M3GAN used half a dozen puppets to bring the killer toy to life

M3GAN has a lot on its rapidly changing mind, murder in particular. Since the crew wanted M3GAN to move (and sometimes contort its body) like an ordinary human would, they shot most of the scenes with puppets, plus several more.

During an interview with Variety, the film's supervising puppeteer, Adrien Morot, explained how they captured a range of computerized movements. Actress Amie Donald was present for every scene that required the doll to be seen walking or dancing down the hall, and for others there were puppets that they used.

"It was decided early on that almost all medium shots would be made with a puppet," Morot explained.

"We had six or seven different puppets that were able to do different things. We had part of the head that moved, eyes that moved, the torso that moved, and there were a few -ones that were capable of a full computerized range of motion...for every shot where she was seen walking in full length or dancing down a hallway, it would be Amie wearing a mask who, if appropriate, would then be animated to have a moving lips or moving eyes."

Morot wanted the audience to feel deeply disturbed by M3GAN's "almost real" appearance. The design was never meant to be "overdone" or "cartoonish", just annoying. It seems director Gerard Johnstone and Morot have both succeeded in their attempt to make M3GAN and all it does "disturbing", because there's nothing more disturbing than a lifelike-looking self-made doll that becomes rogue at every opportunity.