Unveiling the Truth Behind the Infamous 'Red Eyes': Inside the Designer's Perspective on Five Nights At Freddy's Animatronic Uproar

Summary

The controversy surrounding the animatronics in the Five Nights at Freddy's movie was tackled by Robert Bennett, the creature designer, who explicitly stated that the designs were not created using CGI and were intended to faithfully represent the game.

Viewers had mixed reactions to the red-eye debate sparked by the movie's trailer, with some disappointed and others supporting the design choice. Surprisingly, the removal of the red eyes in promotional materials elicited a surprising reaction, as many fans expressed their disappointment with the change and actually preferred the original design.

Five Nights at Freddy's creature designer Robert Bennett recently addressed the criticism surrounding the animatronics in the upcoming movie. Starring Josh Hutcherson as Mike Schmidt, the film revolves around his night shifts at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, where he discovers that the animatronic mascots come alive at night with malicious intent. With the game series amassing a dedicated fanbase, the live-action adaptation faced scrutiny over its animatronic design. Upon the release of the first trailer, some viewers expressed concern about the animatronics' departure from the video games, particularly their glowing red eyes.

During an interview with SFX Magazine (via The Direct), Bennett responded to the backlash surrounding the animatronics. While he acknowledged that the film has garnered significant support, he admitted to being aware of the debate surrounding the red eyes. Bennett clarified that CGI was not used for the designs and emphasized that maintaining faithful representation to the games was a priority for him. He shared his statement on the matter below:

All the feedback I've received has been overwhelmingly positive. Although there was some controversy surrounding the red eyes in the poster, it was actually something that I wasn't even aware of from fan lore. To get a better sense of how fans were reacting, I watched a few YouTube videos where people were sharing their thoughts on the trailer. One person mentioned that they wished the actual animatronics had been shown instead of computer-generated images. However, I want to clarify that everything in the trailer was actually our costumes. There was no digital enhancement involved. It's great to see that fans appreciate the accuracy of our costumes.

We were provided with digital files directly from Scott [Cawthon], and that's what we used as the basis for our work. My goal was to make the costumes as faithful to the game as possible. It was already a challenge to bring them to life, and there was no need to stray from the original designs because they were already so well done. I believe it's even more challenging to create an exact replica rather than making changes, as when you deviate you can always make excuses for why you did it that way. But when you strive for accuracy, that's when the real fun begins.

Five Nights At Freddy's Animatronics Backlash Explained

The reactions to the animatronics varied among viewers, with not all of them being negative. While the Five Nights at Freddy's trailer had a few tweaks to the story, it still appeared promising and terrifying. The involvement of Scott Cawthon, the creator of Five Nights at Freddy's, in the movie's story and script added to the optimism for a satisfying adaptation. However, some viewers were unhappy with the animatronics' portrayal in the movie's poster and trailer, specifically the glowing red eyes.

A Reddit post by SkeletonsHaveBones invited viewers to share their thoughts on the design of the Five Nights at Freddy's animatronics. Many critics voiced concerns that the eyes looked silly and not suited for a horror movie. Some also mentioned that the animatronics in the games were creepier because of their worn-out appearance, rather than having glowing red eyes. Users seemed to prefer a more natural look, minus the exaggerated menacing features.

Later, the animatronics in Five Nights at Freddy's posters and promotional materials were depicted without their signature glowing red eyes. This alteration sparked speculation that it was in response to the negative feedback. Surprisingly, this change evoked disappointment from many social media users, revealing a larger support for the red eyes than previously assumed. For instance, @CharlieFN4F on Twitter remarked, "The red looks so much better."

It remains unclear whether the removal of the red eyes was due to their potential color variation in the movie. However, this unforeseen shift in the red-eye debate serves as a reminder that backlash does not always accurately reflect the broader support and opinions towards a film, as emphasized by the designer of Five Nights at Freddy's.

Source: SFX Magazine (via The Direct), SkeletonsHaveBones/Reddit, @CharlieFN4F/Twitter