Who Framed Roger Rabbit
“Who Framed Roger Rabbit” involves cartoon characters called Toons, who interact with humans on a daily basis. The main animated character in the film is Roger Rabbit, who lives with his wife Jessica in a Hollywood suburb named Toontown. It is 1947 and Roger is a movie star, who works for R.K. Marron, the human owner of Marron Cartoon Studio. The plot encompasses live main action character Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins), who is a private detective and hired by Marron to investigate the alleged rumor that Jessica is having in extramarital affair with Marvin Acme, who owns the suburb as well as the Acme Corporation. Valiant takes and shows Roger photographs that seem to establish a loving relationship between Jessica and Marvin Acme. When confronted with the evidence, Roger becomes upset and runs away. During the separation from his wife, Acme is murdered and Roger becomes the prime suspect to the crime. Later, Roger hires Valiant to prove his innocence. During the course of the investigation, Roger and Valiant are constantly chased by animated villains, who are trying to kill them and prevent the characters from learning the truth. Eventually, they discover that Judge Doom and his weasel associates committed the murder to gain control of Toontown, destroy the suburb to build a freeway, and develop businesses that would appeal to sightseers and motorists. However, Judge Doom and his accomplices are killed and Toontown is saved from destruction. The film has many action sequences involving animated characters that defy the laws of physics and cannot be applied to real life.
Gravity and lift involving the laws of physics appear throughout the film. For example, an elephant is observed flapping his large ears allowing it to fly near a building, while looking through a window and watching two individuals having a conversation. There are several reasons why this cannot happen in real life. First, the elephant has a huge body mass that overrides its ability to remain in the air, which would result in a gravitational pull towards the earth. Unlike birds, the elephant does not have a proportional body to equalize its weight and enable it to fly or be suspended in mid-air. Its large ears are also not wings and cannot act as a flying device. Second, an air lift to stay high above ground could not be done because an elephant would not be able to generate enough wind support under its large ears to remain in the air and fly like a bird. A bird also has hollow bones enabling it to soar through the air as opposed to an elephant’s ears that are solid and would not permit it to overcome gravity or gather enough air lift to fly. Thus, based on gravity and lift, an elephant flying through the air could not happen as depicted in the film.
Kinetic energy and dynamics also occur in many live and animated adventures by the main characters throughout the story. In one scene, Eddie Valiant and Roger Rabbit enter a parked car, which is used to escape from the animated villains. Eddie starts the automobile and begins to accelerate to avoid being captured and killed by his evil pursuers. The automobile increases to supersonic speed as the vehicle recklessly proceeds through Toontown where it eventually stops at the Acme Corporation, without the car being damage or Eddie and Roger hurt in anyway. This sequence is an example of potential and kinetic energy that may be acceptable in an animated film but not practical in real life. For example, the average driver may not have the ability to endure the sonic boom or control the automobile through the city at supersonic speeds, which would result in accidents and may prevent the occupants from surviving the ordeal. The dynamics of the situation would also effect the occupants and structure of the vehicle for several reasons. First, the car is a standard automobile and is not engineered to absorb the enormous stress that may be placed on the vehicle. Second the environment outside the vehicle could greatly be effected by the sonic boom and wind force generated by accelerated speed initiated by the passing automobile. Windows and glass could be shattered and people may be injured or killed by the wind force and speed as the automobile proceeds through the city. Thus, kinetic energy and dynamics that is shown in the motion picture cannot take place in real life as illustrated in the film.
Inertia involving the use of firearms can be observed during the armed confrontations between Roger Rabbit, Eddie Valiant, and the evil villains. In one instance, Eddie and Roger are being chased down a dark street by Judge Doom and his henchmen. As they turn around the corner to escape their antagonists, the evil villains fire several rounds of ammunition towards the main characters. As the bullets approach Roger and Eddie, they stop, turn, and proceed around the corner hoping to hit their target. They fail to kill Roger and Eddie, who enter the Acme Corporation for safety. Based on the physics law of inertia, this cannot possibly happen as depicted in the film. Inertia is caused by a force that moves an object such as a bullet at constant speed in a straight line. Bullets fired from a weapon do not act on their own when searching for a target. The bullets would need another force if they are to change direction. Therefore, the bullets fired at Roger and Eddie would continue to move in a straight line and eventually fall to earth due to gravity. Thus, in order to shoot at their targets, the villains would have to run to the corner and fire another round of ammunition towards the main characters to accomplish their goal. The films idea of inertia only works in animation and not in the physical laws of reality.
The physics laws of nature and the environment are normally broken by graphic animators in films. They are outlandish and designed to enhance the comedy and drama of the presentation. “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” was an effort to illustrate the physics laws that would provide wholesome entertainment for the audience. The main characters and villains were depicted in such a way as not to frighten individuals, while employing a storyline and plot that would be acceptable to the viewing public. “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” was a movie that displayed modern graphic techniques, which would introduce and excite that viewers to the wonders of animation films. Roger Rabbit’s main purpose was to be a financial success and present a film mainly for the 18-40 age group. The graphic animators did not care if they took liberties with the laws of physics or made any sense of a story. They wanted to present a film that would be enjoyed by individuals for two hours and not to provide an education into the physical laws of nature. Thus, the film did not present an accurate account of physics laws but may enhance knowledge and understanding about why various natural and environmental aspects of our world work in a certain way.
No comments:
Post a Comment