I would like to discuss the laws of physics applying to the world of Kung Fu Panda 2 by DreamWorks.
Introduction:
Describe the overview of the story, characters, and universe they exist in: Kung Fu Panda is a movie about a panda bear named Po who learns Kung Fu from other talking animals. The sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2, is the back story of why Po lives in the village he grew up in with his adopted father, a goose.- DreamWorks is known for making 3D animated movies that appeal to children. The universe and laws of physics made specifically for Kung Fu Panda 2 allows for dramatic, comedic, and more intense scenes.
- This universe allows for certain things to happen that would be impossible to achieve with our laws of physics. An example of this is the weapons used by the Kung Fu masters in the movie. When the characters are simply carrying them around, they appear as if they are made from cardboard since they are so easy to maneuver around. This observation was made by looking at the ratio of the weapon's size to how heavy it should appear. The continuity of this illusion, however, is broken when the characters use the weapons to fight with. They then appear to be made of metal, wood, stone, and other much denser materials. The audience is given the impression that they are heavy objects when they slam into another character or the ground, as they will fling said character to the side or create craters in the ground.
- The flexibility that can be attained from computer generated universe allows for effects such as this to become a reality. A live action shot of this same scene would most likely need cardboard props as well as real weapons to achieve the same effects. The trick is to create a universe that uses that flexibility to its advantage; the animators had the luxury of creating things that would be difficult to execute with our laws of physics to emphasize dramatic scenes, but at the same time had to keep it on a certain level of reality.
- Introduce hypotheses about the laws of physics specific to this universe
- The anatomy of the animals created in this universe do not coincide with the range of motion for animals in our universe.
- The density of objects and characters created in this universe changes depending on the aesthetics of the scene.
- An example of this is Po's (sometimes) jiggly belly, Vipress' elasticity, and Tigress' fist while training with Po.
- The timing of simple laws of physics such as gravity and force are elongated or shortened due to what would feel appropriate to a specific situation.
Body
Hypothesis 1: The anatomy of the animals created in this universe do not coincide with the range of motion for animals in our universe.
- Why that is significant/which laws of physics that applies to in our universe/ why that would be appropriate for this universe
- It appears as though, if you are an animal that is trained in the art of Kung Fu, your range of motion is more similar to that of a human being than an animal that shares your anatomy in our universe. Vice versa, the secondary characters all appear to have a range of motion that more similarly resembles animals of our universe (ignoring the fact that all the animals, fowl and quadruped alike, walk upright on their hind legs).
- Specific examples
- Give reasons as to why animators would have made this choice
Hypothesis 2: The density of objects and characters created in this universe changes depending on the aesthetics of the scene.
- Why that is significant/which laws of physics that applies to in our universe/ why that would be appropriate for this universe
- As mentioned before, the density of certain props (such as weapons) changes in order to add emphasis to weight or how quickly they can accelerate.
- Master Flying Rhino's hammer smashing on the ground and iron pots that are thrown at enemies with high velocities.
- An example of this in the characters themselves is Po's (sometimes) jiggly belly, Vipress' elasticity, and Tigress' fist while training with Po.
- Give reasons as to why animators would have made this choice
Hypothesis 3: The timing of simple laws of physics such as gravity and force are elongated or shortened due to what would feel appropriate to a specific situation.
- Why that is significant/which laws of physics that applies to in our universe/ why that would be appropriate for this universe
- example of where in the movie this takes place
- second example of where in the movie this takes place
- Give reasons as to why animators would have made this choice
Conclusion
The fact that this movie was completely computer generated allowed for restraints and liberties for the animators. They were able to create a universe for their characters to live in that is free from our laws of physics while at the same time, needed stay within the confines of what would be believable and what would just read as "they don't know what they're doing." The main reasons for bending the rules the ways that they did was so that they could add drama, emphasis, or comedic effects. While the laws of this universe needed to be believable, they could not be graphically realistic.
