As explained in my previous blog post, I recently watched the first three of the Shrek movies (the last two are abominations) and started observing the strange looking physics of the Movie series. Now I'm on to Shrek 2. Let's begin, shall we?

In the very beginning of the movie, Shrek and Fiona are on their honeymoon, enjoying the sun and shaving their faces together. During the beginning song (Accidentally in Love- Chasing Crows), Little Red Riding Hood knocks on the candy house, presumably for her grandmother (which doesn't make sense because her grandmother did not live in a candy house) and Shrek and Fiona answer the door. Having seen ogres, she screams and runs away, but not before dropping her picnic basket. As see in the last movie, the kinematics seem off. On the downward part of the projectile, the basket seems to fall faster than it should and looks as though a huge invisible weight was thrown on it. I, again contribute this to the animators lack of awareness of gravity.

Again there are other spots where physics seems to apply to the projectiles and other things, and in more cases. This leads me to believe that the weird physics has something to do with size. The smaller the object, the weirder the physics. It most likely was the hardest part of the animation (besides getting Price Charming's hair just right).

Physics seemed to apply with larger objects in the first movie, such as Shrek. In Shrek 2 projectiles work correctly when the guards of the Far Far Away castle are launching fireballs at Mongo (the giant gingerbread man).

Circular motion was added into this movie and there were correct aspects of it and strange, put together. There is a scene when Shrek is trying to escape Fairy Godmother's factory, and in doing so, he is causing a ruckus. At one point, he jumps onto a machine which spins around in a circle very fast. Shrek, Donkey, and Puss in Boots seem to be affected by the centripital force being applied, but the little green worker is sitting in his booth on the circle and couldn't be bothered by the force (most likely for effect).

Physics is funny in animated movies.