Everyone On Five Nights With Freddy's Was 'A Little Obsessed' With One Character [Exclusive]
This article contains spoilers for "Five Nights at Freddy's."
It might seem weird to be a woman in her 30s who can have informed, passionate opinions on "Five Nights at Freddy's," but the world is on fire and there are way more important things to dedicate my energy to worrying about than whether or not a stranger has beef with my love of dead child-possessed animatronics haunting a dilapidated pizzeria and entertainment center. The lead-up to the live-action adaptation of the popular video game has been quite exciting, as fans have been waiting for this film for over eight years. Folks are sharing their cosplay designs for the premiere, theorizing has been at an all-time high, and the underdog community that helped transform a micro-budget indie game into a multi-million dollar franchise is as active as ever. With 13 games and over 30 books as part of the franchise, there's something in "FNaF" for just about everyone, regardless of age.
Whether you're interested in the lore, the gameplay, or just the character designs, people can come to "FNaF" from a variety of avenues. For me? It was Chica the Chicken and her trusty sidekick, Mr. "Carl" Cupcake. These two are undoubtedly my favorite animatronics, and it's not even close. For the most part, Cupcake is just sort of there. Almost like the parrot on the shoulder of a pirate or one of the many animal companions following around a Disney princess. Is this me putting Chica on the same level as a Disney Princess? Well, I'm not not saying that. Regardless, the game hasn't utilized Mr. Cupcake to his full potential, but the "FNaF" movie most certainly does. I was honored to interview director Emma Tammi, who tells me that I'm not alone and that the entire crew of the film was on board to let Cupcake shine.
'What a cool freaking character'
For the uninitiated, Mr. Cupcake (sometimes named Carl) is a cupcake animatronic with pink frosting, a single candle, buck teeth, and eyes. His frosting top lifts up like a jaw, but he mostly stays relegated to the plate Chica holds. In the "Five Nights at Freddy's" movie, he graduates to a major player. He flies off the plate and attacks unsuspecting vandals, he is put inside air vents to shimmy around and terrorize Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson), and he even moves on his own without the assistance of Chica. The film makes the best of him, and I asked Tammi when the creative decision came to upgrade the character.
"Cupcake is just so cool," says Tammi. "I can't remember a defining moment where it was a decision to let Cupcake just — we were always incorporating him because it felt like such a missed opportunity not to." Given the massive size of the animatronics, much of the action in "FNaF" is limited by the spatial needs of Freddy, Bonnie, Foxy, and Chica. With Cupcake's small size, it gave them the opportunity to have him sneaking around smaller spaces and catching people by surprise. "I mean, what a cool freaking character," expresses Tammi. 'And then the way Cupcake came out in terms of the design and build process with Jim Henson Studios was just so amazing. I think everyone was a little obsessed with Cupcake, and I think for good reason." And she's right. Whenever Cupcake did anything on screen, the theater erupted with joy. It's incredible how much power can be exerted by the intentional narrowing of the eyes on a robot dessert.
"Five Nights at Freddy's" is now playing in theaters and streaming on Peacock.