it was amazing hearing an actual fellow passionate animatronic fan explain the history and give your opinions as well!! totally worth the wait for this vid 🔥

This is the best video on the RAE I've ever seen. You pretty much summed up everything I've learned in this 1 and a half year of being a RAE fan perfectly, things that I had to dig the deepest and most forgotten places on the internet to learn about. I hope this video blows up, so newcomers find it and learn all the important stuff from the get go and don't get fooled by Aaron's nice guy persona and think he's a hero, only to find out he hates your existence and be extremely disappointed. I appreciate the amount of research and work this must've taken and how deep it goes. Btw I hate you for choosing Sal's Birthday for the credits, I was already almost crying lol >:'(

Aaron Fechter is a really good example of how a person can simultaneously be a genius and an absolute moron. He created these characters and he is essential to the world of animatronics like Walt Disney was to animation, and yet he's full of so much disdain and maybe even hatred for the very people who dared to enjoy what he created. To me it seems like Chronic Old Person Syndrome, where they can still be kind sometimes (as shown near the end of the video) and loving to their family, but then curse perfectly good people in the very same breath just for being a different color or for liking the same gender or anything like that. He's got a set of trigger words that piss him off, like every other 60 year old republican dude on Twitter and Facebook. If you show concern for him using any words on that list he loses his shit and gets defensive, but he still responded to that Reddit post recognizing that there was a modicum of concern tied to the question. It sucks and I doubt he'll change, but I still love the Rockafire.

This is such a great video! I've been interested in animatronics for a bit, though not quite invested enough to do a FULL deep dive into my own research, so this was just what I was looking for! For those who are worried about non-Disney animatronics disappearing completely, I'd recommend checking out the recent stuff made by Daniel's Wood Land. They also started out making shooting galleries, but have upped their game to include dark rides and short animatronic shows.

I gotta say this video was ABSOLUTELY worth every second. Your passion really shone through here, I hope people will watch this and see the magic behind these forgotten but still charming animatronic characters. I watch a Lot of video essays so take this as a strong compliment, this became an instant favorite and I'm eager to see more from you!! Initially I was going to stop by and quickly peep at your section about Rock-Afire Replay (my partner is The64thGamer, who got me interested in RAE in the first place), but I was hooked from the start! I want to let you know that about halfway through watching this, I felt immediately inspired and started sketching a silly fan drawing of Billy Bob (the gay bear icon) and a few of my other faves haha. I'll definitely be putting this video in my rewatch playlist for the next time I want something fun to listen to as I draw, or just to revisit in entirety because of the amazing writing and creative editing. Thanks for creating something so awesome!!

every homophobic or conservative thing aaron says, a rockafire explosion character is headcanoned as queer. (idc that mitzi likes talking about boys she’s included in this too)

my friend is SUPER into animatronics and was so excited to send this video to me so that i could get Knowledge on it and WOW IM SO GLAD THEY DID. THIS VIDEO IS SO INSANELY WELL DONE! i mean i went into this with only the knowledge of "oh ya i had like my 4th bday at a chuck e cheese and the animatronics really creeped me out" to being just... absolutely enamored with the rock-afire explosion. like seriously, this is so well done! i was able to follow along with everything perfectly and stayed engaged the entire time so... good job? its like 3 am and my mind is becoming mush now so i cant think of a better way to articulate exactly what is being done so well here, but also maybe thats just bc its the All Of It so yknow.

“You can take that to the bank” Aaron said… from his abandoned warehouse… and his characters effectively scrubbed from the cultural consciousness

This is the greatest Rock-afire Explosion video I've EVER seen. It sums up EVERYTHING perfectly! This is it. This is the Rock-afire and everything tied to it. Amazing job! The section with the Rock-afire Explosion characters interacting with each other and feeling like real relatable characters reminded me why I love this band. It reminded me why I wanna keep loving it and cherishing it forever. The fandom has its ups and downs, Aaron is the world's biggest goofball, but the Rock-afire Explosion is why I'm here. They will forever be more than moving metal. They are Rolfe, Earl, Dook, Fatz, Beach Bear, Billy Bob, and Looney Bird. Long live the Rock-afire!! And thank you for explaining it to the world better than I think anyone ever could. This really brought the Rock-afire Explosion back and close to my heart.

Seeing confederate flags, inside a Chuck E Cheese's, in California, gave me whiplash like no other

AARON SAW THE VIDEO I JUSG SAW HIS REACTION YOU WERE RIGHT

This video is fantastic, THANK YOU. As someone who's had a huge special interest in animatronics for years, Went to see the RAE For her birthday last year in WV, And went 7-hours to chicago just to see some animatronics for birthday festivities again this year, This is amazing. You also actually address Aaron's VERY er.. Problematic, Behavior. While other youtubers may talk about the rise and fall from a business standpoint, This one is such a fresh take and is so wonderfully crafted. I can tell you love animatronics! :D I hope you have a good day!

Lmaoooo here to report Aaron’s fragile baby-man ego has been successfully triggered by this 😭 “don’t bother commenting” dw he made a TWENTY MINUTE LONG video response… and it’s only part 1 of his response 😆

I love the rock afire explosion in every way, but what Arron has done to the community started to make me feel less about the goofy animatronics I love. He has basically nerfed everything to the point people dislike him, and I can't blame them. I was a huge fan of Aaron for years when i first started getting into animatronics, but he became something I started to hate, I believe he could become a better person inside the community if he treated his fans better instead of yelling and suing people for their own ideas about his animatronics and ways of using his animatronics in their own ways. He needs to stop and realize what he is doing to his mascots fanbase and himself. (P.S. If Aaron reads this, read it and try to fix some of your mistakes please) -Sombore

This is simultaneously one of the most uplifting, inspirational, bittersweet, beautiful videos I’ve watched. I knew of some of the history of the RAE before this, mostly in passing from other videos. But after seeing this pop up in my recommended for several days in a row, I decided to put it on as I cleaned my room. I was stopped in my tracks and fell in love with this band of friends! Thank you!!! 💜

Aaron thinks your 16 💀

It's funny FNaF is what made me love animatronics so much so that I still do to this day Honestly I don't get why FNaF didn't make animatronics infinitely more popular

There’s actually more information of the moonrockers, they were made in 1985 by Burt Wilson and Dave thomas, Aaron had nothing to do with the creation of the moonrockers because he was busy working with the anti freedom machine. Burt wrote their songs and Dave designed the characters. Their full showtape is about 12 minutes long with only 3 songs. That being : 1. Were the moonrockers 2. The cyclops boogie 3. Were the moonrockers (reprise) The characters were voiced by duke chupetta (ozone) Burt Wilson (orc) max (quazar) and bj (hailey) which was also the same VA as queenie. There are many different promo tapes for them, the first being the 1990 promotional sales demo, the second being the 1992 demo tape, the 1989 made in Florida TV special, and one mysterious tape that has not been released of the shows first full song of a different angle. They also have antierly different body shells from the rock afire, while also using the beta stage from the rock afire. Sismis was never programmed to any songs, (or maybe didn’t even work at the time) apparently, the hard luck bears at Gullivers have PLAYED THE MOONROCKERS SHOWTAPE. And if you don’t believe me, just look for yourself. kzfaq.infobJyjHrAayso

The tie-dye clip made me laugh omg beach bear didn’t have a single thought in those eyes

30:44 Rolfe:”okay let’s hear it from the big fat monkey ahhahaha!” Fatz:”I’m gonna break your neck Rolfe” had me dying

its pretty sad that out of the most prominent people known for dancing preforming animatronic animals, the nicest and the person who loves all the fans works, is the person known for making these robots more horrifying. i wish aaron was at least a bit more like scott in the way he at least just supported his FANS no matter what they desire to make. Despite the few contreversial things scott cawthon has done, we at least can appreciate his love for fans work and how he handles things he disagrees with (such as the recent fnaf plus voice line drama), but its such a bizarre parallel that a person known for a horrifying horror game basically demonizing animatronics, is millions of times nicer than a person known for making animatronics entertaining in a fun way.

Adding this to my playlist of BANGER documentaries because omgggg does this scratch an itch in my rockafire explosion obsessed brain or WHAT. You did a fantastic job, and thank you for going so in depth with it alongside even the more obscure characters and retrofits ARRRGHGRGR I love this video so much omgg (it was also amazing hearing music from everhood and inscryption in the background thank you I am feeling very enriched in my enclosure rn HSJXJSJJS) It's also good to see someone actually directly bringing up Aaron and his.. "vocal" we'll say, presence (I regret trying to take a sip of water during that segment as I spat it out at the bridge with Earl) New favorite video about the band!!!!

Aaron Fechter is actually senile 😭 those tweets and comments are INSANE like what is he TALKING ABOUT????

This was a really lovely watch and a very well made video! I even learned some new information! Finding out information on this topic without directly interacting with the fanbase can be difficult. I’ve been a very big fan of The Rock-afire Explosion for about 8 or 9 years which, at currently 17, makes me have been a RAE fan for about half my life. Crazy, right? Despite all of the controversy and drama surrounding the band in the past, present, and most likely future I don’t think anything could ever stop me from loving them. The creativity and talent behind the creation and production of the Rockafire from all angles continues to amaze me and warm my heart. I think the Rockafire and The Tropical Cleaners had so much potential but unfortunately a lot of their presumed and widely recognized failure is thanks to the under appreciation and lack of respect for artists which is an issue that goes far beyond just singing pizzeria robots. Still, for what they were and continue to be The Rock-afire is still pretty great and I’m glad I got to visit the home of one of my favorite bands before the recent building move. This video was a fantastic deep dive and I’m happy such a niche topic got a video it rightly deserves. I hope to see more video essays from you if it’s something you’re interested in!

Believe it? I lived it! I was born in the early 1980s and grew up mostly in the Midwest. At that time, Chuck E. Cheese's were more of a West Coast thing, and Show-Biz Pizza Place was THE place for dinner and a show if you were under age 12. I still have fond memories of seeing the Rock-afire explosion show on 4 or 5 occasions between age 2 and about age 9. One of the most devastating events of my childhood was when all the Show-Biz locations were converted into Chuck E. Cheese's in the early 1990s (a brand I had never heard of before that happened). While I still went to parties there, it just wasn't the same, and I didn't enjoy it nearly as much.

1:05:43 First off, thanks for using my footage! Second, just to clear something up (if someone else hasnt yet), the show that's currently open is not the same show that was open last December. The show currently open is the Gulliver's Kingdom (Matlock Bath) show, but the show that was open last year was Gulliver's World (Warrington) show. I'm uncertain on when the Warrington show will be public but I believe they're planning on opening it again this December (Great video though! Best, most accurate RAE documentary I've ever seen!)

“Homie don’t play that game” has me crying oml 😭😭😭

Absolutely insane video. You are very right in the sense that most videos on the Rockafire were from the perspective of CEC and never really went in depth. Yours is the first video I've seen to even MENTION RR games lol. Once again incredible video and though these may be uncertain times for animatronics fans, I will stand by this community every step of the way.

OH MY GOD THE AARON COMMENTS ARE KILLING ME

NOOO HOW COULD YOU SKIP OVER UNCLE KLUNK THEYRE SO GOOD UNCLE KLUNK SWEEEEP (great video other than that!!!) EDIT: NEVERMIND YOU DO HECK YEAH

The kind of video the RAE deserves! Very informative and enjoyable. The Rock-afire was a strangely impactful part of my early teen years and hearing them talked about at length is... More than happiness. I became a fan 6 years ago when I was 12 and eventually interacted with others online, primarily on Tumblr. [Sorry to the friends who endured the bizarre cringe I put out as a 14 year old online artist.] I was probably most active around 2018/2019 and saw my share of WILD fandom junk unfold, none of which I was thankfully involved in- though being a small community, I once or twice had a mutual friend/acquaintance with somebody who was involved. I abandoned Tumblr at some point since the RAE has faded into the background among other current interests, but for an obscure band of wacky robot animals, they've done a lot for me. I met some fantastic people from online community, practiced my art skill through a thousand doodles of these characters, found a passion for electronics, and now I continue to have interests generally considered strange. RAE had a GRIP on my brain for years [I can't overstate this, RAE infested my mind on the daily, you can imagine I had a hard time sharing my interests with friends at school] and I continue to come back to it from time to time. I briefly revisited Tumblr and saw how the community has new fans, artists, general opinions... It's different from only a few years ago for sure. But it's so neat! I can still list every main voice actor, [Mitzi was briefly voiced by Monique Danielle after Fechter, just a little something not stated in the video!] recall little showtape details, and think of all sorts of strange fun facts just from memory. I'm overjoyed this video came up in my recommendations, and must say thank you so much for being the person to devote so much time and effort to a stellar video. Maybe today I'll sketch a little fanart for the first time in a while, and listen to Strain Your Brain when I go outside. Barely relevant side note: For some reason, my interest in animatronics drew me towards Halloween/attraction props [Distortions Unlimited, Unit 70 Studios] instead of other pizza animals [Never bothered much with Chuck E Cheese.] By the way, my favorite character in the Rock-afire- hell, maybe one of my favorites of any media- Is Mitzi. :) I just think she's endearing. Runners-up are Looney Bird and Beach Bear.

This documentary gave me all the feels. I was so enraptured with the Rock-Afire's history and show tapes, and equally appalled at what Aaron had said/done after hype died down. You did such an incredible job at creating a tribute to what made the Rock-Afire Explosion so cool and why it honestly deserves some more attention! Bravo!

This video is excellent!! The hugely diverse bank of footage you used and the fairly detailed history were already wonderful, but the personal touches about being a fan and having more insight into the appeal of these animatronics really brings a new energy to the table from other accounts of showbiz/rock-afire's history. Thank you for putting this massive thing together, you did a great job!

describing earl and rolfe's dynamic as a manzai duo is so perfect actually. and the rhythm heaven clip! i've had an interest in these characters since around 2015 and it's been a WEIRD ride seeing how stuff has unfolded and learning that aaron is such a jerk. i genuinely love his creations and he's clearly talented but his personality is just heinous. i used to want to visit the studio because i live near florida but i feel like he'd have an allergic reaction to my openly queer self lmao the dialogue in the old showtapes was what really made me fall for these characters, they genuinely sound like a bunch of friends goofing around making music and being dorks together. these singing robots have more believable camaraderie than some more fleshed-out characters do

Billy Bob is truly a queer icon 🙏🏻

Hello, friend. I live less than 10 minutes from Billy Bob’s Wonderland. I’ve grown up loving that place so much. I recently got back into it as of last year. I have one of the vintage plushies, I own various posters and shirts from BBW. It recently got bought out by another arcade but they decided to keep the animatronics and keep the spirit alive. Unfortunately the new owner is similar to Aaron in his political views, but I try to ignore it. My best friend and I love going there and watching the band together. Thank you for making this video, I didn’t learn much because I’ve done my own research before, but I just liked listening to someone talk about the band like I do. You’re really cool and thanks for spreading the word in this amazing band. ❤️

I've looked up to Aaron Fechter since I was 8. I search up CEI constantly and scroll through pages of videos ot the rockifire, wolf pack 5, hardluck bears, moonrockers, ect. and I watch all of them. I've always wanted to be like him. I want to do what he does. I'm at the ripe age of 14 and I made up my mind 6 years ago on what I'm doing with my life. I am really dissapointed in what Aaron has done. but he will forever be a legend for what he has created. If someone mentions animatronics I gain large frame glasses and buck teeth. And it's all because of Showbiz. My parents grew up with them. I know more about the band than they do. I randomly tell both my parents 200 random facts about CEI and I wish I could show Aaron how much I know about his art. I know I never will. But CEI means so much to me in general, I wish Aaron never made these comments,

Amazing video. Thank you for going in depth about Aaron and the rabbit hole that goes with him, I think many people know he has his issues but don’t know specific incidents. That tweet montage was really eye-opening for me, and I’m sure it was for many others. Tbh I think this video is gonna get picked up by the algorithm soon, it’s too good of a video essay not to!

It’s difficult, because I like Fnaf. It’s what introduced me to the rock-afire (as it did for a lot of people), I was in middle school when it came out. but I too, cannot stand how there’s no separation between the two things. It’s annoying how all comments and posts are related to Fnaf when you try to look up animatronic content. I just wanna talk about REAL animatronics lollll. But anyway. I have Scandia’s Dook now, and I am just in love with the art of animatronics. I can’t say I would’ve known about all this history if it weren’t for Fnaf, but lord, separate them pleaseeee lmao. Just finished the video: nearly cried at the credits

Being a fnaf fan and also enjoying real animatronics is actually hell 😭😭 Springlocks are not real guys

the way my jaw just kept dropping as his social media comments kept going on

I think Billy Bob and Looney Bird were the original BANJO & KAZOOIE. Also this youtuber deserves more subscribers because of this awesome video.

Not me casually stalking the comments to see if Aron comments

Tbh Fnaf is like the jurassic park/world but for animatronics instead of paleontology. Both media's have helped me grow my love for animatronics and prehistoric life and stuff. With jurassic world/park though it's mainly a big cause of people believing outdated info and taking a si-fi movie as fact (i don't hate JP/JW btw! i also know it's not meant to be accurate, it just annoys me that people take hollywood films as 100% accurate). It's also nice to see someone talk about real animatronics tbh, i've been thinking about possibly making animatronics in the future if i can similar to the older ones like from rock-a-fire

This is such a good video!! Im so happy to see some rockafire hype and love, ive been a huge fan of tje rockafire and mitzi for years. Im so glad that you adddessed all of the horrible things aarons done. One thing i remember from one of his videos is like some story where the world ended and only the animatronics are left so they were injected something to become real? And then he felt the need to share that after that all the characters would assualt mitzi to "repopulate"..just so nasty and disturbing and just YUCK. I wish he had nothing to do with the RAE.

Aaron's comments are messed up but like. Insanely funny in a ridiculous way because these are such. Absurd comments to be coming from an animatronics account

Fantastic video. I absolutely loved hearing you pour your heart out into this video. Getting to listen to people talk about the things I care about with just as much passion as I have for them is an amazing feeling. Keep up the great work

I stomached the response video by video of Aaron and... ick. He just goes through all the typical far right racist bigot stuff. I also love his ageist argument that you are young to have a rational argument. Then he makes TWO?! more hour long videos to compain and rant about your video 😅 Great video btw Subbed.

I'm from Germany and while watching this Video I looked this place in Switzerland up, jumped in my car and drove 2 hours literally after you mentioned it 😂. I didn't plan it at all but it was awesome. Can recommend

absolutely worth the wait !!! i'm so glad to have discovered rockafire this year,, this video was an emotional roller coaster in all kinds of ways,, i found myself being sad during the credits that it happened to just end,, i've been thoroughly excited for this video essay to come out,, it was absolutely outstanding,, as a newcomer,,, someone who found them just this year,, i've been talking to my friends all about it,, and i've been wondering about all of the history,, i learned new things,, and i got to hear about things i've thought about to myself before,, great video juno !!!!

Legit every time I see a tweet from Aaron I read it dead strait in my head in the Billy Bob voice and it is the funniest shit!!

I live an hour out of Huntsville! I regret to inform everyone that they lost their stage :(

I’ve been a fan of animatronics for years now, and everyday I find new things to learn about them. So, when I heard I was going to Chuck E. cheese for a cousins birthday, I was ecstatic, even though I preferred Rockafire it was better than nothing. But when I went, that’s what I found. Nothing. The stage was empty, the walls had a very corporate and impersonal feel to them, and I barely enjoyed the games. I was miserable, and I couldn’t help but grieve for the times when restaurant animatronic pizzerias were in their hay day, and they weren’t just money making schemes. The current state of Chuck E. Cheese depresses me, but it’s people like you and those who are preserving animatronics from the pizza wars who really make me feel hopeful for the future of animatronics. Thank you for making such an informational video, and I’ll be sure to share this with my peers and get the word out about Rockafire even more than I usually do. Thank you!

Yup, my Chuck-e has the Rockifier 3 stage concept unification animatronics still, and they are still in very good shape.

59:19 i agree with him here, it sucks that they got rid of the rock-afire explosion but it’s understandable that he was attached to his characters and didn’t want to totally give them up and have no control over them and not be able to use them for anything else

The clip segment was the best part and it made me appreciate these guys so much more, incredible video

I hope Aaron gets to know that a lot of the fans of his creations are in the groups he so very much hates.

What an incredible video essay! I hope more people get to watch this and become more interested in the rockafire explosion. This for sure reeled me back in. Subscribed and excited to see more coming from you!

This video was so good! Fnaf definately got me super into animatronics and the history of CEC and Showbiz, but watching such an in-depth video that laid out everything in a way that kept my attention was great, especially with the stuff at the end, I would have never known if not for that tbh, I enjoy watching people restore animatronics and didn't even realize he was so active online. You definitely deserve more subscribers and such this was so well made! Can't wait to see any future videos!!

What an incredible video essay. I am a huge fan of the Rock-Afire Explosion and have been for a while.. Admittedly, yes, FNAF is what got me into animatronics but i grew to love the wholesome family entertainment side of them more than the horror side after a while(Don't get me wrong, i love the horror aspect but i appreciate the wholesome side much more now than i did when i first got into animatronics) Anyway, i wanted to learn more about the history of the Rock-Afire Explosion and this was the perfect video. Sometimes i struggle with my attention span and watching long video essays can be hard, but the pacing of this video, the choice of music, the humor, showing photos and videos.. All together this is an amazing video I also really appreciate the fact that you didn't completely avoid talking about Aaron Fechter and all of the issues surrounding him because its really important to show people things like that, and not just allow them to turn a blind eye to the things he has done. I, like many others, didn't know the extent of how much of a horrible person he is and i am glad i have been properly educated(Although i always knew he was a bad person i just didn't know it was this bad, and i am honestly thankful you covered it in this video, so if there are people who are completely oblivious they will now be aware of the type of man he is) I agree with you as well that i respect him for what he created but do not respect him as a person in the slightest.. Overall, this video was very pleasant to watch and i feel satisfied as a Rock-Afire Explosion fan now feeling that i know more about the history of them. Finishing the video has left me with a sort of bitter-sweet feeling and i am very glad i found your post about this video on my tumblr whilst looking for Rock-Afire Explosion fanart of all things haha! I hope you and anyone else reading this have an amazing day!!

THE AMOUNT OF SASS IN ARRONS TWEETS HAVE ME CRYING ITS NOT EVEN FUNNY

As someone who has been interesting in the RAE and MMBB for many years, its great to see different people making new vids on them, and showing them to a new crowd! Thanks (:

Wooo Smitty's! I know that place! Really enjoyed the video!

I love this video too much, Definitely a new subscriber, ive been a rockafire fan since 2017, not too long but i wasnt born when showbiz was still around, and even if i was, there was only ever one showbiz location in australia, and same with chuck e, (Both locations are basically lost media, they are super interesting)

Amazing video, for many years I have simply taken these things for granted, never knowing the story behind why these things came to be, thank you.

yess! I've been wanting a video like this about the silly animatronic bands that are my special interest, these characters mean so much to me as an autistic adult it's a shame I will most likely never see a show as I'm far from any of the places still open but videos like this help me to spread the love and joy of these creations I hold so dear to me so thank you!!

I LOVE THIS VIDEO! You did so good and I love your humor, edits and opinions! I’d love to see a Chuck E Cheese video in this style! :D

Thanks so much for making this video!! I've been getting more interested in the history of animatronics lately and this was a perfect starting point

i follow you on a bunch of platforms but i wanted to comment ty for making this video it was my introduction to the fandom and i still revisit it often :]

*D O N ' T S M O K E C R A Y O L A S.* - Uncle Klunk

3rd time watching this. I am now in my rockafire hyperfixation era.

This is my favorite video discussing animatronics. And im a sucker who still loves looking at old Chuck E Cheese Portrait shows because they are just so charming. I hope this video blows up massively so you can make more like it

I grew up with the stories from my father of how wonderful it was growing up with Showbiz Pizza and my Hyperfixation on Entertainment Mechanics. It feel like I grew up with those shows because of how much I researched and watched videos about them, despite technically not ever even really seeing a full show tape before (in video and in person.) It hurts a lot Y’know, to see ANOTHER person who inspired me so deeply to learn about such niche things, be someone who would HATE me if they met me IRL, given that I’m queer, Autisic, Young, and very much the opposite of his political beliefs. I still love Billy Bob and his gang, I always will. I’ll always love the predecessors and the descendants that came from this gang too. Even if the person who created it is someone who I can’t respect as much anymore. Thanks for reading this whole ass essay. I needed to get some stuff out into the void lol. This was a perfect video, I enjoyed it a lot. :)

I loved this video so much due to the fact you put time and care and research into this. Not many people do this or make a video with little to no research to pass off the creep factor of animatronics to garner the attention. Thanks for making an in depth video when I don't have energy or don't have time to explain and hyper focus to my friends who are not aware of this piece of family restaurant and entertainment history.