Animatronic Retrospective- Captain Andy’s Rivertowne

[@capt_creations_]

Goober and Gus Gus are other way round, Gus Gus is on piano and Goober is the tall dog, the cats are Dixie, Daisy & Delilah. The dalmation is sparky. When the show ran in Pleasurewood Hills they sand songs from the spice girls

[@roskuil]

I can't believe Goober and Gus Gus would do this to me

[@feliciteacup]

AH i wasn't going crazy, i was obsessed with those 3 cats a few years ago and when i was watching this video the name delilah kept popping into my head like i swore one of them was named delilah

[@livelollobotomy]

no the dalmation iS A TUMOR (this is 100% a joke thank you so much for providing additional information i shall cherish it always)

[@InquisitorAstelon]

There's an expression "You ain't just whistlin' Dixie" which means "You aren't kidding." It's a reference to that.

[@DeadlyComicsYT]

GOOD VIDEOOOOOO I'm dedicating my life to captain andy now!

[@mr.dan7144]

Bob basically said the problem with Capt. Andy's Rivertown was that the market was already saturated, and the show was late to the game. I did not know about the lawsuit; I would believe it left a sourer taste in his mouth. Excellent posting!

[@ShuGuai]

I can clear up one little confusion here. One River Towne was in Putty Hill Plaza, not in the Putty Hill Shopping Center. [Source: a Feb 13, 1983 ad in The Baltimore Sun which gives the location as "On Rt. 1, one block outside the Baltimore Beltway (695), Exit 32N. Next to the Giant in Putty Hill Plaza."] The Overlea/Putty Hill/Perry Hall? location was, therefore, one and the same. Another note: An arcade token from the Putty Hill location is currently on sale on ebay, and one side of the coin shows that it is, indeed, Mayor J.T. (The token has the old number of the Putty Hill location on it.) The same coin also has the catchphrase "We'll show ya!" on it. And a memory: The only song I can clearly remember had the lyrics "It's River Towne show-time. We'll be back in no time."

[@BriarPatchProductions]

I actually own an animatronic of Mayor Jubilation T. Bullfrog, are there any other memories you have of the animatronic show?

[@muppetsretrofan8873]

Also, I have an animatronic restaurant mystery of my own, this was Pizza Playhouse in Louisiana with Dippy the Dinosaur as their mascot. My mom went there when she was little, and I've been trying to find information about it so we could discuss the chain's history together, yet I don't think there's anything about Pizza Playhouse. Even Marc's Funtime Pizza Palace [retrofitted PTTs] has more information! It frustrates me when restaurant history is poorly documented. Don't even get me started on how the Jack In The Box restaurant chain tries to ignore anything made before the 90s, which REALLY bugs me given that their 1970s characters were voiced by a Disney voice actor legend: Paul Winchell, OG voice of Tigger. There's a few comics and only 3 commercials on KZbin, which I highly recommend watching, they're really charming and you can tell Paul Winchell had fun doing the voices. Sadly, much like Captain Andy, there's little information about the Jack In The Box 1970s characters.

[@lokisince89]

I can confirm the Wheaton, MD location; I worked there for 2 years until it closed and then worked briefly at the Inn of Magic that took over the space. I wore the Captain Andy suit to bring out ice cream to the birthday kids. The suit was incredibly hot, even when the fan built into the top hat was working. Towards the end the newest song they had was a version Van Halen's Jump.

[@BriarPatchProductions]

Interesting! I own a Jubilation T. Bullfrog animatronic, who performed “Jump” with Capt. Andy. Do you remember any of the other songs that were in the shows?

[@Rabbittrench]

Capt. Andy is so friend-shaped. Oh my gosh.

[@tujumaster]

This is great. Also, I was there. APC was located at 1776 E. Jefferson St in Rockville MD. I used to go to the Wheaton Plaza location all the time. I’ll see if I can find some documents or images for you.

[@roskuil]

Let us know if you find anything!

[@TweetsieRailroader]

4:26 BOB GURR MENTIONED. It genuinely surprised me that Bob Gurr was involved with this. He was literally responsible for pretty much every vehicle at the Disney Parks, with the exception of the Retlaw 1 and 2 Coaches at Disneyland, so I have a lot of respect for Bob. It’s really cool that he put his talents into something like this!

[@R.P.Tproductions]

The rock a fire explosion animation was really good I watched it three times

[@Mr_Meisterr]

Nice video! Goober is the tall dog that plays the bass, Happy is the dog on the fiddle, Homer is the dog on the guitar, and Gus-Gus is the small dog on the piano. Hope this helps!

[@Plt1lll]

Creative Presentations Is One Of My Favourites Lots Of Lost Media With Them As Well.

[@ChrisWeedPiano]

This is the kind of deep dive video I love. Funny and well-researched, with super good motion graphics!

[@midwest_cec]

my dad was lucky enough to see them as a kid. back in 2019 he handed me 2 photos. one of his birthday at showbiz and another where it was him and a bear mascot and he said i thought id like it because they “had a robot show like showbiz and it was located in canada”. for years i was trying to figure out what it was but turns out it was boblo island. there were a few captain andys rivertowne restaurants here in michigan as well that only lasted about a year or so. i have some merchandise from captain andy’s as well such as a piggy bank of capt andy and a wallet.

[@Balootoyoutoo]

So David and bob were both the original imagineers behind one of the first Disney animatronics, Abraham Lincoln. Bob did the body and david did the hands

[@maddiejoy6619]

As someone who once wrote a 30+ page term paper on Meet Me in St. Louis, I can say you're correct that it isn't just a Christmas movie. It's a year in the family's life as they face major life changes (daughters getting engaged, money issues, the possibility that they might move, etc) all set around a backdrop of waiting for the World's Fair that will be held in St. Louis. They celebrate many things, including Christmas. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" comes at the emotional climax of the film where the family is facing moving to New York City, away from everything they know. At the same time, Judy Garland's character has just gotten engaged and will be leaving the family. That's why the song is encouraging the listener to have a merry Christmas despite difficulties in life. Anyway, if you read this entire mini-essay, I commend you 😅.

[@roskuil]

May I say that the Halloween sequence completely took me out. Feral children.

[@maddiejoy6619]

@@roskuil they're absolutely feral 🤣

[@shamra1245]

IM SO EXCITED YOU MENTIONED THE ENCHANTED FOREST!!!! I'm a Marylander, it used to be in Ellicott City and the king figure is still on top of the sign for the shopping center that stands where it once was. A lot of other figures are at a nearby farm I've been meaning to visit for literal years now!

[@pocketspy]

I worked at one in the early 80s. They explained too fast and had mismanagement problems. My manager was a coke head who slept with several workers. I left before they closed. My store was in Lakewood, CA.

[@UnknownFlyingPancake]

Aside from not inherently making money, having them running constantly wears them down very quickly, and I imagine the maintenance costs would quickly skyrocket over time. I think that's a big reason why a lot of these shows didn't last very long, and many of the ones that did ended up becoming very run down. I think there was a lot of idealism going on and a complete lack of consideration in regard for the need for maintenance and longevity. Most of these shows weren't actually built to last, at all. It's really, really unfortunate because they're so cool. I remember reading though, that the idea for animatronic shows was originally more based on entertaining the parents while the kids would play. It sucks how much lost media there is in regards to most of them. There was a location with an animatronic show that I remember existed from childhood, and is confirmed to have existed, but not a single picture or description or anything about the show exists online. Only pictures of the building. It drives me nuts, because I can't remember what the show was other than that it existed either, I only vaguely remember details of what the party room looked like rather than the animatronics, even though I remember that I liked them.

[@nobodyofimprotance7615]

Phantom of the Paradise!

[@livelollobotomy]

ive watched this video so many times it’s just STAYS in my recommended tab youtube is just like “yeah yeah we know what you’re here for”

[@emilyrose31]

WHAT! I’ve seen pictures of these guys so many times. I had no idea they were a Maryland thing! I’ve lived in Northern Virginia my whole life, and i’m very interested in “local” history (I consider anything in the DMV bubble, DC, Maryland, Virginia, to be local). This is awesome!! There is a shopping center where Enchanted forest used to be called… Enchanted Forest shopping center. Very straight to the point. I can’t remember if it was built on land that used to be part of the park, or just next to it. Anyways, there’s a big Enchanted forest sign and a historic plaque for the park there! I have yet to visit the farm that has the old refurbished structures. I think there’s still bits and pieces of the park left in the woods, but I could be wrong. I had no idea they ever had animatronics!

[@KiaFursuits]

You are criminally underrated omg! As an animatronic lover myself, when this video about a show is never seen before was recommended I clicked SO FAST! I got half way through the video before subscribing when I realized you have under 1k subscribers, and you have this quality?? Hello?! Can’t wait to see your channel grow!

[@muppetsretrofan8873]

Subscribed! I've had an affection for vintage Chuck E Cheese and flopped animatronic restaurant chains in general. TBH, I wish Captain Andy's and Gigglebee's stuck around so that CEC could have competition that would actually force them to innovate. Restaurant chain rabbit holes are always interesting to me, especially animatronic ones. And I think it's incredibly unfair what happened to this chain. I love the character designs though I am biased as I adore vintage mascots [for the most part]. I even had a dream universe of a restaurant chain opened in 1980 called Party Time Pizza Zone that was 50s diner themed and was incredibly successful, I'll talk about it in another comment post.

[@rapvelasco1932]

Currently making Captain Andys in a game called “Rec Room” and this was a nice breath of fresh air for captain anys info keep up the good work

[@henryhoover5869]

here's the lyrics from one of the songs in the show that I know of. It's RiverTowne showtime, Believe Me there ain't no time, tickles your Fancey and funny bone too like when we do our show for You, it's twilight time, and that is the right time to give a smile to everyone, the day is over and the fun's begun. the song was sung by captain Andy and Mathew the seagull.

[@BriarPatchProductions]

Do you know any of the other songs from the show? I own an animatronic Jubilation T. Bullfrog from one of the shows actually.

[@henryhoover5869]

@@BriarPatchProductions that's all I know as of now

[@BriarPatchProductions]

@@henryhoover5869 How were you able to find that out? Thanks for sharing that!

[@henryhoover5869]

@@BriarPatchProductions there is a video on KZbin featuring a restaurant that had some capt Andy's animatronics on display, near the end of video the song plays.

[@The-64th-Gamer]

Great research! Glad to see proper documentation of the more obscure animatronic bands being dug up!

[@lelmasterextras]

24:07 ??? was not my day I lost my chewing gummer I saw it going down the drain so I had to call a plumber What'd he say? Give him a call in the following morning if you ever -

[@lelmasterextras]

For the location in Perry Hall it may have relocated at some point

[@TheCrispySupreme]

“While washing dishes one fine day” ?

[@rookiebat]

GREAT video, good lord there's not enough info out there about these guys and its a real shame bc theyre lovely. Best looking animatronics i've ever seen. I learned a lot and your delivery is So Funny. you did the world a service here.

[@fandomcentralstation]

If I ever get my bakery with an animatronic band up and running, I’m sending you a personal invite

[@thetinygoatgirl57]

This is a nicely done video! I’ve seen the phone footage of the animatronics and I was enamored and wanted to know more about this gang finding out there should’ve been more thank you for creating this video 🙏🏼

[@archerringo4636]

Nice video on captain Andy’s! maybe you can do an animatronic retrospective video on an animatronic band called the apeology’s made by creative presentations or you can make an animatronic retrospective video on another animatronic band called Daniel & The Dixie Diggers made by sally Corp!

[@mineyvoid1308]

this is SO COOL i love obscure animatronic bands

[@Sloop_Goop]

Oh my goodness I remember that Ebay listing, they were such good prices too!!

[@_casey_idk_]

i really liked this vid and would love to see this become a series. good work 👏

[@TexCritter1982]

Welp, there goes my Capt Andy's video 😂 You killed it though , great job!

[@daniellehogan1906]

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE REFRENCE LETS FUCKING GOOOOO

[@capt_creations_]

Very good video, if you ever want to talk more about Andy and know more info always love chatting with fellow fans

[@Bird-wz7nx]

I'm going to have to come back, this is too interesting to nap to. 3:06 I'm subbing for "My Hitlist" though, feels like such meme potential

[@sydneybrey2038]

INCREDIBLE WORK CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP APPLAUSE APPLAUSE WHISTLE WHISTLE WHISTLE

[@truckingwithatablet4489]

I went to a capt. Andy's in Norwalk CA. IT WAS AWESOME.

[@skippygirl959]

Truck by train

[@RocketRoosterFilms]

I heard this: "On the 16th, which is my birthday, I lost my chewy gummer." I hope this helps you (If i am correct, then I understand the need for a plumber. Bubble gum wad in the pipes is no joke.)

[@silhouettoofaman2935]

Not very often I get to hear that my home state has its own little piece of lost media! Usually I just hear of some kind of shooting or....the bridge.

[@O.G.R.]

thank you for this video

[@richardvg7670]

I was able to find out one of the characters names for you Gus was the name of the dog on the piano how long was the dog with the sombrero hat

[@AbrahamCortina-tz9lx]

Captain Andy look like the Wolf from Hoodwinked

[@roskuil]

Oh no, I will never unsee it now.

[@AbrahamCortina-tz9lx]

@@roskuil what do you mean

[@roskuil]

@@AbrahamCortina-tz9lx Yo. I LOVED Hoodwinked.

[@AbrahamCortina-tz9lx]

@@roskuil oh good

[@Treppy_Gecky]

This is so interesting! You just earned a sub I hope you make more vids like these :)

[@ed.is.undead4420]

Oh wow you are like,,, the coolest 😳

[@CedarpawAnimations]

SPARKY THE TUMOR DOG IS NOT CONSIDERED A REAL MEMBER OF THE BAND

[@Docthefox]

Wow keep it up I’ve been searchring for months now and you have good evidence

[@SquirmieWormington]

Cool. I’m gonna go draw fanart of Captain Andy’s now.

[@YakkoWarnerTower]

Goober absolutely reminds me of a less bored Goliath from Davey and Goliath lol.

[@winterrobinson403]

Can you please cover the animatronics at Celebration Station And also please I'm begging you talk about Bullwinkles Who by accident and I fell in love I want more

[@Tfnafplayer2]

Awesome video

[@radwalt3944]

25:48 so unimportant but the Y is pronounced like an I and people here usually abbreviate it to "ipsie". I go to the location where it used to be pretty regularly and i had no idea

[@sarmajere2866]

Born in Ypsi, myself! Nice to see someone else who knows it! Is that the place that became Major Magic later, maybe?

[@sarmajere2866]

To answer my own question, yes it is. This came up in a convo with my mom, and I’ve apparently been to one, like when I was in a stroller. Apparently people would order Captain Andy’s chicken for take out orders and catering. I do remember Major Magic’s having awesome cheese bread and great games, including a balloon machine. We also arranged to embarrass my stepmom on her birthday. One of the MM characters would do birthday tributes. Wouldn’t be surprised if Captain Andy’s initiated that part of the show! I think the building is Secretary of the State now?

[@FancyGrlOfficial]

24:08 I hear “while washin’ dishes one bad day I lost my chewing gum-er I saw it going on down the drain so I had to call a plumber What’d he say? Give me a call, ??? Have you heard a s- Idk I can’t make out the middle part.

[@Gofightins18]

you should have way more subs

[@AltairEgoX]

I watched SB/CEC an animatronic heavy restaurant triumph over every leaps and bounds Coco keys Discovery zone and just about every other Chuck e cheese wannabe😂 but I love every attempt at least rivertown had animatronics❤🎉

[@muppetsretrofan8873]

If you think Captain Andy's history is a rabbit hole, there's also Jack In The Box's history. Not an animatronic restaurant, but instead a fast-food chain, but I'd argue the chain's past is incredibly interesting yet sadly hardly anything is documented. Their mascot, a clown named Jack, was around since the chain's beginnings in 1951, yet only the 90s/current version is well known. A curious part of the chain's past was in the 1970s, when there were animated commercials with a more cartoon-y Jack and his group of friends: The Jack In The Box Bunch. Paul Winchell, the original voice of Tigger, did the voices of the characters, most notably Jack himself and Onion Ring Thing. Only three commercials and three comics with records are on KZbin. The Jack In The Box Bunch were introduced in 1971, but there's no information about when and why they were dropped. In the 1980s, Jack In The Box tried to be more "mature" and dropped Jack as a mascot, which for reasons too long to get into on this comment, failed miserably in the long run. There's actually quite a few Jack In The Box stuff on Worthpoint, including a company poster from 1978 that is quite helpful, a few company "Sooper Scooper" magazines with pictures of walkaround costumes, and company advertising posters, including a funny Time Magazine parody cover. It's super frustrating that Jack In The Box poorly documented their own history, they won't even acknowledge the Jack In The Box Bunch or any pre-90s version of Jack.

[@Roadent1241]

It's stuff like this that makes me want to take a good iPhone because brilliant camera and tons of space, get a time machine and go to these places so I can come back and put them on the internet captured in HD and full. I can solve my own mystery about a giant lanky piano-playing cat animatronic I saw in our 'local' arcade 25 years ago... I will happily be one of these Anachronistic people with a smartphone camera caught on a time-correct camera XD

[@noahmedrano631]

Hello there 👋🗿👋

[@TheCrispySupreme]

I think the restaurant made wallets too? There are tons of them on ebay

[@roskuil]

The wallets were one of the arcade prizes, I believe. A coin bank shaped like Capt Andy was on Ebay a while back too, and I honestly regret not bidding on it!

[@TheCrispySupreme]

@@roskuilthat’s so cool

[@Narkissoss]

Harika video hanımefendi 😊

[@dwitefry4157]

Hey, that's my old blog (AFB). It was finally of use for something - confusing poor animatronic gremlins! Pity I can't remember where I got the info about Edward from :(, sorry

[@Rapunzelpumpkin]

24:19 I believe he says “Give me a call” along with something else that I can’t quite understand.

[@feliciteacup]

i always thought these animatronics were cute, they remind me a lot of america sings from disneyland. it's such a shame a lot of stuff is either undocumented or lost to time because of adobe flash, this stuff needs to be preserved, it's so interesting...

[@maixus7095]

The full Captain Andy Show is no longer lost media, footage from a convention in a Yokohama convention was just found! kzbin.info/www/bejne/kICxlmmMoK2Drc0si=Dcpxhhlv_mAALi8l

[@roskuil]

HOLY COW I could buy you a house

[@maixus7095]

@roskuil It's no problem, I'm glad to help. I think a house would be too much for me, but I'd love to do a collab history video if you're up to it! I'm thinking of starting a channel, so I'd love to learn from someone with similar interests and more experience (research, game development, animation, and, of course, animatronics). No matter what happens, I'd just like to say keep up the good work! I really like your videos, and from what I've seen, you're a genuinely cool person. Stay cool, Roskuil.

[@ilikedolls2504]

20:40 Have you seen that there actually are pictures of the chicken little trio?

[@roskuil]

I did! Some photos were dug up about a month after this video went up, and a few people sent them to me. I meant to make a community post about the images being found, but totally did not, lol. Maybe I will sometime this month.

[@Rafedreams]

Do one on Smartees!! /lh /j in all seriousness, gj

[@panickyduck4783]

Hey, Justin here! Cool video, I can tell you put a lot of effort into it. Do you have a working title for the game you're developing? I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

[@roskuil]

Yo, Justin! I'll definitely let you know when the game is closer to being completed. It'll be a long while yet though, lol

[@IDidSomethingBETTER]

i need mor

[@tomstertomfoolery]

Wow

[@MokshaRao-x4m]

He got Bill Fingered!

[@Oil_Tanker]

The animatronics reminds me of the looney tunes revue

[@randomstuff-yb7xb]

I think one of the cats might be named Elizabeth

[@capt_creations_]

The cats are called Daisy, Dixie & Delilah

[@randomstuff-yb7xb]

@@capt_creations_ ok

[@AltairEgoX]

While I do love this video you are wrong about a few things Chief among them that animatronics don't make money 🤑 animatronics do make money I worked for Chuck e cheese for the duration of the 90s and the 2000s long enough to acquire his voice in fact. And I worked for corporate semi directly. I can tell you unequivocally that the animatronics brought in guests more than anything if the reason why Chuck e cheese beat out leaps and bounds Discovery zone and every other family entertainment center that did not have an animatronic band🎉 the show brings in what I guess they would call soft money because they differentiate themselves from just a pizza restaurant with a few arcade machines into a legitimate birthday Capital where a live creature celebrates your special day with you ❤️ basically taking aspects of Disney and bringing it to local areas where people can afford some of that magic 🪄

[@papachillothezappey4050]

Hey! Don't call the Rock-afire designs dated. To me most of them aged like fine wine in my opinion. CEI wasn't going for a cutesy cartoon look. Their design style (or Dave A. Thomas's and David Billy Bob Irving's art styes) were more inspired by the art of underground comics artists like Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Gilbert Shelton, Bill Griffith, and Vaughn Bodē.

[@papachillothezappey4050]

@@lelmasterextras The only thing I agree with here is that Creative Presentations has great designs.But seriously, the fact that you put The Robot Factory, one of the worst animatronics companies (if not the worst animatronics company of all time) over CEI, one of the best animatronics companies of all time just disgusts me. Oh and P.S. VP is a good animatronics company, but there are many better animatronics then VP's ones.

[@papachillothezappey4050]

Not trying to be mean or upset you or anything. I'm just giving my opinion.

[@roskuil]

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) I gnashed Looney Bird in my teeth like cereal, and he was STALE lol

[@lelmasterextras]

@@papachillothezappey4050 The Robot Factory designs were mid yeah, but they excelled in functionality. Their robots would have hundreds of preprogrammed shows, and they also made Wilbur for Gigglebee's

[@lelmasterextras]

@@papachillothezappey4050 Yee it's all cool dw

[@truckingwithatablet4489]

I was wrong it was lakewood

[@Talofalava54321]

Homer didn’t sing but happy sang it😂😂😂😂😂

[@MunchJr]

Find matthew

[@muppetsretrofan8873]

Captain Andy's history is so interesting, and it's a shame there's so much lost media, because the characters have such fun and cute designs [Rock-A-Fire Explosion and Creative Engineering take notes] and the restaurant itself looked like fun. I wish that at least ONE of these animatronic restaurants was able to thrive so that modern CEC would have actual competition forcing them to innovate. Lost Media, animatronics, restaurants, and mascots in general are some of my biggest special interests. Speaking of, there was a animatronic pizza place when my mom was little called Pizza Playhouse. It was located in Louisiana and had a dinosaur mascot. There's only a single commercial on KZbin, from 1989. I am not entirely sure if it had animatronics, but my mom seems to remember they did. It's frustrating when restaurant history gets completely forgotten. Looking at Jack In The Box, for example.

[@jpuc5568]

14 animatronics ? Fnaf 2 territory, night guard cooked in this place

[@Miami.grackle]

17:39 Triple meaning? ‘You ain’t just whistlin’ Dixie?’ Example: To respond to someone, often jokingly, that what they just told you is notable (or surprising) enough that some could even think it was false. Or: No way! You’re not just fucking with me, are you? At least that’s how I remembered it. Haven’t heard that phrase for many years. Edit: Or to tell someone that the quality of Dixie the Cat’s whistling is impressive. So much so, many who haven’t yet heard her performance may have some doubts as to how amazing it actually is. I think so. Maybe? I don’t know. All I’m gonna say is that she whistles like a canary, so beautifully, so profoundly. Go listen to her. I’m certain you’ll agree.

[@MGEnterprises2]

GREAT NEWS! Footage of the full show and the original numbers have surfaced online, coming from the Yokohama Exotic Showcase in 1989. Though most of the dialogue is in Japanese, all the music numbers are in English. kzbin.info/www/bejne/kICxlmmMoK2Drc0si=mdlM1vsmp9Dilnd3