Let’s be real—Hollywood can convince us of dragons, aliens, and whole galaxies light-years away. But for some unknown reason, with babies, the fantasy doesn’t quite hold up. There’s something particular about a lifeless mannequin or stilted CGI baby that instantly takes the audience out of the scene. Some productions get by on baby realism without issue, but others. Not so well.
Here are three of the most notorious prop babies in film history—each unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.
3. The Plastic Baby – American Sniper
Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper is a somber, heart-wrenching war drama. But one scene—intended to tug at our heartstrings—went viral for the wrong reasons. Rather than employ a real infant, the film used a plastic prop baby so rigid and incongruous that it became an instant joke. Bradley Cooper, attempting to sell the emotion of the scene, can be seen subtly moving the hand of the doll with his thumb to mimic life.
The payoff? A scene that elicited laughter from viewers instead of sympathy. It’s a short-lived moment when a small production corner-cutting sabotaged the mood of the film. The cast and crew, according to reports, had difficulty finding a real baby due to last-minute delays—but instead of changing or remaking, they proceeded with a substitute that looked like it was plucked straight from the clearance bin of a toy store. The scene is still one of the biggest infamous mistakes in contemporary film.
2. “Chuckesmee” – Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1
Before Twilight enthusiasts got to know the CGI Renesmee, the filmmakers tried something even scarier: an animatronic baby that the actors and crew immediately nicknamed “Chuckesmee.” Supposedly depicting Bella and Edward’s fast-aging vampire-human spawn, the doll was intended to add realism. It added terror instead.
According to producer Wyck Godfrey, the animatronic doll was so unnerving that it was never actually used on-screen. “Chuckesmee” resembled something closer to a horror movie prop than a baby—and not in an intentional way. Kristen Stewart and other cast members reportedly found it impossible to act naturally around the doll. Ultimately, the production pivoted to a CGI alternative (which, as we’ll see, had its own set of problems).
Nevertheless, the short behind-the-scenes peeks at “Chuckesmee” remain one of the weirdest Hollywood bombs that nearly hit screens.
1. CGI Renesmee – Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2
If there is one inhuman baby that keeps haunting cinemagoers, it’s CGI Renesmee. Charged with making a half-vampire, half-human child grow at supernatural rates, the visual effects crew attempted to combine Kristen Stewart’s baby photos with the face of actress Mackenzie Foy. What they ended up with was a digital baby that felt disturbingly unnatural: blinking at the wrong moments, moving stiffly and robotically, and overall looking like something from a simulation that had gone off the rails.
What was meant to be an emotional, whimsical piece of the Twilight saga’s denouement became an interruption. Viewers were unable to engage with the emotional tension because every eye was on Renesmee’s unsettling presence. Her over-the-top CGI features, paired with those of her ungainly facial expressions, became a meme on the internet for all the wrong reasons—and an inadvertent tour-de-force in the behind-the-scenes blooper reels of the movie.
Renesmee’s VFX first outing has since become an industry cautionary tale: however sophisticated the technology, emotional verisimilitude tends to be sacrificed when you over-rely on CGI, particularly for something as universally understood as a baby.
With technology leagues ahead of where it was in 2012, there’s cautious optimism that the upcoming Twilight TV reboot will give Renesmee a more convincing and less nightmare-inducing portrayal. Until then, these three unforgettable fake babies remain pop culture legends, for better or worse.
They’re a reminder that sometimes, even in the most high-budget productions, it’s the small things—like a convincing baby—that can make or break the magic of the moment.