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Cartoon physics |
Cartoon physics is a joking reference to the fact that animation allows regular laws of physics to be ignored in humorous ways for dramatic effects. For example, when a cartoon character runs off a cliff, gravity has no effect until the character notices and reacts.[1]
In words attributed to Art Babbitt: "Animation follows the laws of physics — unless it is funnier otherwise."
The phrase also reflects the fact that many of the most famous American animated films, particularly those from Warner Bros. and MGM studios, unconsciously developed a relatively consistent set of such "laws" that have become regularly applied in comic animation.
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The idea that cartoons behave differently than the real world, but not randomly, is virtually as old as animation. Walt Disney, for example, spoke of the plausible impossible (see The Plausible Impossible, 1956), deliberately mispronouncing the second word so it rhymed with the first.
Specific reference to cartoon physics extends back at least to June of 1980, when an article "O'Donnell's Laws of Cartoon Motion"[2] appeared in Esquire. A version printed in 1994 by the IEEE in a journal for engineers helped spread the word among the technical crowd, which has expanded and refined the idea. Dozens of websites exist outlining these laws.
The situation is so well-understood that it has been used as the topic of jokes for decades.
More recently, the cartoon characters Roger Rabbit and Bonkers D. Bobcat have their own variations on the theme, explaining that toons are allowed to bend or break natural laws for the purposes of comedy. Doing this is extremely tricky, so toons have a natural sense of comedic timing, giving them inherently funny properties. Bonkers also warns that the loss of this sense can lead to unfunny and even dangerous situations, perhaps explaining why cartoon violence, but not the real variety, is funny.
In 1993, Stephen R. Gould, writing in New Scientist noted that "... new, looney toon analysis reveals that these, seemingly nonsensical, phenomena can be described by logical laws similar to those in our world. Nonsensical events are by no means limited to the Looniverse. Laws that govern our own Universe often seem contrary to common sense."[3] This theme is further described by Dr. Alan Cholodenko in his article, "The Nutty Universe of Animation"[4]
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