Front Row Joe is an

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

developed as the mascot for the American

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

chain

Cinemark Theatres Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (stylized as CineMark from 1998 to 2022 and CINEMARK since 2022) is an American movie theater chain that started operations in 1984 and since then it has operated theaters with hundreds of locations throughout the America ...

in 1988. The mascot was created by the now-defunct animation studio Wilming Reams Animation in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He appeared in policy trailers and advertisements until he was retired in 1998 when Cinemark rebranded to an

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

design. The mascot returned in 2004 for Cinemark's 20th anniversary, and again in 2018. He no longer appears in policy trailers, but still does appear in promotional advertisements and special events.

Personality

Front Row Joe appears as a popular, friendly, dancing and cool cat who is a theater-goer and appreciated by everyone except the antagonist Clyde. Joe obeys all of the rules and regulations listed.

Other characters

*Starstruck Penny (originally Popcorn Penny) Penny is a light orange cat with a purple hair bow, green shirt, and purple skirt. She is Joe's girlfriend and started appearing in 1991. *Clyde is a dark grey cat with a blue jacket and red nose. He is the antagonist of Front Row Joe and does such boorish behavior and violations that is against the policy such as littering and

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...

in the movie theater. *Elton is a short chubby brown cat with a red nose who is the assistant of Clyde and is not usually anthropomorphic. Elton occasionally joins Joe and later become best friends. *The male ushers are blue cats who took the main singing role until 1991 with Joe. There was a pink-colored female version based on the Andrew Sisters and appeared in one trailer in 1991.

Appearance

Joe has orange fur and originally wears a purple

jacket A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves, and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which ...

with a necklace featuring the Cinemark logo until 1990 when he started buttoning his jacket. The logo then appeared on the right side of his jacket, closer to the collar of his shirt. He was a silent character until when he started taking the singing role in 1991. Joe has also worn a scarf in a holiday policy trailer and occasionally wears

sunglasses Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names below) are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can s ...

. On a policy trailer for Cinemark's 20th anniversary in 2004, Joe made a comeback in CGI wearing a

tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element fo ...

with a red tie. In 2018, a new CGI design was created by ATK PLN for Joe, with

beige Beige is variously described as a pale sandy fawn color, a grayish tan, a light-grayish yellowish brown, or a pale to grayish yellow. It takes its name from French, where the word originally meant natural wool that has been neither bleached no ...

color added on much of his fur including his hands, feet, upper tail, eyebrows, mouth, and ears. He wears a red and white-striped shirt and black

necktie A necktie, or simply a tie, is a piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat, and often draped down the chest. Variants include the ascot, bow, bolo, zipper tie, cra ...

covered with a red

sleeveless shirt A sleeveless shirt is a shirt that is manufactured without sleeves or whose sleeves have been cut off. Depending on the style, they can be worn as undershirts, by athletes in sports such as track and field and triathlon, or as casual wear by bo ...

and black

jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and paten ...

. His accessories include a

license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

, name pin, and

digital watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...

. He occasionally wears other outfits such as a jungle explorer and summer outfit.

Merchandise

During Joe's original run, cinemas offered merchandising such as plastic kid-sized cups, plush, and t-shirts.

References

{{Mascot-stub Animated characters Fictional cats Feline mascots Fictional anthropomorphic characters Mascots introduced in 1988 Male characters in advertising