The beauty of animation lies not only in the beautiful visual effects and fantastical ideas that can be conveyed, but also largely in the subtleties of the animated movements. Although to non-animators the differences between movements that are exaggerated and those that follow realistic physics might not be obvious, the presence of both kinds of movements are actually incredibly important to animation and story. Even someone who cannot animate can notice unrealistic movement and when done well can be quite humorous or dramatic. Good animation has a balance between realistic movement and strategic moments of exaggeration, and is not simply random in its moments of deviation from reality. This essay will be an analysis of the paths of actions of moving characters and objects, analyzing how bounces, jumps, and falls in a variety of movies do not follow the laws of physics by having incorrect timing, spacing, or a lack of weight. These unrealistic physics in all of the following scenarios are used with a specific intent and purpose, which is what makes them so interesting to analyze.
In the film Kung Fu Panda the laws of physics are exaggerated quite a bit. Specifically, the bounce of a character down several flights of stairs is extremely unrealistic for comedic effect. In this scene the very chubby panda protagonist is fighting with a leopard. When the leopard tackles the panda the laws of physics are broken as the two fly hundreds of feet through the air and then upon landing survive and bounce down stone steps as if the panda is a bouncy ball. The physics of the tackle itself are inaccurate with the momentum of the leopard running at the panda resulting in a flying out about 300 feet from the edge of the platform. In addition, the path of action of the fall is not parabolic but rather a long horizontal fall to the side and then more of an abrupt drop off closer to the end of the fall, which is physically impossible. Upon landing, the panda intertwined with the leopard are exaggerated to be bouncy due to the panda’s roundness whereas in reality his immense weight would not result in such a light, beachball-like bounce. Interestingly, the bounces down the stairs follow arcs in a parabolic path with each bounce having a smaller apex, so the figures were a bouncy ball the bounce would be correct. This deviation from realistic physics is used for comedic effect as well as to dramatize the entire fight scene.
Another example of exaggerated paths of actions occurs in the film Tarzan. This movie also has many instances where the physics are exaggerated for the sake of the story and for entertainment value. One scene that displays incorrect physics is a scene in Tarzan that features Gorillas perched on top of barrels and bouncing along the ground lightly, moving forward with each jump. The gorillas bounce around on the barrels very quickly and lightly with no anticipation for each jump and covering a lot of ground. This is physically impossible because of the disparity between the weight and shape of the gorillas and barrels with the lightness and speed of the movement. Not only is the average young male gorilla about 300 pounds or more which would severely impact the ability of the barrel to bounce so lightly, but the barrels would not physically be able to squash and stretch as they do in the film. The wood would likely splinter from the impact but in the scene the barrels have properties akin to a rubber ball. The jumps are also very evenly spaced and the apexes of each jump are pretty equal, which is also unrealistic. Unlike a ball bounce, individual jumps with varying momentum would probably not be so uniform in their arcs. The purpose of the gorillas bouncing around on the barrels is purely for entertainment and comedy during one of the lighthearted moments in the movie.
A final example of incorrect physics in terms of arcs, spacing, and path of action is displayed in the film The Road to El Dorado. During a scene where the character are engaging in an Ancient Mayan ball game the main characters are doing terribly. They hit the ball and it misses the goal, bouncing past the opposing team. The ball bounces in the exact same arc past the team as all of their heads synchronize moving up and down with the even moment of the ball. The ball bounce is too evenly spaced to be realistic and hits same apex during each bounce as well as having the exact same arc length. This is not physically possible for a ball bounce, especially if the ball bounces about 5 times within the shot. The ball bounce should have a progression of parabolic arches that decrease proportionally with each bounce. The even-ness of the spacing is used for comedic effect, which is made obvious by the synchronicity between the bounce and background characters. The hilarious movement of the characters with the ball emphasizes the mistake and exaggerates their shock at how poorly the protagonists are performing in the game.
In conclusion, these movies all have some deviations from realistic paths of action and bounces for the purpose of drawing the audience's attention to certain movements and adding emotion and humour to the scenes. The humorous bounce of the panda and leopard down the hill is much more memorable because of its exaggeration, and plays much more with the imagination of the audience and makes the film feel much more fantastical. These deviations from reality are all used with a purpose and are a tool used by the animators to make each film and scene unique. If all of the films displayed only perfectly accurate physics there would be so much less expression and originality that could be expressed. Knowing how to properly animate realistic physical movement is vital to being a good animator, and so is knowing when to stray from the rules.
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