Adam Hendricks, the executive producer, describes a funny crossover between M3GAN and The Polar Express. Robert Zemeckis’ wonderful animated film The Polar Express, a polarising holiday classic, was released in 2004 to mixed reviews. The movie had a fast-paced, high-stakes plot, a charming tale, and an enjoyable musical number from Tom Hanks. Still, some viewers found it difficult to get into the movie because of the computer-generated characters’ faces, which had a limited range of expressions. Even though The Polar Express has gained more fans over time, many internet users still complain about being unnerved by the movie’s characters’ big, brilliant eyes.
The Polar Express contains some unsettling and even terrifying scenes, but it is unmistakably a feel-good movie rather than a gothic holiday movie like The Nightmare Before Christmas. Unexpectedly, the animated film influenced the newly released horror film M3GAN. M3GAN EP Hendricks revealed to the Los Angeles Times that the makers of the frightening doll movie hoped to use the characters’ unnaturally bright and unsettling eyes from The Polar Express to make the M3GAN doll appear eerier, which was crucial to her terror factor. View Hendricks’ comments about M3GAN’s appearance below:
Why M3GAN Appears So Realistic
The developers of M3GAN used various techniques to produce the finished android, including a human actor (Aimee Donald), numerous iterations, and an animatronic doll for close-up shots. In the same interview, M3GAN director Gerard Johnstone adds that the team decided to make M3GAN move just when necessary, leaving viewers to “believe that she’s alive” and letting the doll’s eyes speak for the remainder of the time. Johnstone claims that by doing this, the team maintain the false impression that M3GAN was actively engage at all times rather than allowing the puppet’s robotic movements to shatter the illusion.
If they had not put so much effort into getting the doll’s eyes in M3GAN flawless, making them both too authentically human and off in some way, this tactic would not have been as successful. Hendricks’ analogy to The Polar Express is appropriate because, while M3GAN’s face to designed to look as human as possible, her too-large, ice-blue eyes serve as a subtle reminder to the audience that she is artificial. A real-life stand-in to also used, which gave M3GAN an unexpected fluidity of movement. These decisions led to the creation of a frighteningly realistic and evil doll, making it ideal for a horror film like M3GAN.
The Creation Of M3GAN Was Successful
The makers of M3GAN were successful in creating a terrifying and funny horror film for a new generation of audiences by fusing the creepy doll and robot gone bad horror clichés into a film depicting an AI android with a violent streak. M3GAN was a viral sensation before it even hit theatres, mostly because of its pristine appearance and surprising dance sequence that to teased in the trailer. It also did well at the box office during its debut weekend. It’s likely that when M3GAN continues to play in theatres, the doll will gain even more popularity among viewers, demonstrating the value of the time and effort put into creating M3GAN as realistic and unnerving as possible.