Classic/Withered Animatronics Continuity Error Theory
Now with the pleasantries out of the way, I would like to put forward a theory I have that I'm not sure if people have been talking about as much as they should. This theory is surrounding the Withered Animatronics and why they look so DIFFERENT from the Classic Animatronics even though they are intended to be the same animatronics in the lore. Especially since the 'un-withered' designs of the animatronics are implied to have never existed by sources such as the recently released interactive novel 'The Week Before.' Like many, I have found this error in visual continuity to be REALLY hard to just ignore as someone who really cares about the tiniest of details. But I believe I may have found a theory that addresses this continuity error while NOT RETCONNING ANYTHING! (And you'll also notice a lot of the so-called 'EVIDENCE' for this theory is also based on TINY DETAILS)
So - let's clear one thing up immediately. As suggested in The Week Before, when Phone Guy (Ralph) comments on how he's glad they restored the animatronics back to their classic designs, it is heavily implied that these CLASSIC designs are the ORIGINAL designs of the animatronics, meaning that the 'un-withered' version of the Withered Animatronics NEVER EXISTED.
These animatronics (models courtesy of UFMP & TaddyDudstare, render by me), for a while and by a fair few people, were considered to be what the band originally looked like when Freddy's first opened in (presumably) 1983 and would later become the Withered Animatronics in FNAF 2. But these animatronics? They NEVER EXISTED. Because we now know that the Classic Animatronics were their original designs before FNAF 2.
We have even more evidence to back this claim that the Classic Animatronics were their original iterations from even OUTSIDE the recently released book. Most notably in the CELEBRATE poster in FNAF 1's office and the FNAF 1 trailer.
We can see that the wall behind them is made of bricks.
While the wall behind them in FNAF 1 is a solid, smooth wall.
And if these posters and the shot from the trailer weren't taken in this location, then where? Well, it's not really WHERE, it's more about WHEN. This stage difference is clearly implying that these are at least 2 different points in time. These posters were made BEFORE FNAF 2 in the ORIGINAL Freddy's locaiton. These are shots of them BEFORE we see them in FNAF 2. If we follow the logic made in this tiny detail, then that confirms that these designs existed way before the Withereds ever did.
That also means that the shot of them performing in the trailer is us seeing them work in their hayday before everything turned bad... haunting.
But then that brings up a very noticeable visual design continuity issue. Because, let's be honest, the Withereds and the Classics look WAY too different to be the same designs and I'm not just talking about their withering. They're bulkier, squarer, they have more teeth, their heads are different proportions, Chica and Foxy have 3 toes instead of 2 and Freddy and Bonnie have buttons where they didn't before. Those are just some changes that can be immediately noticed when compared side-by-side.
Naturally, this led people to create these un-withered designs of the Withered Animatronics and say that these were the first iterations of them and that they got redesigned when Fazbear Entertainment attempted to reopen the original Freddy Fazbear's Pizza in FNAF 1. Unfortunately... this isn't true as it has now been basically confirmed that the Classics ARE the ORIGINALS and the Withereds are still supposed to be the same set of animatronics...
Many people have just decided to roll with it and say 'Oh, it's just a retcon, it doesn't really matter.' But, uh, NO. It DOES matter. Especially to someone like me who just CAN'T IGNORE these things! So naturally it got me pondering for a good few days over how I could rationally explain why the Withereds look the way they do when the designs that came before them were the Classic designs as implied in The Week Before.
After much pondering, I think I've finally cracked it! I think I have finally come up with a reason why the Withereds look so different compared to their Classic designs that were supposedly their iterations before them. (And, looking on Redit, I can see many other people have noticed this as well)
So those UN-WITHERED animatronics up there? They NEVER existed. But that doesn't mean they weren't GOING too. Yes, the Classics were their original designs. But I think people forget a detail mentioned in FNAF 2 that easily explains away all of our problems!
In FNAF 2, Night 2 - Phone Guy (or Ralph) comments on the animatronics in the Parts & Services room. He says, "Those are from the previous location and we just use them for parts now. The idea at first was to repair them. Uh, they even started retrofitting them with some of the newer technology. But they were just so ugly, you know? And the smell... uh... So the company just decided to go in a whole new direction and make them super kid-friendly!"
This is something that I think goes overlooked, but Phone Guy implies that those animatronics from the original location were getting some work done on them before the events of FNAF 2. He says they were being fixed up and fitted with newer technology to help them rebrand. He then goes on to mention that they just looked too ugly and the smell of them wasn't great, making the company decide to invest in completely new animatronics.
THIS ONE PART IN THE CALL EXPLAINS EVERYTHING.
Basically, the Classic Animatronics were RE-DESIGNED to look like they do in FNAF 2. They were RE-BUILDING them, CHANGING them. Fazbear Entertainment was trying to change how the original animatronics looked to seperate them from the Classic looking animatronics that were present during the MCI and that were reportedly oozing bodily substances. They wanted them to look different. So they started trying to upgrade them and change their outer appearance so they could pass off as new animatronics. These new upgrades would also include advanced mobility so they could walk around better during the day which is why all the animatronic endoskeletons now have 3 toes so they can walk around better.
A design choice that now all of the Toy Animatronics inherited instead.
(Render by zueiroooooooooooo on DeviantArt which I downloaded with low quality for some reason)
But, of course, this didn't really work. As Phone Guy says, the newer designs of the animatronics just didn't look as appealing as they did before. They were ugly, even off-putting. Creepy. And they couldn't use their original designs since the smell of rot and decay was still very much there. And so, as Phone Guy again says, they just decided to go in a whole new direction and completely ditch those animatronics to begin with, spending a small fortune in creating the Toy Animatronics that were updated with newer technology and could be advertised as being part of their security to make Freddy's a lot safer and kid-friendly in the eyes of the public.
And the original animatronics? They were left backstage to rot. Left uncared for and forgotten to gather dust, their only use now being the occaisional spare part. That also explains some of the withering on these Withered Animatronics such as Bonnie missing his face and arm or Chica missing her hands and her jaw hanging off her head or even why so much of Foxy's casing is missing. It's because these animatronics were abandoned before they finished retrofitting them. They are missing pieces of themselves because they were never even installed in the first place. So those fan-made UN-WITHERED versions of the Withered Animatronics are most likely what they were GOING to look like if they were actually finished.
But, of course, the Toy Animatronics failed. They had to be scrapped because they were just too broken and Fazbear Entertainment probably didn't have enough money to repair or maintain them, as Phone Guy says, "They've spent a small fortune on these new animatronics." With the grand reopening failing, they couldn't earn back the money they spent on the Toys to make them better or win back their reputation with the public. So it was better to scrap them and sell them for parts to earn back just a little money.
With nowhere else to turn to, they have to now work under a much smaller budget. So they take the animatronics they already had, the ones they already know that works, and decided to restore them back to their original designs since they already had the spare parts needed to do so.
And so, as we see in FNAF 1, the animatronics have been reverted back to their original designs and put back up on stage. This could even explain why Foxy still looks withered in FNAF 1 and why he's Out Of Order. It's because they didn't have any other parts for Foxy. We can see in the backstage in FNAF 1 that there are parts for Freddy, Bonnie and Chica. But nothing for Foxy. They restored him back to his classic design, but his classic design was already withered and broken while the others already had spare parts that they could be fitted with. Foxy, sadly, didn't and remained Out Of Order just because they had no spare parts for his classic design, back to having 2 toes instead of 3.
Unfortunately, the nostalgia of these classic designs wasn't enough to bring people back. People had an even worse view of the company and those animatronics were just too closely associated to the MCI. Business was not working which would lead to Fazbear's closing its doors... and leaving the animatronics locked up in there with it.
When Freddy's first opened, these Classic designs for the animatronics were their first iteration. After the MCI, there is about a year and a half gap between 1985 (presumably when the MCI happened) and 1987 in November when Freddy's reopens.
In between this time, Fazbear Entertainment attempted to redesign and refit the Classic Animatronics with a new look and new technology. However, they gave up half-way through as they were deemed to be too ugly, the new technology did not work well with their old technology, and there was too much of a negative stigma surrounding those particular animatronics. Especially since that smell didn't seem to fully disappear...
So they made the Toys instead, spending a small fortune on them, and leaving the original animatronics backstage to rot and decay, their newer designs unfinished and never to see the light of day. But then, of course, the Toys failed and Fazbear Entertainment had to scrap them in order to get back some of their money.
With no money coming into the books after their failed reopening and the Toys just taking too much to maintain and repair, the Toys are scrapped and Fazbear Entertainment uses the last of their money to restore the original animatronics back to their Classic designs. Removing all the technology they tried to implement and giving them back their old parts (except for Foxy who doesn't appear to have any spare parts, so he is stuck with his original casing that is now old and withered itself).
And that's how we find them in FNAF 1.
So! That's my proposal for why the Withereds look so different even though the Classic designs are supposed to predate them! There is little-to-no retconning involved to explain this notable design change! I'll admit, this theory ISN'T FLAWLESS. There are a few holes in it and is built off of a lot of assumptions. But I will have you know that they are mostly LOGICAL assumptions that are built off of already existing information and details!
Thanks for reading and have a nice day! :D
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