Cartoon Physics

Background

Cartoon Physics supersedes the normal laws, used in animation for a humorous effect. The user overwrites the strict laws of physics in their universe, replace them with absurd laws of the universe and grant the ability similar to Reality Warping but in an absurd way and utterly breaking logic itself.

Video of Cartoon Physics.

Examples

Specific reference to cartoon physics extends back at least to June 1980, when an article "O'Donnell's Laws of Cartoon Motion" appeared in Esquire. A version printed in V.18 No. 7 p. 12, 1994 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in its journal helped spread the word among the technical crowd, which has expanded and refined the idea.

The different rules of Cartoon Physics

O'Donnell's examples include:

• Any body suspended in space will remain suspended in space until made aware of its situation. A character steps off a cliff but remains in midair until looking down, then the familiar principle of 32 feet per second takes over.
• A body passing through solid matter will leave a perforation conforming to its perimeter. Also called the silhouette of passage.
• The time required for an object to fall 20 stories is greater than or equal to the time it takes for whoever knocked it off the ledge to spiral down 20 flights to attempt to capture it unbroken. Such an object is inevitably priceless; the attempt to capture it, inevitably unsuccessful.
• All principles of gravity are negated by fear.
• Psychic forces are sufficient in most bodies for a shock to propel them directly away from the surface. A spooky noise or an adversary's signature sound will introduce motion upward, usually to the cradle of a chandelier, a treetop or the crest of a flagpole.
• The feet of a running character or the wheels of a speeding auto need never touch the ground, ergo fleeing turns to flight.
• As speed increases, objects can be in several places at once.
• Certain bodies can pass through a solid wall painted to resemble tunnel entrances; others cannot. ... Whoever paints an entrance on a wall's surface to trick an opponent will be unable to pursue him into this theoretical space. The painter is flattened against the wall when he attempts to follow into the painting. This is ultimately a problem of art, not science.
• Any violent rearrangement of feline matter is impermanent. Cartoon cats can be sliced, splayed, accordion-pleated, spindled or disassembled, but they cannot be destroyed. After a few moments of blinking self-pity, they reinflate, elongate, snap back or solidify.

Potency

Cartoon Physics vary greatly on it's potency, some cases can be just simple quick gags, others can fully weaponize it to be used in various different forms of comedic combat.

• Low: Low potency Cartoon Physics normally denotes the standard gags done with it even out of gag heavy shows, such as walking in the air for a couple of seconds without realizing, having one's eyes grow in size, being flattened, etcetera.
  • Users: Marty McFly (Back to the Future), Daxter (Jak & Daxter), Tohru Adachi (Persona)

• Mid: Mid potency Cartoon Physics deals with more of the common gags shown in slapstick shows, such as characters tanking multiple blows in a comedic effect, being able to appear in several places at once, passing through solid painted walls while others cannot, being essentially immortal/unkillable, etcetera. Mid potency users straight up defy logic as opposed to low potency users who can sometimes do things that go against logic.
  • Users: El Tigre (El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera), Luigi (Super Mario Bros.)
• High: High potency Cartoon Physics deals with ideas done in purely gag centric shows, the user is capable of doing things like leaving the animation itself, manipulating the narrative, warping reality itself, or pulling off cosmic level feats due to their cartoon physics.
  • Users: Ed (Ed, Edd, n Eddy), Chowder (Chowder), Zim (Invader Zim)

Also Called

• Toon Force

Possible Applications

• Reality Warping
• Breaking the 4th Wall
• Gravity Manipulation
• Immortality
• Logic Manipulation

Limitations

• The power may be limited to be used only when it's funny.