Smiling Critters

Smiling Critters

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Ruined

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 cartoon can be considered intense for some, especially when the Critters have mental breakdowns over the Red Smoke. References to Happy Tree Friends, a gory web-series on YouTube.

Smiling Critters
Full Name	Smiling Critters
Affiliation	Playtime Co. Bigger Bodies Initiative Playcare The Player (ally) Poppy Playtime (ally) Doey the Doughman † (ally) The Prototype (enemy) Harley Sawyer † (enemy)
Date of Creation	Summer of 1989
Toys	Bubba Bubbaphant Bobby BearHug CraftyCorn KickinChicken DogDay (leader) PickyPiggy Hoppy Hopscotch CatNap (recalled)
Debut	PROJECT: PLAYTIME (teased) Miscellaneous Content (reveal)

“	♪ 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 and CraftyCorn: 'Cuz Smiling Critters' here to say Smiling Critters: S M I L E, everyday! ♪	”
— Smiling Critters' theme song noicon

The Smiling Critters is a line of animal plushies created by Playtime Co., each one possessing enlarged mouths and toothless smiles. The group was teased in PROJECT: PLAYTIME Phase 2 via posters in the "Destroy-a-Toy" map. Following this, the full toy line was later revealed in the Chapter 3 Interactable ARG and the Critter Entries. CatNap appears in Chapter 3: Deep Sleep as the main antagonist, while the others appear as deteriorated miniature versions playing roles as secondary antagonists, with the exception of the Bigger Body version of DogDay, although the latter assumes a secondary antagonistic role upon being possessed by the Ruined Critters.

Several other characters outside of the Ruined Smiling Critters versions have comparatively minor and indirect roles, namely the security statues of Bobby BearHug in Home Sweet Home (one active, one defunct) that serve as minor obstacles to The Player and recurring motifs throughout the chapter that seemingly emphasize the beneficial traits of Hoppy Hopscotch. The rest of the Smiling Critters cast play minimal roles in the story due to the lack of notable appearances and motifs.

Description

The Smiling Critters are small, colorful, anthropomorphic animals, each appearing as a plush toy with a zipper on the front chest, large gaping smiles, and black eyes with white pupils. Each toy has a unique pendant representing the core aspect of each of their personalities.

In addition to this, each Smiling Critter comes with the ability to emit their own unique scent via a hole in their mouths by pulling on their tails, all of which are traditionally used to aid with sleep or relaxation, being based on a specific type of fruit, herb, or flower.

History

“	Elliot Ludwig has never been a man to coast along on one success-he always wants the next thing to be bigger and better. So even as Huggy Wuggy became the nation's favorite toy, he was planning the next thing, and that was Smiling Critters.	”
— Orientation Notebook

Backstory

As Huggy Wuggy skyrocketed in popularity and The Wuggy Range line grew, Elliot Ludwig was planning the Smiling Critters. And 5 years later in 1989, Playtime Co. was ready to launch the toys. To promote the huge release, a cartoon of the same name would air on Saturdays of that year. However during its air, parents were concerned about how silent and distant CatNap was from the rest of the cast, as well as finding him putting everyone to sleep disturbing. During the production of the plushies, a mistake caused some CatNap plushies to emit the Red Smoke instead of the preferred lavender, making kids in the US who owned the toy suffer violent nightmares. Because of the controversy, the cartoon's reception would run afoul and turn sour and as a result, CatNap was recalled from the lineup and removed from all promotional material. Following the negative reception of the cartoon, it was pulled off air and put into Playtime's vault, never to be repeated.

“	A collection of experiments made in the image of the "less than successful" Smiling Critters toys. Each one was meant to have a unique role in Playcare, but of course, not all of them were successful.	”
— 12 Days of Playtime

At some point, the Smiling Critters became the main mascots of Playcare. During the 1990s, the characters would be used in the Bigger Bodies Initiative, with orphan Theodore Grambell becoming CatNap, designated Experiment 1188. He would perform his duties in Home Sweet Home. Mini experiment versions of the Critters were also created. On August 8, 1995, CatNap and their plush toys participated in The Hour of Joy, killing everyone within Playcare, leaving only the children alive. However, the rest of the cast allegedly fought back against the control of The Prototype but lost the fight and perished by unknown means, with DogDay being the only survivor and kept imprisoned within the prison cells of Playhouse. It is unclear as to whether the other Smiling Critters characters were created for the Bigger Bodies Initiative besides CatNap, DogDay, Bobby BearHug and Hoppy Hopscotch, since their names are never directly mentioned in relation to the project.

Chapter 3: Deep Sleep

The Smiling Critters appear as the secondary antagonists of Chapter 3: Deep Sleep as worn down miniature versions of themselves, referred to as Ruined Critters. Only DogDay and CatNap's Bigger Bodies counterparts are fully seen in the chapter, though both eventually perish. The Smiling Critters cast also make appearances in the forms of Playtime posters, cardboard cutouts and statues in the center of Playcare's dome, the latter two of where audio files of them can be played. Bobby BearHug also appears as two security statues in Home Sweet Home, from which The Player must obtain batteries. Hoppy Hopscotch does not make many direct appearances, but motifs of her enthusiastic plus cooperative personality and lightning bolt pendant both occur repeatedly within the chapter. The other Smiling Critters characters do not appear to have any special occurrences.

Chapter 4: Safe Haven

Several miniature Smiling Critters are seen taking refuge within the Safe Haven. The Player can interact with the Critters and they will speak to them or each other. Several of them appear mistrustful of Poppy Playtime, potentially as the result of her disappearing from the Safe Haven years ago. They are killed in the Safe Haven explosion.

Characters

“	Each character has a charm symbol and a scent, reflecting their personality. The idea behind the Smiling Critters was any child should be able to find at least one character they really relate to and could have a special bond with. But that shouldn't stop them from buying the others, too!	”
— Orientation Notebook

Image	Name	Scent	Descriptions	Toy
	Bubba Bubbaphant	Lemongrass	Bubba Bubbaphant is the brains of the critters. Bright and attentive, he keeps his friends steady and always steers them to make smart choices, that way they all might grow up to be bright and brilliant, each in their own right.
	Bobby BearHug	Rose	A kind, caring soul, Bobby BearHug shows compassion for everyone, and for everything. People and places and things, large or small, are all receivers of her love. Each is enriched by this attention and affection, and in turn, so is she.
	CraftyCorn	Jasmine	A conscious observer of both color and creativity in the world. CraftyCorn understands the importance of art, and sharing it with others. Crayons, pencils, paint, or words on the page, CraftyCorn can see beauty in anything imagined given shape.
	KickinChicken	Ylang-ylang	This is KickinChicken, the cool kid of the crew, and he maintains that sense of cool through anything, even in the most tense of situations. Knock him down, and he'll pick himself up, brush himself off, and ask: "What's next?"
	DogDay	Vanilla	This is DogDay, the sunny, strong, and determined leader of our critters! Each trusts him to find the bright side in any situation, and to have a friendly word of encouragement should they feel down. He'll always keep his friends going, no matter what.
	PickyPiggy	Citrus	What's more important than play and learning? PickyPiggy knows the answer. A playful body and keen mind are fueled by what's put into them, which is why she encourages her friends to eat a well-balanced diet. Secretly, PB&J's are her favorite food.
	Hoppy Hopscotch	Peppermint	Unafraid to hop where others might sit, Hoppy is the friend everyone needs to maintain their energy and enthusiasm. While sometimes loud or impatient, she'll always hop besides her friends, even if it means slowing up once in a while to keep their pace.
	CatNap	Lavender	CatNap is a calming presence for the critters and ensures he and his friends always have the right amount of sleep to jumpstart the morning's play! End of the day, there's nothing CatNap enjoys more than watching his friends sleep soundly.

Trivia

• The Smiling Critters appear to take general inspiration from 1980s toy lines such as Care Bears and My Little Pony.
  • Interestingly, the Smiling Critters toy line was created in 1989.
  • Their built-in scents were possibly inspired by the Strawberry Shortcake line of toys, which had scented hair.
  • Each Smiling Critter having a symbol to represent their personalities and talents was likely inspired by the Care Bears' belly badges or Cutie Marks from My Little Pony.
    • Their symbols being around the Critters' necks could be based on the dragon badges from Dragon Tales.
  • The species of the Smiling Critters could specifically be inspired by the Care Bear Cousins.
  • The Smiling Critters also bear resemblance to some characters in the 1999 web series Happy Tree Friends, a comedy and horror adult show disguised as a children show.
• The Smiling Critters also bear resemblance to the Smile Cats created by 3D animator LIGHTS ARE OFF.
• The first reveal of all the Smiling Critters, along with the name "Smiling Critters", was released on November 3, 2023, on the Twitter account of Mob Entertainment.
  • Interestingly, an hour after posting the original line-up, Mob Entertainment proceeded to post another line-up, only this time lacking CatNap.
    • It was revealed in the CatNap Recall video, featuring a newscast discussing the Smiling Critters, that CatNap was removed from the toy line following reports from parents that their children experienced violent nightmares after inhaling his scent. This is likely because the mist CatNap released wasn't lavender, as stated in a prior note.
• The Nightmare Critters, as compared to the Smiling Critters, are generally associated with animals found in different classes across the animal kingdom.
  • There are six mammals (Bubba Bubbaphant, Bobby BearHug, DogDay, PickyPiggy, Hoppy Hopscotch, and CatNap).
  • An avian/bird (KickinChicken).
  • And a mythical creature (CraftyCorn).
• "Smiling Critters Theme" was created by Zachary Preciado.
  • There was originally going to be an intro for the cartoon showcasing all the homes designed for each Smiling Critter; Bubba Bubbaphant's house was a jungle shack, Bobby BearHug's house was in the style of a beehive, CraftyCorn's house was a castle tower, KickinChicken's home was a chicken coop, PickyPiggy's home was a barn, Hoppy Hopscotch's house was in the style of a carrot and CatNap's home was an elevated house atop a cat tree. However, only DogDay's house, a wooden bone-themed shack/doghouse, was used in the final short.
  • During the concept, DogDay and CatNap were originally living close to one another, due to the fact they were best friends (despite the real-life relationship between dogs and cats).
    • It can also be stated at CatNap and DogDay both have opposed designs, as their colors are opposite on the color wheel and their pendants are a sun and moon, which are seen as opposite objects.
• The Playtime Co. logo in the reveal images of the Smiling Critters has varying differences compared to the modern logo (the "P" is straight and more sunken and the blue color box around the Co. is darker).
• In their Twitter descriptions, the names of DogDay and CatNap are in all caps. This may point out that only DogDay and CatNap are seen alive in Chapter 3.
• According to Amber, KickinChicken, Bobby BearHug and CraftyCorn are the only Smiling Critters who use He/She/They pronouns.
  • Out of all the Character Descriptions, CraftyCorn is the only one not to state any particular pronoun, although "they" can be inferred to be a "she".
• The cartoon versions of the Smiling Critters (not to be confused with the toy or the Bigger Bodies counterparts) are confirmed by Avalon Delaney to have no established age, allowing fans to establish their own headcanons on their ages and stories.
• Unused art of the cartoon versions of the Smiling Critters were revealed by the Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 artist Scott Forester in February of 2024, who also stated that Mob Entertainment held some of his other Smiling Critters art for possible future uses. He also expressed interest in working on a real Smiling Critters cartoon if one was ever greenlit.
• On February 14, 2024, Elijah Delaney (known also as ENDillustration) posted a Valentine's Day drawing on Twitter/X for his wife Avalon Delaney containing CraftyCorn and DogDay hugging each other and a message that reads "Happy Valentine's Day! Love ~DogDay."
  • The two artworks depicting DogDay and CraftyCorn together appear to suggest some level of romantic interest between the two Smiling Critters.
• During an interview with Nized and Amber, it was stated that there was an original idea of placing a fox and pony in the group. This was later scrapped and the fox and pony were replaced with a rabbit and unicorn, later to be known as Hoppy Hopscotch and CraftyCorn.
• The Bigger Bodies versions of the Smiling Critters could have experiment numbers ranging from 1180-1190, as CatNap and Bobby BearHug are numbered 1188 and 1186, respectively.
• The zippers for each Smiling Critter could be for refilling or replacing the scent capsules for each Critter.
• The Portuguese version of DogDay is voiced by a YouTuber called luco2.zé, this being the closest voice to DogDay's original, DogDay's voice from the Zone Dubs channel.
• In the cardboard cutouts, the male characters end their dialogue with a scream (except CatNap, who only seems to snore), while only Hoppy Hopscotch ends her dialogue with a static.
• KickinChicken and CraftyCorn are the only Smiling Critters who are of different animal classes compared to all of the others, who are mammals; KickinChicken is an avian, or another term for bird and CraftyCorn is a mythical creature.
• The Smiling Critters are generally based around calmer animals that have been domesticated or tamed to be used by humans, unlike the Nightmare Critters who are more or less based on wild animals.
• Ethan, a YouTuber who goes by the name Sheeprampage, created a fan-made Smiling Critter by the name, Sweet Sheep. The artwork was also drawn by Amber, a primary artist for the Smiling Critters.
  • Sweet Sheep was even going to be an easter egg/cameo in Chapter 3, but it was cut before release.
• The Smiling Critters Theme Song is written in the key of A Major, acting as a parallel major key to the Nightmare Critters Theme Song (written in A Minor).
• The Smiling Critters plush toys in the news are aligned the same order the Critters in the cartoon are on the logo at the end of the intro.