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WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
| NOTE: This page is about the incarnation of The Marionette from the films. The mainstream version can be viewed here. |
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| “ | I don't hate you, but you need to stay out of my way. | „ |
| ~ Charlotte while possessing Lisa warns Vanessa to not interfere with her plan, a reference from the game Ultimate Custom Night and her most famous quote. |
| “ | I just want to see what's going on inside of your head. | „ |
| ~ Charlotte while taunting her victims. |
| “ | Come out, come out, wherever you are, Vanessa. The adults in your life betrayed you, too. They don't deserve your protection. You don't have to die with them. You can help me. | „ |
| ~ Charlotte speaking through Abby, wanting Vanessa to join her side. |
Charlotte "Charlie" Emily, better known as The Marionette or The Puppet, is one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside Michael Afton) of Universal Pictures' Five Nights at Freddy's film series, based on the video game franchise of the same name.
She was the daughter of Henry Emily, the co-founder of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza and former partner of William Afton.
She was a shy, introverted young girl who frequented Freddy's. One day, she tried to rescue a boy who was abducted by William Afton, which led to her murder by Afton. Charlotte's spirit later possessed the Marionette animatronic after her death. After possessing the Marionette, she became vengeful and hateful towards the parents for inadvertently caused her death. As a result, she seeks to murder the parents who ignored her. She was released by William's son, Michael Afton, to continue his legacy. After her plans were foiled by Mike Schmidt, she possessed Vanessa, now seeking to gain her revenge on Mike. She's also Vanessa's former best friend-turned-arch-nemesis.
She was portrayed by Audrey Lynn Marie in her human form. While possessing Lisa, she was portrayed by Mckenna Grace, who also portrayed Emma Grossman in The Bad Seed, one of the forms of Gabriel May in Malignant and Nocturna in Batman: Caped Crusader, Piper Rubio. While possessing Vanessa, she was portrayed Elizabeth Lail, who also portrayed Amy Hughes in Dead of Summer.
Appearance
Just like her game counterpart, The Marionette has a white face with black, hollow eyes (aside from its jumpscare and a small in-game cutscene, in which it gains small, white pupils). Its face is similar to that of a Pierrot, with rosy red cheeks, purple stripes that stretch from the bottom of its eyes to the top of its mouth, and red lipstick painted on in an exaggerated pucker.
Its body is somewhat reminiscent of a sock monkey's, with its round, oblong shape, thin waist, three white buttons, rounded hands that feature three spindly fingers each, and white stripes on the wrists and ankles, along with a thin, long neck. It has no feet, but its legs are tapered to a point. It has neither hair nor head accessories.
As Charlotte Emily, she is a young, light-skinned girl with long pigtails. She's seen wearing a long sleeve black-and-white shirt, with a black-and-white-striped shirt underneath, and black pants.
Biography
Early Life
Charlotte was born to Henry Emily and an unknown mother sometime in the early 1970s. Henry Emily built the Marionette animatronic with a wireless signal that allows it to control the other animatronics and perform on stage. Like the Toy Animatronics, it is incapable of leaving the pizzeria due to a security protocol in its software.
Demise at Freddy's
In 1982, Charlotte sits in front of the stage, anticipating for her father to arrive for her birthday at Freddy's. After being invited to play by Vanessa, William Afton's daughter, she comes along and becomes her friend. She sees a boy being abducted by Afton in disguise as the Yellow Rabbit. She tries to inform several parents but none of them listen, forcing her to search for the boy herself. Vanessa tries to stop her, but Charlotte refuses to listen, perceiving it as betrayal.
Charlotte follows Afton and finds the boy unconscious in the kitchen where she witnesses William washing utensils. William leaves, giving Charlotte time to rescue the boy. As she carries him to the exit, William reappears and chases her down the hallway, stabbing her three times in the back. Charlotte makes it out successfully and reappears with the boy on the stage. She screams in anguish before collapsing and dying from her wounds just as the boy recovers and reunites with his family. The trapdoor then opens and she falls in, wherein the Marionette emerges, carrying her body.
The authorities soon launch an investigation into the incident for foul play, however, they find no incriminating evidence and no arrests were made, leading Charlotte to be blamed for the incident for having gone into a "restricted area". Though the case was closed, the scandal caused the original Freddy Fazbear's Pizza to close quickly after establishment.
Reawakening
| “ | Leaving dead space. 3. 2. 1. This message is intended as a warning. Mike, I wish we'd had more time after our conversation about Charlotte, but I'm sending you this message now in case I... I can't deliver it in person. There are things you need to be aware of. I was William Afton's business partner for many years, and although the equipment I have left over from that time is outdated, I can still track some of the animatronics. Mike, the Marionette- (loud noises in the background) Mike! Get out as fast as you can! SHE'S COMING FOR YOU!- [recording cuts off] | „ |
| ~ Henry Emily sending a voice message to warn Mike about the arrival of the vengeful Marionette during the end credits |
In October 2002, a paranormal TV show titled Spectral Scoopers led by Lisa, alongside videographer Alex and co-host Rob, film at the abandoned pizzeria. They are given a tour by Michael Afton, William Afton's son who is posing as the night guard and is seeking to free Charlotte's vengeful spirit. Lisa gets distracted by Charlotte's music box underneath the stage and separates from the group. She shuts it off, awakening Charlotte. In her Marionette form, Charlotte emerges from the gift box and attacks Lisa. She later commands Mangle to kill Alex and later mutilates Rob by possessing multiple Marionette dolls. Michael investigates the Marionette's room and finds Lisa possessed; she charges at him and he escapes, satisfied with his efforts.
Later, the Marionette possesses Toy Chica, pretending to be the second Chica in order to manipulate Abby and gain her trust. When Abby's project is broken by robotics teacher Professor Berg, who constantly picks on her, Toy Chica offers to step in as the project if Abby disables the security protocols that prevent the Toy Animatronics from leaving the pizzeria. The possessed Lisa captures Vanessa and forces her to relay the security code to Abby and free the animatronics. Toy Chica and Abby attend the science fair, where Mr. Berg accuses Abby of faking the project. Toy Chica follows Mr. Berg and kills him in a storage room. Abby wins the science fair, unaware of Mr. Berg's fate.
Toy Chica then takes Abby home, where she possesses Abby just before Mike disables all of the animatronics. While in Abby's body, she ambushes a freed Vanessa and a struggle ensues until Mike intervenes by playing her music box. Charlotte calms down and releases Abby, retreating into one of the rooms. She watches as Michael reveals to Mike and Abby that he is Vanessa's older brother. He reveals his plan to continue their father's legacy and reactivates the Toy Animatronics, ordering them to kill the trio. However, the Missing Children, who possess a franchise location's animatronics, arrive and destroy the Toy Animatronics. Michael attempts to flee, but is subdued by Jeremiah. Michael is left unattended and manages to flee. Having been kept in the dark too many times, Mike came to distrust Vanessa and cuts all ties with her, as she never told him of Michael nor the Marionette, in addition to the fact that Abby was possessed. As the Schmidts left with Jeremiah, due to the events related to Freddy’s being too much to handle, Charlotte reemerges and possesses Vanessa, set on getting revenge on Mike in her new body.
After possessing Vanessa, Charlotte attacks her father as he records a message for Mike, warning him about the Marionette. As he was attacked by his own daughter, his fate is left unknown.
Personality
Unlike her video game counterpart, this version of Charlotte Emily is much more vengeful. She is shown to enjoy killing her victims indiscriminately, unconcerned with the missing children. While possessing Toy Chica, she brutally and remorselessly kills Mr. Berg. Furthermore, she was willing to harm Abby if Vanessa continued to withhold the code to release the Toy Animatronics. Charlotte does not seem to care about harming or traumatizing children either, seen with her possession of Abby and willingness to kill Debbie's mother in front of her.
In life, Charlotte was an introvert who had a great interest and trust in the Marionette, and was considered weird by others. She is shown to have been caring, willing to risk her own life in order to save a boy who William Afton was preparing to kill. Charlotte used to care about her childhood best friend, Vanessa. After becoming the Marionette and despite her hatred for adults, she spares Vanessa. However, Charlotte does not seem to hold any affection toward Vanessa, as she is willing to possess her to continue committing crimes.
As the Marionette, Charlotte becomes a vengeful spirit, having lost her innocence and continuously experiencing the rage she felt when she died. While she likely hates William Afton, she focuses her anger on the parents who did nothing to help her. While possessing the Toy Animatronics, actively looks to kill innocent parents who were uninvolved with her death. Despite this rage, she can still be soothed by the music box made for her by her father Henry. Charlotte also seems to hold hatred toward her father as well, likely due to his association with Afton and his role in keeping her locked away for decades, as she attacks him after possessing Vanessa for obviously not arriving on time to rescue her from death years ago.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Remnant-Bound Physiology: Charlotte Emily exists as a disembodied child spirit anchored by remnant-like energy, inhabiting the Marionette. Unlike other spirits bound to singular forms, Charlotte exhibits mobile possession, allowing her consciousness to detach from her animatronic body and inhabit living hosts. As a remnant-anchored spirit, she does not experience pain, can abandon one vessel to claim another, physical destruction of a host does not destroy her essence. Her existence persists so long as her animatronic core or remnant anchor remains intact.
- Possession: Charlotte can forcibly inhabit living humans. Upon possession, the host's limbs elongate unnaturally, facial features distort into a mask-like visage, host becomes silent, flexible, and obedient. Prolonged possession drains the host's life force, often resulting in death upon release. Her Possession is both a weapon and a method of traversal.
- Hallucinatory Influence: Charlotte subtly distorts perception during possession. Victims experience visual and sensory disorientation, reality blurs during transitions between bodies, and the observers may see unnatural movement or impossible anatomy. This effect enhances fear and compliance rather than functioning as full illusion control.
- Animatronic Dominion: Charlotte emits a wireless control signal capable of overriding other animatronics, including Toy Animatronics, Withered Animatronics (Balloon Boy). Through this signal, she commands movement, aggression, and coordination. This dominion is not absolute—external interference can sever or hijack the signal, leaving her temporarily isolated.
- Levitation & Spatial Defiance: While possessing a host, Charlotte grants them limited levitation like floating movement without visible support and vertical suspension during intimidation or restraint. This ability enhances her spectral presence and reinforces her inhuman nature.
- Enhanced Strength: Charlotte demonstrates superhuman physical power able to restrain adult humans effortlessly, Capable of dismembering bodies and strong enough to fracture animatronic-grade metal. Charlotte's Strength appears amplified when acting through possessed hosts.
Abilities
- Psychological Manipulation: Charlotte exploits emotional vulnerability, she mimics innocence to gain trust, preys on fear, guilt, and grief and maintains a calm, silent demeanor to unnerve victims. Her intelligence allows her to manipulate rather than rush, turning victims into instruments or distractions.
- Intimidation Mastery: Charlotte's presence distorts atmosphere using slow, deliberate movements sudden appearances without sound silent observation before action.
- Stealth & Silent Movement: Charlotte and her hosts move without detectable sound. This allows undetected proximity to targets, surprise possession, and evasion from armed or alert opponents.
Weaknesses
- Signal Dependency: Her control over animatronics relies on an external signal, disruption disables animatronic control or hijacking the signal allows others to override her authority.
- Emotional Fragmentation: Despite her power, Charlotte retains remnants of childlike emotion. Conflicted morality, selective protection of certain individuals, and unpredictable reactions when emotionally challenged.
Relationships
Family
- Henry Emily - Father
- Unnamed mother
Friends
- Unnamed boy - Rescuee
- Toy Animatronics - Minions
- Toy Freddy - Minion
- Toy Bonnie - Minion
- Toy Chica - Minion
- The Mangle - Minion
- Balloon Boy - Minion
- Prototype Animatronics - Minions
- Prototype Freddy - Minion
- Prototype Bonnie - Minion
- Prototype Chica - Minion
- Prototype Foxy - Minion
Enemies
- William Afton - Killer
- Michael Afton - Brainwasher
- Vanessa Shelly - Arch-nemesis, former best friend, current possessed victim
- Mike Schimdt - Targeted victim
- Abby Schmidt - Former possessed victim
- Spectral Scoopers Crew
- Rob †
- Lisa † - Former possessed victim
- Alex †
- Professor Berg †
Quotes
| “ | Vanessa Shelly: It doesn't come out for a while. Why don't you come back to the table and hang out with us? Charlotte Emily: They don't want me there. No one does. Vanessa Shelly: You just got a bad roll of the dice. Things will get better. Charlotte Emily: She's the only one I can rely on. She's the only one who's always here for me. Vanessa Shelly: That... thing down there isn't your spirit parent or whatever you think it is. And it'll still be there, even if you go have a piece of cake first. |
„ |
| ~ Charlotte's introduction, as she gets to know Vanessa, whom she explains her bond with the Marionette. |
| “ | Charlotte Emily: Excuse me, there's a boy who needs help. Unnamed Man 1: Go tell your parents. Charlotte Emily: Please, there's something wrong... Unnamed Man 1: Go tell your parents! Charlotte Emily: (runs to another adult) Sir, please, there's somebody who needs help. Unnamed Man 2: Not right now. Charlotte Emily: Please! Unnamed Man 2: Not right now! Charlotte Emily: (crying) Will anybody help me? There's a little boy who needs help, please help me! Unnamed Woman: I'm sorry, adults are talking. Run along. Charlotte Emily: (runs towards the door, but is stopped by Vanessa) Vanessa Afton: Charlotte... don't. Charlotte Emily: (lets go of Vanessa's hand and enters backstage, where minutes later she ultimately meets her demise.) |
„ |
| ~ Charlotte being ignored by the adults, and later Vanessa, as she wants to tell hem about a boy being kidnapped by William Afton, which later causes her's pure hatred towards them. Also her last moments as a child, as she is then killed by William Afton. |
| “ | Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: A-B-B-Y. Abby. Help us. Abby Schmidt: Chica? Chica, is that you? Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: Yes, please help us. Abby Schmidt: Where are you? Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: Come find me. Abby Schmidt: How? Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: I will show you the way. Hurry. We are all waiting for you. |
„ |
| ~ Charlotte speaking through FazTalker, luring Abby into the original Freddy Fazbear's Pizza location. |
| “ | Abby Schmidt: Chica? Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: Abby! You've come back to us! Abby Schmidt: Chica! (gives her a hug) I've missed you so much. Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: I've missed you, too. Abby Schmidt: How did you get this new body? Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: Do you like it? Abby Schmidt: It's neat, but it's... different, and kinda cool. You said you needed my help? Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: We do, but right now, what matters is we're together again. |
„ |
| ~ Charlotte speaking through/possesing Toy Chica, manipulating her and making her believe that Toy Chica is the new body of her deceased friend. |
| “ | Vanessa Shelly: Charlotte? It's just me, Vanessa. Charlotte Emily/The Marionette: Are you here to put me back to sleep? Vanessa Shelly: I know what you want. You wanna get out of here so that you can hurt people... the way they hurt you. I can't let that happen. Charlotte Emily/The Marionette: I'm out of the box. But you still have me trapped here, somehow. Vanessa Shelly: It's called a perimeter lock. None of the animatronics can leave. Not even you. Charlotte Emily/The Marionette: But you can fix that. Vanessa Shelly: I'm not gonna do that. Charlotte Emily/The Marionette: That's okay. I have a another friend who can help me now. |
„ |
| ~ Charlotte and Vanessa's first meeting after 20 years, as Charlotte tries to convince Vanessa to help her complete her vengeance, but when she refuses, she takes her hostage. |
| “ | Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: Abby, what's wrong? Abby Schmidt: Mr. Berg, he... he destroyed my science fair project. Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: I will be your science project. Abby Schmidt: You'd do that for me? Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: Of course. Abby Schmidt: Well, come on, we gotta hurry. Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: But first... I need you to do something for me. Remember how I said we needed your help? There is a secret code that will let me come with you. Will you enter it for me? |
„ |
| ~ Charlotte speaking through Toy Chica, as she tricks Abby into helping her, and the other Toy Animatronics escape from the pizzeria. |
| “ | Charlotte Emily/The Marionette: (using Lisa's body) If you don't give me the command to release the perimeter lock, I will kill her. Vanessa Shelly: Charlotte, listen to me. I know you're angry, but it's not Abby's fault. I know you. I know you wouldn't hurt her. Charlotte Emily/The Marionette: Are you willing to take that chance? (strangles Vanessa) Vanessa Shelly: Okay, okay... 4... Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: 4. A. E. Vanessa Afton: 7. X. C. D. Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: ...C, D. 1. Abby Schmidt: Now what? Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: Hit enter. (Abby presses the enter key, which unlocks the perimeter) You did it, Abby! We're free! We better hurry if we want to get to the science fair in time. |
„ |
| ~ Charlotte successfully forces Vanessa to give her the code to unlock the perimeter lock, allowing her and the other Toy Animatronics to leave the pizzeria. |
| “ | Abby Schmidt: Mr. Berg, this is my new science fair project. Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: Mr. Berg, I've heard so much about you. (frowns eyes) Professor Berg: Is this a joke, Miss Schmidt? Putting someone in a suit and passing it off as your own work? You're an embarassment to our class and to our school, Miss Schmidt! Now, take your freak-show friend and get out of my science fair, before you lose us the title! (walks away) Abby Schmidt: I'm sorry, Chica. Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: There's nothing to be sorry about. How about I go talk to him? Abby Schmidt: What are you gonna say? Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: I just want to see what's going on inside of his head. |
„ |
| ~ Charlotte shows up at the science fair as Toy Chica with Abby, indirectly warning Abby of her intention to kill Professor Berg. |
| “ | Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: I would like to talk to you about Abby's project, Mr. Berg. (starts dragging him) Professor Berg: (screaming) I will give her an "A"! You... you want test answers? (sobbing) I'll give you answers to the next test! (gets lifted) Charlotte Emily/Toy Chica: What I want, is to see what's going on inside of your head! (proceeds to slowly crushing Berg's head, ultimately killing him) Just as I thought... nothing in there at all! |
„ |
| ~ Charlotte as Toy Chica finishes off Professor Berg. |
| “ | Debbie: I'm Debbie. What's your name? Charlotte Emily/Toy Bonnie: My name is Bonnie. Can we be friends, Debbie? Debbie: Sure we can. Lorraine: Debbie, stop talking to your animals and go to sleep. Charlotte Emily/Toy Bonnie: I'm gonna go see if your mom will let us stay late. (...) Your mom doesn't care about you. She only thinks about herself. Parents are all the same, and I have to punish them for that. |
„ |
| ~ Charlotte taking form of Toy Bonnie, intending to kill Lorraine, Debbie's mother. |
| “ | FazTalker: Vanessa Vanessa: Charlotte? FazTalker: No silly, it's me, ABBY!'' |
„ |
| ~ Charlotte talking to Vanessa through the FazTalker before revealing she possessed Abby |
Trivia
- She and Balloon Boy are the only animatronics without official movie posters.
- Unlike her video game counterpart, this incarnation of the Marionette has blue marks even before Charlotte takes control of her.
- Charlie's "wireless" control over the animatronics in the pizzeria may be be a reference to William Afton from the Fourth Closet Trilogy's ability to manipulate the choreography of the animatronics, and hence the animatronics themselves via Springtrap due to his awareness over the system.
- Her indiscriminate killings mirror Golden Freddy from the games.
- Charlotte is quite the opposite of her mainstream counterpart for several reasons:
- Most other iterations of Charlie, including her mainline and Novel Trilogy counterparts, are noted to be kind-hearted and caring individuals, whose nature is to protect the innocent and those around her, namely The Missing Children. This interpretation of Charlotte, while originally protective of others to the point of sacrificing her own life, develops a sadistic and cold worldview after being let down by the adults at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. She shows no interest in the Missing Children whatsoever, instead using their friendship with Abby as a cover for her own goals.
- Mainline Charlie shows no true resentment even after death, emphasizing the fact that she does not contempt her murderer, but enjoys the power she has over him regardless. Film Charlotte seems to have no realization of the impact of her killer after her premature death, instead restating the lack of contempt she has, emphasizing how she has no hatred for Vanessa, but would not hesitate to eliminate her if need be.
- Mainline Charlie is only focused on the "happiest day" for the Missing Children even ending up without one herself. Film Charlotte only wishes to achieve her own goals, only satisfying herself and disregarding the other victims entirely.
- Overall, Film Charlotte is more self-serving and villainous than her Mainline version.
