The (real world) laws of physics are frequently
bent or manipulated in the world of animation, often times for comical effect
or emphasis. One particular law that can be observed in many animations is
Newton’s Third Law, or also known as the Action-Reaction Principle. This law states
that for every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction; or, in
other words, the forces enacted by two bodies on each other are always
equal and directed in opposite directions. A typical example of this principle is
implemented when people push their hands against a wall: The force they would
feel against their hands as they push is the reaction force of the wall, which
is pushing back on them. They would only feel as much force as they exert. If
there was no reaction force towards our pushing hands, we would move straight
through the wall! Although not realistic, it is an entertaining thought as it
goes against our everyday (perhaps mundane) experiences, which is a quality
that animation films such as One Piece:
Curse of the Sacred Sword, Kung Fu Panda, and Despicable Me try to invoke. Therefore, this paper intends to analyze
these three films, focusing on the incorrect application of the action-reaction
principle and their possible reasons for doing so.
One Piece: Curse of the Sacred Sword
follows another journey set out by the Straw Hat Pirates who are seeking to unveil
the secrets behind the Shichiseiken, a sacred sword considered to be the world’s
most beautiful and valuable treasure, although it is surrounded by a deadly
curse. Like in most Japanese animations, the laws of physics are defied
profusely in the world of One Piece,
obeying few if any. This is due to the fact that it is based in a fairy-tale
like world, where magic, wonder, and super-human powers are the norm. The film creators
distort and manipulate our perceptions of physics to emphasize this fantastical
setting as well as the adventurous, comical tone of the film. Newton’s Third
Law, therefore, is employed to this effect. The specific scene I chose to
examine comes from the beginning of the adventure in which Luffy (hero
character who wears a straw hat and red vest) is running after a girl, while
his crewmate, Usopp, rides on his back, holding for dear life.
Newton’s Third Law holds that every
action has an equal and opposite reaction, yet in this scene, Luffy hardly shows
signs of the reaction forces that should be acting against his actions. He is
not only running but also jumping from place to place with extra weight (two
times his weight, no less!) on his back, but he moves as if he is weightless,
ignoring the forces of gravity and Usopp’s weight acting upon him. I would like
to focus on Luffy’s jump at around 00:07s in particular. Here, he seems to jump
high, or at least high and far enough to get across a stream that is at least 6
feet wide. Although he exerts little effort (hardly a crouch) or pushing action
on the ground, thus resulting in a short push time, he jumps quite high based
on the distance he is able to cross. His applied force and push time is
inconsistent with the scale of his jump; or, in other words, he inputs little force
of action, yet the force of reaction (the ground’s upward push, in this case) is
so great.
Furthermore, Usopp’s
weight, which is another force acting upon Luffy, seems to be completely ignored.
As Luffy jumps upward, Usopp’s weight should be reacting to this jumping force
and pushing back on Luffy equally, which should not only slow down Luffy but
also lessen the height at which he jumps. This is similar to the example of
pushing a wall mentioned above. However, the action-reaction principle is not obeyed
here seeing that Luffy jumps freely and weightlessly, as if Usopp was nothing
more than a thin scarf. Nonetheless, this defiance of Newton’s law is used effectively
to portray Luffy’s super-human strength and create a fun, humorous scene, which
I argue is the point of any good animation.
Another film that
plays with this principle is the notable computer graphic animation Kung Fu Panda. The film tells the story
of Po, a lazy fat panda who trains under Master Shifu and transforms to become
a Kung Fu Master that saves the Valley of Peace from the villain, Tai Lung. The
universe of Kung Fu Panda, while
masks the physics of our world, bends some fundamental principles. The effect
of this allows audiences to believe to a certain extent the reality of that
universe (the plausibility of animals actually talking, moving like humans, and
performing kung fu), while maintaining the entertainment value. Often, the kung
fu warriors perform with exaggerated movements, or lack thereof, which challenges
the boundaries of our perceived physics. Not only is this entertaining but also
serves to highlight their physical abilities. Newton’s Third Law is applied extensively
for this effect. One of many scenes that exemplify the bending of this law is
the intense fighting sequence between Shifu and Tai Lung.
Tai Lung has the ability to exert a
great amount of force, as made evident by his big landing that causes the earth
to crack. However, the problem of action-reaction occurs right after, when he lifts
a giant piece of concrete (which is also portrayed unrealistically, but that is
a separate issue) and propels it towards Shifu. He exerts his great force on
the large rock, which is arguably larger and heavier than him, yet there is no sign
of reaction to the rock’s force back on Tai Lung. He lands back on the ground,
not moving away from his original position. If Newton’s law were to actually
apply, Tai Lung would recoil quite a distance (considering the distance the
rock travels, which is also suggestive of the large force he exerted) in
reaction to the equal force the rock would exert back. This lack of recoil is
also observed in Shifu in this same scene. With Tai Lung’s force enacted on the
rock in mind, it is counterintuitive that Shifu stays in place when he applies
his own great force to hit and shatter the rock to pieces. In reality, if he
had that great amount of force to counterattack the force of the propelling
rock, it would also be equally reflected in the rock’s reaction force, which would
in effect propel him backwards some. Alternatively, entertaining the idea that
he actually had the strength and ability to stay in place, the ground should at
least reflect his reaction to the rock’s force by cracking in around him,
similar to what occurred when Tai Lung landed on the ground. Although
unrealistic, the lack of reactions by these kung fu masters is done on purpose
to emphasize their compelling strength and physical abilities. They make what
we would find challenging look easy, highlighting the (cinematic) fact that
nothing shakes them. The action-reaction principle is defied in a similar
fashion throughout the film to create this effect.
The final example of incorrect application of Newton’s Third Law is examined in another
computer graphic film,
Despicable Me.
The film features Gru, an “evil” thief who makes several failed attempts at
capturing the moon, a dream of his since childhood. Realizing he needs his archenemy’s
shrink ray, he adopts three little girls to sell the enemy cookies in attempt
to distract him and steal the weapon. In the end, he realizes the importance of
family and abandons his attempts. The particular scene I decided to examine
appears as the opening. When a family tours the pyramids of Egypt, their mischievous son
climbs and plays on top of a construction site from which he falls and lands on,
as it turns out, a blow-up (or inflated) replica of a pyramid.
After
the boy lands on the fake pyramid, it bends inward, taking in the boy’s force, and
then reacts by pushing the force back, which causes the boy to propel into the
air. While the action-reaction is present, the application of the forces is
incorrect and fairly exaggerated. When the pyramid reacts to the boy’s force,
the boy flies too great of a distance in the air, far past the original height
from which he fell. Newton’s Third Law supports that every action yields an equal reaction; therefore, the force the
boy enacts on the pyramid should be reflected equally by the pyramid’s reactive
force on the boy. In other words, the boy should be pushed, at the most, to
the height of his original position, but factoring in the force of gravity, air resistance and such, this
would still be pushing the boundary. Furthermore, the boy is pushed into the air at too fast a speed, which is not reflective of the force or speed with which he hit the pyramid. Such a great and fast push would suggest that the pyramid has another force acting upon it, which it uses against the boy's force. However, the pyramid is inanimate, stationery, and has no such extra force. In reality, the boy would not fly so high and fast in the air, nor would he be projected all the way to his parents' position. This exaggeration of the action-reaction principle creates interest and humor, illustrating the comical aspect of animation.
In conclusion, many animation films, such as the above mentioned, often defy and manipulate the laws of physics, such as Newton's Third Law. The proposed physics in these animation works challenges our perceived knowledge of physics, which in effect creates attention-grabbing sequences. Such defiance of our world's natural physics is utilized to exaggerate and emphasize actions, while creating an enjoyable and comical tone that almost anyone can enjoy, if not appreciate. This illustrates the flexibility of animation and the effects of a creative mind, proposing that perhaps not every action yields an equal and opposite reaction afterall... in cinematic fiction, that is.
{EDIT}
Notes:
It may be observed that I deviated from my outline. Besides rearranging the order of the main points (which was due to feeling), I chose a different scene or example from Despicable Me to analyze. I had originally planned to analyze the action-reaction in the scene where Gru shoots a ray gun at a carnival. I had argued that Gru should have showed signs of recoil after shooting large energy out from the gun. However, after further speculation and online research, I realized that it is difficult to determine whether or not ray guns actually produce recoil. Since they produce rays, lasers, or some form of light, some claim that they do not shoot out mass, and thus, would not produce enough momentum and force for a recoil; therefore, Gru's reaction, or lack thereof, would hypothetically be correct. I do not have to the knowledge to challenge the validity of such claims and I am not familiar with guns, let alone ray/laser guns, so I thought it was too tricky a point to tackle, thus I decided to look for another scene.
