The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

Fantastic Physics

With the countless movies to date that have intentionally or inadvertently defied the laws of physics, it is not a difficult task to choose just one as the basis of the Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe term paper. There’s just one problem: trying to find a film that you don’t mind watching over and over again in the attempts to find examples of physics. There are plenty of outrageously terrible films that blatantly defy the laws of physics. When first learning of this assignment plenty of said terrible films that have their own unique physics came to mind. Many of these films I’ve only needed to watch once to determine that I was okay with not reliving them again. At first, I considered choosing one of these films, solely because I knew it would be effortless finding examples to write about. Yet as time went on it occurred to me that doing so would be a terrible mistake “Why would I want to write a paper on a film that stinks?” I thought to myself. It was then that I shifted my focus on films that I cherish. After careful consideration I landed on one film that I knew I would have a good time writing about, a personal favorite; Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a stop-motion animated film released in 2009, directed by Wes Anderson. It is based on the Roald Dahl children's novel of the same name. The studios involved in animated the films are 20th Century Fox Animation, co-produced with Indian Paintbrush, Regency Enterprises, and American Empirical Pictures. The film takes place in a fictional world where Mr. Fox, a clever 7 year old anthropomorphic fox outwits three neighboring farmers and steals their food from right under their noses. As with many fables, there are instances where exaggerations are abundant, particularly in the physics of that world.

While watching the film one quickly notices that the timing for any motion tends to be either too fast or too slow. In fact it tends to happen so often that it becomes a definitive characteristic. The very first time I watched Fantastic Mr. Fox there was one scene which stood out to me as peculiar. It is the scene where the fox family is trapped by the three evil farmers, the farmers begin to use excavators to uproot the fox’s home. Mr. Fox finally realizes how to escape and cries out “We’ve been trapped before…dig!” The group then begins furiously digging downward into the floor beneath them. The speedy rate at which they travel down is surprising. The digging occurs faster to emphasize the urgency of the fox family’s escape and their will to survive. On the other hand, there are often instances where the timing is slowed down to achieve a certain effect. One such example is the scene where Cousin Kristofferson jumps off a tree branch and dives into an inflatable kiddie pool. Kristofferson performs the dive perfectly and gracefully. The fall takes four seconds and the secondary action of the water in the pool slashing upwards is slow and symmetrical to emphasize flawlessness. The amount of time it takes Kristofferson to reach the water inside the kiddie pool would not have taken so long in our world. Each of these examples demonstrate the director and crew taking liberties with timing for the purpose of eye-catching comedic effect or to emphasize a feeling from characters.

Timing isn’t the only thing that stands out in Fantastic Mr. Fox. There tends to be frequent exaggerated paths of action. Many of which occur during the first few minutes of the film. In the scene where Mr. and Mrs. Fox arrive at the farmer’s chicken coop, they are trying their best to sneak past the farmer and his dogs to get to the chickens. They leap, flip, cartwheel, and even slide past their obstacles. It as though they are performing a cross between gymnastics and a run through a military obstacle course at a record time. Instances such as these consist of Mr. Fox swinging off a guardrail onto a trash can, or flipping onto his back to slide across the floor with the speed of a sliding ice cube. One instance that blatantly stood out to me was when Mr. and Mrs. Fox get over a fence. Instead of crawling under it or jumping over it, Mr. Fox rotates and flips on top of the fence were he performs a handstand. A moment later Mrs. Fox proceeds to do her own flip and lands on top of Mr. Fox’s feet, where she performs a handstand of her own. Paths of action in the Fantastic Mr. Fox universe tend to be adjusted to follow with the film’s recognizable style of symmetry. The paths of actions are meant to move a character or object from one place to another in an engaging manner regardless of accuracy.

Weightlessness also tends to be prevalent in this film. Objects or characters that one would expect to weight a certain amount, tend to move as though they weigh less. One example is when the team of squirrels are moving furniture into the Fox’s new home. The desk one squirrel is carrying is shifted from one place to another to fit into the door, making it seem as though the desk is almost weightless. Another squirrel carries a refrigerator on his back as if it also does not weigh as much as it should. Surely a refrigerator of that proportion to a body in the real world would require either tools or team work to move. In another scene, Mr. Fox and Kylie have just stolen ducks for dinner and are carrying the comically large bag up a hill. The bags are approximately three to four times larger in mass than either Kylie or Mr. Fox yet the two seem to run up and climb up the hill with ease. Lastly, when the three evil farmers dig up the fox’s tree they use excavators. Excavators are known for being large machinery which tend to move slowly and steadily. Yet in the scene where the excavators are uprooting the tree they tend to move and dig at a rapid rate. They seem to weigh much less than they should. Yet in this fictional world objects do not move as though they weigh much in order to keep the stylized line of actions precise.

In conclusion, the universe of Fantastic Mr. Fox has its own unique laws of physics. These physics conform to a particular and recognizable signature style of symmetry found in most of Wes Anderson’s films. Although breaking the laws of physics may tend to pull the audience out of a film, Fantastic Mr. Fox does the opposite, with its attention to detail, character performance, and deadpan humor I was immediately drawn in until the last frame. I thoroughly enjoyed rewatching one of my favorite films. Fantastic Mr. Fox is a charming film that fans of animation or quality storytelling will enjoy for years to come.