The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe - Bolt

 

The movie Bolt is about the adventure of a dog who tries to find his way back home while finding new friends and the truth about him. Although the world of Bolt similarly mirrors the reality, some laws of physics are pushed and bent purely for movie and entertainment purposes. The movie Bolt is set in around the same time period as our present time and the similarities between our world and the movie cues the viewer that the laws of physics should also mirror our reality, but the main characters like Bolt, Mittens and Rhino, do no follow the proper laws of physics in many ways. Parabolic arcs are also exaggerated or incomplete to create a comical or appealing affect for the viewers. Lastly, the speed at which objects and characters move are incorrect mainly to create dramatic effects. Like in any form of art, things need to be pushed, exaggerated and bent in order to create believable effects.

The story of Bolt is set in a world similar to ours with a dog named Bolt that believes he’s a super hero. His job is to protect Penny and save her from the dangers of Dr. Calico. Growing up in the studio all his life, he believes that the danger put upon Penny is real. One day, as Bolt frantically looks for Penny during a film shoot, he gets lost and is apparently shipped to New York. This is when Bolt realizes something isn’t quite right with his world. Thinking all cats are evil, he forces a cat named Mittens to help find Penny and his way back home. Along the way, they run into Rhino the hamster that is apparently a hug fan of Bolt’s. Over the course of their adventure, Bolt realizes that he isn’t a superhero with extraordinary powers, but just a normal dog.

            As the movie open Bolt is given supernatural powers which shows his ability to bend and manipulate the laws of physics in order to protect his person Penny. Bolt has the ability to bend steel, run faster than cars, burn objects with laser eyes and has the ability to obliterate his enemy with a single bark, the Super Bark. Yet as the movie progresses, it is revealed that Bolt really doesn’t have super powers. Although it is revealed that none of the animals have superpowers, they do indeed break and exaggerate a few laws of physics. The rules that are bent are more subtle and are used to enhance the story. One example is during the scene when Mittens runs up a tree and Bolt tries to super bark her to come back down.  Rhino the hamster decides to grab a ladder. Moments later we see him pushing a heavy ladder while still in his ball. Hamsters, in general, are so light that they could barely push rocks around. Furthermore, Rhino is able to run as fast as both Bolt and Mittens, yet he is clearly a lot smaller than both. No matter how fast Rhino is running, he would never be able to run as fast at Bolt or Mittens if they were running, unless Rhino’s ball was rolling at the same speed. If this was the case, then he would be spinning incredible fast in his ball, yet he is seen clearly running alongside Bolt and Mittens within his ball.  In another scene, Bolt, Mittens and Rhino tries to hitch a ride and decides run after a truck driving on a freeway. All three manage to catch the vehicle in time to hop on. In real life, animals wouldn’t be able to catch up to a vehicle traveling that fast on a freeway. Maybe a dog or cat would but a hamster definitely wouldn’t be able to. Unless the animal was fast like a greyhound or a cheetah, they wouldn’t be able to chase after something going 50 mph on the road.

            Throughout the movie, there have been inconsistencies regarding paths of actions and parabolic arcs. In one particular scene, Bolt attempts to jump over a construction zone while still thinking he has supernatural powers. As he jumps, he begins to move in a parabolic arc but doesn’t complete the full path of action. Instead he falls short and straight down into the construction zone. Many of the Wile E. Coyote cartoons have these incomplete arcs which are meant to exaggerate bad luck or change of what is expected. Bolt expected to easily complete jump over the construction zone, but because of his ignorance of reality, he fell short of his goal. Another example of an exaggerated arc is during the scene where Bolt decides to jump off a bridge and on to a train with Mittens tied to his leash and Rhino in his hands. During this scene, Bolt grabs on to a banner connected to the bridge and falls in a normal parabolic arc but as he swings back up, he actually swings up higher than the bridge and back down again. It is obvious that this exaggeration was meant to show the intense danger Bolt put this companions in and the ignorance he still has about himself.

There are many other physics flaws that are used to clarify and exaggerate a particular action such as the speed of objects and characters.  During a scene in which Penny and Bolt are together, Penny throws a penny to distract the enemies as Bolt comes around to take them down. As Penny throws her penny down, it rolls close to the camera in slow motion and continues to roll on while gaining speed. It eventually slows down and stops around one of the enemy. The penny rolls slower than it should in order to show the viewers that it’s actually a penny that is being rolled. Another case in which things travel slower than naturally is when Bolt and Mittens jump out of the moving van after a pile of Styrofoam fall onto Bolt. The rate at which Bolt and Mittens fall out of the moving vehicle is too slow when compared to the speed at which the vehicle is traveling. Furthermore, Bolt and Mittens are actually rolling in the wrong direction when they jump out of the car. They should be rolling in the same direction as the vehicle, but instead they travel perpendicular to the vehicle. Not only is the speed at which they are tumbling wrong, but the direction in which they fall. They should have at least travelled and rolled a good amount of distance after jumping out of the vehicle. In another scene, Penny is riding on a scooter while Bolt is running next to her. As the enemies close their distance on them, Penny tells Bolt “Zoom Zoom”, which means to grab on to a rope from Penny’s scooter and run at an incredibly fast speed to get away. As Bolt is running, he is weaving through traffic at an incredible fast speed. So fast that both of them should have hit a car, yet both Penny and Bolt are still able to dodge traffic. Furthermore, the enemies are able to gain speed and catch up to Bolt and Penny. All of these characters are traveling at incredible fast speeds while still being able to avoid traffic, something that could never happen in real life.

The movie Bolt has many aspects where the animators bent the laws of physics to create a more entertaining movie experience for the viewers. The examples explained above are just a few of ways animators bend the laws of physics in ways that still seem natural. Having animals perform humanistic tasks helps the viewers connect with these characters. Other times, objects move too fast and need to be slowed down in order for the audience to grasp what is going on. Bending the laws of physics also creates an appealing and even comical aspect to the movie like when Bolt falls straight into the construction zone. In many movies, not all, but many, the laws of physics are bent intentionally and purposefully to enhance the story. Bending laws of physics in subtle ways can create a very appealing movie when executed in the right way, but bending physics too much severs the connection from the views and makes the motions look fake and tacky. The movie Bolt has done a great job in placing areas where they pushed, exaggerated and bent the laws of physics and in doing so helped the movie positively and created a more believable world for many viewers to be apart of.