Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe: Outline

Cats Don't Dance

 

I. Introduction
   A. Short synopsis: Animals trying to find their big break in Hollywood.
   B. Thesis: The physics of Cats Don't Dance fluxuates from "normal" to extreme throughout the film in order to put the characters in outrageous situations, which eventually leads them to their big break.

II. Weight is Constantly Changing

   A. Tilly/Hippo

            i. Moves a whole building just by leaning on it.

            ii. Causes goat to fly across the room, into a wall just by bumping into him.

            iii. However, she can still sit on a normal, wooden bench without breaking it.

   B. Elephant/Wooly

            i. Catapults audience members up in air just by sitting down next to them, the scene lasts for another 20 seconds and these people never fall back down.

            ii. But, can sit on a tiny stool while playing piano without breaking it.

III. Gravity is Inconsistent

   A. Darla

            i. Hangs from a single rope around her waist, but remains upright, this is impossible because her huge head would cause her to tip down due to her high center of gravity.

            ii. Once things “go wrong” and she’s not in control/singing, she wobbles franticly all over the place and no longer is upright.

            iii. Feet are extremely tiny, almost like a pencil eraser, does not establish enough of a base of support to prevent her huge head from falling over as she moves.

            iv. In the beginning of “Big and Loud,” the table drops down through a trapdoor and is replaced by a piano, Darla is sitting on top of the table but doesn’t move at all.

            v. When the piano is replaced by the same table, she is now propelled upward, not staying in place.

   B. Max Punching Through the Roof

            i.  Scene first starts with the rubble from the punches almost levitating, which takes a second or two to start falling.

            ii. The very next shot, rubble falls at a faster, more “normal” rate.

   C. Objects Falling/Arcs

            i. Director, Mr. Mammoth and Tilly consistently fall/fly through the air straight for almost a minute, only to plummet straight down later.

            ii. Agent’s cigar starts to go through a parabolic arc, only to jump up again without any interaction with anything else.

            iii. When Wooly sits down and some audience members are catapulted upward, we never see these people again, but their popcorn lands straight into the turtle’s lap.

IV. Amount of Liquids Don’t Stay Consistent, Liquids Can Increase Mass

   A. Flooding Warehouse

            i. Warehouse is about 100 feet tall, and much bigger than a football field, fills up completely with water in just a few minutes.

            ii. Once the water is released from the warehouse, it runs through town like a river, not an emptying pool. Amount of water required for this is way more than what was in warehouse.

    B. Disgusting Sandwich.

            i. Bread produces juice, no sandwich could hold/leak that much liquid. Sweats mustard.

V. Conclusion

Had fun re-watching this childhood favorite of mine. However, I am a bit confused about 2 of the requirements for this paper:

"Point out any scene that possibly contradicts one of the hypotheses.

Present at least one competing hypothesis and identify one or more scenes that contradict it." 

If we create a successful/consistent hypothesis, then wouldn't there be no contradictions? Mine are not specific enough to find scenes where they can't apply, like my "gravity isn't consistent" hypothesis. I'm just a little unsure about how to approach this in my paper or if I am going about this the wrong wasy and need to re-evaluate my hypothesises.