Helen Henny

Helens design as of 2024.

Helen Henny is one of the main characters of the Chuck E. Cheese's franchise, making her debut at the San Jose, CA (370 S Winchester Blvd) location in August 1977.

History

Pizza Time Theatre

Initially, Helen was a guest star. She had long hair and played the guitar. Not much is known about the original version of the character, as we do not have access to her showtapes. It is possible she was similar to her second appearance, Cabaret Helen Henny, who portrayed herself as a famous musician despite not being popular whatsoever.

Broadway

Helen returned again in 1983, this time being portrayed as an older woman. She had black and white hair, a red dress, and makeup. She seemed to be a retired Broadway star. Around this time, she became part of the main cast, as Pizza Time Theatre ran into financial problems.

ShowBiz Pizza Time

Post-Merger

Helen's character mostly remained the same throughout the merger, however, like her friends, she became nicer and toned down.

Concept Unification & Mid-1990's

During Concept Unification, Helen changed the most out of any character. She was now a much younger woman, wearing a pink and black dress. She still had her black and white hair, however, it was styled in a more modern and hip way. Her new character was inspired by her predecessor, Mitzi Mozzarella. throughout the 90's, she had various outfits. Most notably a few cheerleader suits, in either green or purple. Her hair was also made yellow around this time, but it seemed to alternate between shows.

Chuck E. Cheese's

1997 was a pivotal time for the soon-to-be CEC Entertainment, as they were attempting to paint Chuck himself as a more hip character. This of course meant Chuck E's friends had to adapt to the times as well. Helen got a new voice actor, who portrayed her as slightly younger than she was prior. She would be portrayed as a smart and independent woman. She received two new outfits during this era, those being a red jacket, as well as a pink shirt with a flower.

"Rockstar"

In 2012, Chuck E. Cheese was "given the pink slip," per the Associated Press. Due to declining revenue, CEC Entertainment sought to give Chuck E. a makeover, shrinking him down into a guitar-playing life-size mouse. Initially, Chuck's friends remained the same until 2014. Helen was given a redesign. Her hair was now in a ponytail and she wore a colorful pink dress with a heart. Helen's character would start to be presented as someone who loved to spread joy and play video games. Her character seemed like an attempt to solely inspire kids, which in result made her lack any of her old personality.

Animatronics

Types	Years Produced	Notes	Status
Winchester Helen Henny (Animatronic)	1977	Used at the Winchester location from August 1977 to February 1978.	Unknown.
Kooser Helen Henny (Animatronic)	1978	Used at the Kooser location from 1978 to 1980.	Possibly destroyed.
Helen Henny (Lounge)	1979-1980	Used at Huntington Beach, CA (15511 Edwards St) and Citrus Heights, CA (7614 Greenback Lane).	Phased out in 1984.
Guest Star / Helen Henny (Cyberamic)	1979-1990's	Arm movements later tweaked.	Phased out due to the CEC 2.0 Remodel Program. Being preserved at Northridge, CA (8425 Reseda Blvd) and Hicksville, NY (Delco Plaza 11-15 Hanover Place).
Mitzi Mozzarella (Animatronic)	1980-1983	Retrofitted. Latex cosmetics were eventually replaced with plastic cosmetics.	Phased out due to the CEC 2.0 Remodel Program. Being preserved at Charlotte, NC (7701 Pineville-Matthews Rd) and Springfield, IL (2369 McArthur Ave).
Dook Larue (Animatronic)	1980-1983	Was used on the Concept Unification Prototype Stage.	Destroyed.