Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe (Paper Outline)

The Physics of Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

1. Introduction to the Cloudy Universe

• Description of Swallow Falls and the characters and beings of the Cloudy world.

• Basic outline of the type of physics presented in this world (extremely exaggerated realism)

• Thesis statement about the three physical laws that the essay is structured around.

2. Physical Law 1 – Unrealistic Strength of Rat Birds (Consider converting to general physics of flight analysis)

• Explain the Rat Bird and its origins

• Examples of their strength (00:08:19 – Kidnapping Billy, 1:19:00 – Saving Flint)

• Analyze the differences between Rat Bird and real bird flight and attempt to calculate the strength required for them to personally sustain flight and the lift required to kidnap Billy and rescue Flint.

3. Physical Law 2 – Perfect Balance

• Explain the abilities of characters in this movie to stand and maintain impossible poses for the sake of being more expressive or comedic.

• Examples: Numerous unrealistic poses of Flint carrying the FLSMDFR (~11 min), Scenes of Earl yelling at Flint (~11 min), numerous Brent poses.

• Analysis of where the center of gravity of certain poses might be and why they would be impossible to maintain as well as the cinematic effectiveness of “pushed poses”

4. Physical Law 3 – Super Durable Characters

• Description of the type of abuse these characters can sustain without lasting injury

• Examples: Super fast acceleration/deceleration without injury (Flint hitting a stop sign (~15 min), Kids getting launched in a giant ice cream scoop, sledding off a roof into a dumpster. (~30 min)) and getting hit with high velocity food with no injury (falling food, Flint throwing snowballs)

• Compare apparent effects of concussive injuries on Cloudy's characters with what would be the expected accompanying injuries of similar events in the real world

5. Conclusion

• Summation of the various physical laws that have been altered in the movie. Maybe some contemplation of what would be different if the movie only followed realistic physics.