| Recording |
| This article is about the recording. You may have been looking for the incident of a similar name. |
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 Your children are not safe with CatNap.
This article may contain information and/or imagery that could be disturbing or triggering for some audiences. Please proceed with caution!
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Still, damage it, and you risk losing your hearing.
This article contains loud audio that may be played. Please proceed with caution as it may potentially damage sound equipment and/or hearing! |
| “ | Only one thing appears glaringly certain: Your children are not safe with CatNap. | ” |
| — WLE 4 Newscaster, CatNap Recall | ||
CatNap Recall is a recording released on Mob Entertainment's YouTube Channel and later featured as the opening cutscene for Chapter 3: Deep Sleep. The first half was initially revealed during the Chapter 3 Interactable ARG, and the full video was revealed days early through the same event.
The recording plays an episode from the Smiling Critters cartoon series before cutting to a news broadcast, which describes the recall of all CatNap products and promotional material.
Location[]
This recording automatically plays at the beginning of Chapter 3: Deep Sleep. It is also available on Mob Entertainment's YouTube channel and was initially discovered on there at the conclusion of the Chapter 3 Interactable ARG as an unlisted video, before it was made public. The first half of the recording was first revealed within that same ARG a few weeks earlier.
Analysis[]
Cartoon[]
The recording begins with the Smiling Critters Cartoon, one of the shows that was produced by Playtime Pictures. The show begins with a lively intro scene featuring the Smiling Critters engaged in various activities like playing soccer on a rainbow, eating a burger and painting. The critters gather on the Smiling Critters logo before the screen fades to black, transitioning to the cartoon's setting: DogDay's house.
The scene unfolds on a stormy and windy night, depicted by the dark and unsettled atmosphere. The time on the clock depicts 10:06 PM. DogDay, Bobby BearHug, Bubba Bubbaphant, CraftyCorn, Hoppy Hopscotch, KickinChicken and PickyPiggy are huddled together in the house, wrapped in blankets and looking worried. Bobby BearHug breaks the silence, expressing her fear of the howling wind. As if to emphasize the tension, a tree branch snaps off, causing CraftyCorn to cower in fear and seek refuge under her blanket. DogDay tries to uplift the mood by assuring everyone that everything will be okay, stating that "All winds blow away... eventually."
Just then, a knock on the door scares the Critters, and it opens to reveal CatNap. The Critters' faces light up with relief as they all simultaneously call out CatNap's name with glee. Bubba Bubbaphant, PickyPiggy, KickinChicken and Hoppy Hopscotch desperately plead for CatNap to help them fall asleep. In response, CatNap exhales red gas from his mouth. The critters start laughing hysterically, displaying euphoria. The Critters' laughter turns eerie and distorted as the gas fills the cabin and their laughter slowly turns into screaming. Suddenly, the screen flickers with static and the Critters collapse onto the floor, except for DogDay sleeping on the couch. Meanwhile, CatNap is left sitting beside DogDay, staring directly at the camera and being surrounded by the sleeping Critters, all in abnormal positions. As this scene freezes, the credits roll, revealing the producers and the cast involved in the cartoon.
News Broadcast[]
The cartoon then cuts to a news broadcast from WLE 4 where a news anchor introduces the Smiling Critters toy line to the audience. A demonstration of how CatNap's scent is deployed plays, before the WLE-4 newscaster discusses the aforementioned controversy surrounding CatNap and subsequently, Playtime Co. itself. He mentions that following complaints of CatNap toys giving children intense nightmares, Playtime Co. issued a recall of all CatNap toys from the lineup, resulting in his presence being removed from all promotional material featuring the Smiling Critters.
The anchor proposes that recalling the CatNap toy from the market may not help Playtime Co. as the damage is already done. As he concludes that CatNap isn't a safe toy for children, a chorus of crying children and ominous music builds, transitioning into the logo for Chapter 3: Deep Sleep.
Audio and Transcript[]
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Female Narrator:
"What's the time?" Children:"Playtime!" Smiling Critters:"♪ S-M-I-L-E everyday! ♪" KickinChicken:"♪ When you are down and out, ♪" Bobby BearHug:"♪ No need to frown and pout! ♪" Bubba Bubbaphant:"♪ Cuz' Smiling Critters are here to say: ♪" Smiling Critters:"♪ S-M-I-L-E everyday! ♪" (The show begins on a dark night at DogDay's house. Wind howling, clock ticking.) Bobby BearHug:"The wind's really scary..." (Tree branch snaps.) CraftyCorn:(screams) "I can't sleep!" DogDay:"Hey, we'll be okay, guys! I promise! All winds blow away... eventually." (Door knocking.) (Door creaks open, wind clears.) All except CatNap: Bubba Bubbaphant:"Please, help us go to sleep, CatNap!" PickyPiggy:"We need it, CatNap!" KickinChicken:"Please help us!" Hoppy Hopscotch:"Sleep! Sleep! Sleep!" CatNap:(exhales gas) All except CatNap:(laughing hysterically, gradually getting louder and more distorted) All except CatNap:(loud distorted crash) (CatNap stares at the audience as the other Critters sleep in abnormal positions and the credits begin.) WLE 4 Newscaster:"Everyone knows Huggy Wuggy and Poppy Playtime, but are your children safe from Playtime Co.'s latest toy? What you've seen here is Playtime Co.'s own 'Smiling Critters', a limited series cartoon meant to celebrate the release of the toys sharing its name, yet both now face the fire sparked by the inclusion of one key member. This, is CatNap, and, like the others in his line, you just pull his little tail, and..." (Gas ejects.) WLE 4 Newscaster:"Seems innocent enough. However, parents across the country report their children experiencing strange and often violent nightmares, and beside them, their little, grinning, CatNap doll." "Now, with controversy growing, Playtime Co. has announced the recall of all CatNap toys from the Smiling Critters line; his image cleared from all promotional material. But, damage already done, will disappearing be that easy? The exact cause of these 'incidents' still unknown, only one thing appears glaringly certain: Your children are not safe with CatNap." |
Trivia[]
(For fun facts about the cartoon, see the Smiling Critters Cartoon trivia.)
- The news anchor saying the Smiling Critters "now face the fire sparked" by the inclusion of CatNap was likely foreshadowing CatNap's fate at the end of Chapter 3.
- The video features elements of American culture and media from the late 1980s to early 1990s, echoing the year the toy line was created, 1989.
- In the first segment, the Smiling Critters cartoon episode seems to take its art style from cartoon shows of that era, such as Care Bears, The Get Along Gang and My Little Pony Tales.
- During the cartoon's opening sequence, KickinChicken is shown surfing a wave over a patterned background reminiscent of Memphis Design, an aesthetic style that emerged during that period.
- In the second segment, the news report is expressed in a tone of moral panic by the news anchor. This is likely a reference to the satanic panic, a particular social phenomenon that originated in that period.
- In the first segment, the Smiling Critters cartoon episode seems to take its art style from cartoon shows of that era, such as Care Bears, The Get Along Gang and My Little Pony Tales.