Nightmare Critters

Nightmare Critters

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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! Reason: The Doctor makes the player murder some of the Nightmare Critters during his encounters. (And keep in mind, these toys used to be children.)

Nightmare Critters
Full Name	Nightmare Critters
Affiliation	Playtime Co. (formerly) Harley Sawyer † (leader) Smiling Critters † (enemy) Ruined Critters (enemy)
Date of Creation	After summer of 1989 - early 1991
Toys	Baba Chops Icky Licky Rabie Baby Allister Gator Simon Smoke Poe Touille Maggie Mako
Debut	Trailer (Baba Chops) Miscellaneous Content (all)

“	♪ Nightmare Critters come to play, To gross you out in every way, (Laughter) We can't wait to wreck your day, So be very afraid (Ew!) We stalk you when you're sleeping, (Caw!) We're cuddly, cute, and creepy, (Rawr!) Something giving you the jitters? Might just be the Nightmare Critters! (Nightmare Critters!) Nightmare Critters come to play, To gross you out in every way, (Laughter) We can't wait to wreck your day, So be very afraid! (AHH!)♪	”
— Nightmare Critters' theme song noicon

The Nightmare Critters is a line of animal plushies created by Playtime Co., each one possessing enlarged mouths and toothy smiles. The group presumably serves as the antithesis of the Smiling Critters. They appear in Chapter 4: Safe Haven as minor antagonists, largely appearing as miniature toy experiments hostile to The Player, with the exception of a larger version of Baba Chops who appears as a separate secondary antagonist.

The rest of the Nightmare Critters cast play minimal roles in the story due to the lack of notable appearances and motifs.

Description

The Nightmare Critters are nearly identical to the Smiling Critters. Both are small, scented anthropomorphic plush animals with gaping smiles, individualized pendants, and black eyes. The notable differences between the Nightmare Critters are their darker/tertiary colors, furrowed eyes, and the addition of teeth associated with the animal each plush is based on.

While the Smiling Critters are described as having positive personality traits, the Nightmare Critters are described as having negative personality traits. The designs of the Nightmare Critters are bolder and darker in theme, a stark contrast to the designs of the Smiling Critters.

History

Backstory

The Nightmare Critters were released as a sequel to the Smiling Critters toy line sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s, with them starring in their own commercial and having their own individual scents, like their predecessors. Eventually, experiment versions of these critters were made and ironically, they got along well with the Smiling Critters experiments, though this didn't last forever. A mini Baba Chops toy (the main Nightmare Critter character) even once devoured a DogDay plush to satiate her hunger, though given that all of the toys in the building had to resort to cannibalism to survive this doesn't really mean much. The Doctor later took control of the prison and its Critter inhabitants.

Pianosaurus Accident

Sometime in 2005, several Nightmare Critters notice Pianosaurus' arrival in the Prison Utility Zone, and four of them (Poe, Allister Gator, Icky Licky, and Touille) come out of their little hiding places to see him. However, while Pianosaurus is performing his concert, the four Nightmare Critters are accidentally trampled by the musical dino.

Chapter 4: Safe Haven

In 2005, The Player sees some of the Nightmare Critters wandering around the outskirts of the Prison, and shortly later, they find themselves having to defend themselves from the vicious toys with their Flare Hand, as the Doctor opens their cages for them to attack. After a few minutes, the Critters retreat away under after the Doctor used Yarnaby to scare them. But this wouldn't be the last The Player would see of them. The Player later finds themselves in a kitchen where a feral Touille plush (one of the Nightmare Critter characters) must be fended off, and that same toy later jump-scares The Player, running off with their Broken Gas Mask. Just minutes later, The Player ends up in a Holding Area with no easy escape, and a large Baba Chops plush pursues them with the goal of eating them alive. The cells in this area also contain some Nightmare Critters guarding batteries that The Player can use to their advantage. However, The Player is able to make it out alive, but they only find themselves trapped in another room, this one even smaller, and containing a trapped Simon Smoke toy (another Nightmare Critter character). The Player is given a choice by The Doctor: to be trapped and die or to kill the docile plush to be able to leave, and they must decide quickly due to the Critters who were initially in the mentioned-cells now trying to smash the window to get in and devour the helpless ex-employee. It is is possible for The Player to find another way out, but the most common thing to happen is for them to take the life of the small toy.

Sometime later, The Player is given the goal of heading to the Foundation to collect explosives. Upon entering the cave system of that location, The Player quickly discovers that it is filled with the nightmarish creatures. Using their Flare Hand, they fend off all the Nightmare Critter experiments who attempt to take them down. But later, as The Player prepares to leave the area, a bigger swarm of Nightmare Critters emerges, so The Player must attack them and simultaneously run to safety. With their mission being complete, The Player attempts to head back to Safe Haven only for it to explode, something which they see from a distance. Upon running back, more of the Critters attempt to stop The Player in their tracks, but of course, they fail.

Characters

Image	Name	Scent	Descriptions	Toy
	Baba Chops	Anise	The "black sheep" of the bunch, Baba prefers to keep her space. Like, a LOT of space. TOO MUCH space. She can be distant, quiet, low-energy, and it usually requires a LOT of coaxing to get her out of the house. Luckily for her, she has some VERY persistent friends. She usually perks up after a while, but the next day, we're right back to the same tune.
	Icky Licky	Coffee	Icky's the type of kid to fall behind in a relay race and IMMEDIATELY pin it on a sore knee, even when that's NOT the case. He's the very definition of a poor sport. Even though he's naturally talented, he's constantly challenging everyone on absolutely everything, and usually without the outcome he expects (don't worry, he has an excuse ready).
	Rabie Baby	Bubblegum	Rabie Baby couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it. If there's one thing in the world she loves, it's gossiping, and she's very practiced at it. She has no concept of privacy or boundaries, and if she's in the room you can bet she's eavesdropping on someone. Don't worry; if she ever runs out of juicy secrets to talk about, she'll just make some up!
	Allister Gator	Sandalwood	Allister's an all-around lazy guy. He's chill, sure, but if he could, he'd spend ALL DAY in the water doing pretty much nothing. He isn't a fan of the whole "put in effort and see that effort rewarded" bit. He's much more a believer of the philosophy: "Good things have to come to me... Eventually. I just need to wait around for it". (He's STILL waiting).
	Simon Smoke	Wood Smoke	Simon Smoke knows he's cool and popular, and he makes sure nobody ever forgets it. Whether showing off for friends or just bragging about one of his accomplishments, it's always a popularity contest with him. Almost always, he wins. In truth, he's a colossal jerk, but he does have a knack for getting away with being one.
	Poe	Cinnamon	Poe hates the sun, and thinks it is a cruel trick of nature that the world needs it in the first place. Most comfortable in the dark, they spend their nights hanging around graveyards, listening to music, and feeling vaguely angry at nothing in particular. They insist it isn't a phase.
	Touille	Petrichor	Touille (it's pronounced two-ee!) is a self proclaimed "Trash Rodent". When he's not busy eating and collecting garbage, he's a lively conversationalist. He talks a lot, which is made all the more surprising by him having shockingly little to say. If you ever need someone to provide "insightful" commentary or some random piece of junk, Touille is your guy.
	Maggie Mako	Chocolate	Maggie is always thinking about her belly. She's happiest with food in her mouth, and believe us, she's NOT picky. She LOVES sweets, but veggies? Yuck. Don't be surprised if she takes your "health eating habits" advice with a dabble of sugar, some chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a big cherry on top, all while laughing at you profusely.

Theorizing

• For the 12 Days of Playtime, the Nightmare Critters' description said that both the Smiling and Nightmare Critters experiments, ironically, got along quite well together for a time. This could have implied that, since the Smiling Critters were the ones that got ruined, the Nightmare Critters would still be intact and become potential allies. However, this was disproven, as in Chapter 4, the Nightmare Critters attack The Player.
• For a short while when Baba Chops was revealed, people thought she was going to be another Smiling Critter or a rejected member.
  • This was disproven not to long after her reveal when the name "Nightmare Critters" was announced.
• It is possible that everything involving Nightmare Critters, from toys, commercial, jingle and cartoons, ended up becoming lost media due to the failure of the Smiling Critters and the damage they caused to the company's reputation. Everything involving them was likely kept hidden after the flop.
• It is possible that only the high-ranking employees, scientists and factory superiors knew about the existence of the Nightmare Critters. But this is very unlikely since the toys had a commercial made.
• It's likely that the reasons they are intact and not ruined like the Ruined Critters is because of the amount of dead toys that were down there that they could eat without any problem, in addition to being able to attack and eat other toys that were attracted to the dead toys.

Trivia

• The logo features stylizations, particularly in the word "Critters", that refer to these new characters:
  • The vermilion "C" spewing fire, alluding to Simon Smoke;
  • The marigold "r", alluding to Icky Licky;
  • The black "i" with its tittle being a skull, alluding to Baba Chops;
  • The chartreuse "t", alluding to Allister Gator;
  • The gray "t", alluding to Touille;
  • The turquoise "e" with a fin and sharp teeth, alluding to Maggie Mako;
  • The indigo "r" with a bite mark, alluding to Poe;
  • The magenta "s" with a pair of patagial wings, alluding to Rabie Baby.
• Based off prior trademarks by Mob Entertainment, it was possible to decipher the name and nature of the characters before their official reveals.
• It is unknown what the relationship of the Nightmare Critters is with the Smiling Critters, if any. It is possible that they are either rivals or evil opposites of the characters in the cartoon series itself.
  • It is possible that they were created for Halloween, perhaps as a limited edition or special edition toy line based on the Smiling Critters.
  • They were likely also inspired by the Care Bear Cousins.
    • More tonally, the Nightmare Critters could more likely be based on the Who Cares Bears, a set of four evil bear clones from the Care Bears comics created by No Heart's shadows and all have negative, undesirable personality traits.
  • They could have also been designed to target a teenage audience, similarly to Garbage Pail Kids, seeing as how their personalities are more similar to teenagers.
    • Seeing as how the theme song states that the Nightmare Critters were made to "gross you out in every way," this could also be another reference to the Garbage Pail Kids. The latter were a trading card series with a bunch of wacky, surreal, and sometimes outright abhorrent characters as compared to the Cabbage Patch Kids.
      • Even the Nightmare Critters logo has a similar dripping effect off of it that mirrors the logo of the Garbage Pail Kids.
    • The Orientation Notebook has a note saying that Playtime Co. did not want to create dark versions of their characters. But another note contradicts what their intentions and priorities were; apparently, teenagers and college students were swapping VHS tapes of the Smiling Critters cartoon. Playtime Co. more than likely went back on their original beliefs and made the Nightmare Critters to be geared towards that type of audience.
      • Similarly, the older kids in Playcare have been outgrowing Playtime Co.'s products, so it could be possible that the Nightmare Critters were catered to fit those older children as well as teenagers outside of the factory in general.
  • Almost all of the Nightmare Critters have visible teeth (excluding Icky Licky and Poe), which are absent in the Smiling Critters.
  • It is unlikely they have a Bigger Body version like the Smiling Critters.
  • The buttons for the Nightmare Critters toy eyes may be the same type of buttons that was used on the Smiling Critters, but with fabric over their eyes to create furrowed eyes.
• It's possible that each individual Nightmare Critter contrasts a specific Smiling Critter.
  • Baba Chops is an introverted sheep, while DogDay could be her inverse due to his extroverted and outgoing nature.
    • Baba's inverse could also be KickinChicken, as where he is mostly outside and active, Baba is mostly inside and never gets out of the house.
    • Baba's inverse could also be Bobby BearHug; Bobby is social and hangs out with the other critters, while Baba is more withdrawn, solitary and is more apathetic.
    • Hoppy Hopscotch can also be Baba's inverse since Baba is quiet and indifferent to most activities while Hoppy is more loud, adventurous, and more than willing to participate in any activities.
  • Icky Licky is a bad sport (despite being naturally talented), while KickinChicken is a good sport; they both want to prove their worth.
    • Icky Licky's inverse can also be Bubba Bubbaphant, where Bubba is knowledgeable and bright, Icky Licky is usually an under-thinker and blames everything on anything.
    • Icky Licky could also be Hoppy Hopscotch's inverse as she puts in however much effort it takes, while Icky Licky isn’t above faking an injury to get out of something.
  • Rabie Baby is known for her gossiping and mean personality about others, while Bobby BearHug is known for her kindness and caring towards others.
    • There is also a possibility that her inverse is Bubba Bubbaphant due to the fact that her personality involves giving gossiped/false information for harm and Bubba gives studious/true information for benefit.
    • Rabie's opposite counterpart could also be CatNap where as CatNap is usually silent Rabie is a chatterbox of gossip.
    • Rabie could also be Crafty's inverse, due to Crafty being shy and creative, while Rabie is more extroverted and chatty.
  • Allister Gator is quite lazy and chill, whilst Hoppy Hopscotch is full of energy and is often active, making these two polar opposites.
    • Allister's opposite can also be KickinChicken. While Allister is lazy and inactive unless forced by his friends, Kickin is active and sporty.
  • Simon Smoke is the cool and popular kid of the group, and loves to show off, while CraftyCorn is known for being shy and creative. The latter two are also similar in the fact that they are the only Critters not based on real animals.
    • Bobby BearHug could also be Simon's inverse due to her being kind and caring while Simon is seen as an egotistical bullying jerk.
    • Simon's inverse could be also be DogDay as he encourages his friends in times of need, while Simon is a huge bully.
  • Poe's inverse could be DogDay as well because of their alternating beliefs; Poe hates the sun and would prefer grungier weather, while DogDay sees the brightness in every situation.
    • Poe's counterpart can also be Bobby BearHug, where as she loves others and likes to hang out with the other Critters, Poe is usually angry and likes to hang out alone in dark places.
    • CatNap can also be Poe's inverse as CatNap likes to sleep while Poe stays up late all night.
  • Touille is a chaotic "Trash Rodent" who collects junk and loves to talk, although most of what he says lacks substance. His counterpart could be Bubba Bubbaphant, who prefers to gather useful knowledge and share valuable information. While Touille revels in disorder and meaningless chatter, Bubba is studious and precise, making these two polar opposites in both their habits and the quality of their collections. The latter is also similar as elephants have the fear of mice (musophobia).
    • Touille's counterpart can also be CatNap, where as Touille loves to talk, CatNap is usually silent and never speaks.
    • Touille's counterpart can also be PickyPiggy, where as Touille eats trash, PickyPiggy eats real food.
  • Maggie Mako's opposite could be PickyPiggy in how their diets are different; Picky encourages others to eat healthy with a diversified diet, while Maggie has a sweet tooth as she craves sugars and loathes vegetables.
• Beginning on October 1, 2024, at 1:00 PM (EST), a new Nightmare Critter was released, save for the weekend.
• At Twitter, Nightmare Critters plushies were revealed in the picture that Mob Entertainment had posted during the Christmas Countdown.
• The Nightmare Critters, as compared to the Smiling Critters, are generally associated with animals found in different classes across the animal kingdom.
  • There are three mammals (Baba Chops, Rabie Baby and Touille).
  • A reptile (Allister Gator).
  • A fish (Maggie Mako).
  • An amphibian (Icky Licky).
  • An avian/bird (Poe).
  • And a mythical creature (Simon Smoke).
• Unlike the Smiling Critters, who are based around domesticated or tamed animals (except Bobby BearHug, Bubba Bubbaphant and CraftyCorn), the Nightmare Critters are more or less based around wild animals, with Baba Chops (and possibly Touille) being an exception.
• In the image of the Nightmare Critters from the 12 Days of Playtime, a VHS tape featuring the title of the Nightmare Critters is seen. It was later revealed that this was for their commercial.
• Rabie Baby, Simon Smoke and Poe are the only ones out of all of the Critters, both Smiling and Nightmare, that are capable of sustained flight.
• The Nightmare Critters logo, with its 3D colors in the background, might be similar or a reference to the TikTok logo.
  • This may be a reference to TikTok being popular to older audiences (especially teenagers).
• In Chapter 4: Safe Haven, the Nightmare Critters' Theme Song is heard in Safe Haven's cafeteria.
  • Sometimes evil laughter and spooky sounds can be heard in their jingle, which could imply that the Nightmare Critters were made for Halloween or for an older audience.
  • Occasionally, cawing sounds are also heard, which could be a reference to Poe and how ravens make cawing sounds.
• The Nightmare Critters need multiple attacks to kill the Player in Chapter 4, whereas the Smiling Critters could kill the Player instantly in Chapter 3. It is unclear if this is meant to imply the Nightmare Critters are less powerful or if this was simply a gameplay change.
• Despite having a significant role in Chapter 4: Safe Haven, the Nightmare Critters did not have cardboard cutouts like the Smiling Critters in Chapter 3: Deep Sleep.
  • The Nightmare Critters, Poppy Playtime and Boxy Boo are the only mascot characters without cardboard cutouts.
    • However, Megan Loptmann confirmed that the Nightmare Critters will have their cutouts added to the game in the future.
• Unlike most of the Ruined Critters, the smaller versions of Nightmare Critter are more intact (no missing eyes, no tears, and no loose stuffing).
• The Nightmare Critters do not seem to have a character who is the designated leader of the group, unlike the Smiling Critters, where DogDay is labeled as the leader of his respective group.
  • It has been argued by some that Baba Chops could be seen as an unofficial leader of the group due being the first Nightmare Critter revealed, along with promotional material often placing her up front or in the middle of the other Nightmare Critters (similar to how DogDay is positioned).
• Since Icky Licky lacks a tail (as frogs only have tails when in their tadpole stages and when they're juveniles), it is unknown how he expels his coffee scent, although it's possible that Icky has a different mechanism on how he can expel his coffee scent, which is squeezing his stomach (although it's also possible that Icky has a very small tail like frogs have when they're in their adult stages, which is somewhat easy to not find).
• Poe is the only member whose gender is not revealed, using only neutral pronouns.
• Like Pianosaurus, the Nightmare Critters didn't exist before former director Isaac Christopherson left Mob Entertainment.
• Many speculated as to why both the Nightmare Critters and the Mini Huggies from The Shelf obeyed Sawyer, and various theories were put forward. However, Chapter 4 itself had already explained this, as at the end of the creatures' second attack on The Player, the Doctor uses Yarnaby's roar on the loudspeakers to scare them, causing them to stop attacking and flee, showing that he used Yarnaby to instill fear in them, making them obey him.