SJSUSPARTAN
Active Member
Jesse Lofton
PHYS 123
SJSU Animation/Illustraion
When I was young I was once able to tell you the name of every cartoon show ever to air on television. However, in more recent years my interest in cartoons has significantly dwindled. This was mainly due to characters being too bland, stories that could not keep my interest for more than a few episodes, or the fact that SJSU's animation program etching me to animate well made me somewhat jaded. I started noticing the stiffness and lack of character depth in a lot of new shows, that did not reflect a lot of the lessons I had been taught, which I realized made my childhood cartoons so much more entertaining. That all changed when I decided to take a friend's recommendation and watch an episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. From that first minute, I became very fixed on the show. The animation was smooth, well referenced, the characters dynamic and most importantly, entertaining in their mannerisms. Of course, many can wonder how a group of pastel, marshmallow ponies, can be entertaining. Well, if the show were completely physically accurate, then it would be very dull to watch. So the characters, not always realizing it, break the laws of physics on order to provide a greater level of entertainment. The recently released movie, Equestria Girls, has several example of this.
If you had the power to fly, would you choose to have wings? Or would you use magic or another unseen force to propel yourself through the air? In the universe of MLP, the two pony races that have the ability to fly are the pegasi, and the alicorns. For those who don't know, a pegasus is a horse with wings, and an alicorn is a unicorn with wings. Under normal circumstances, these ponies would need to rely heavily on the laws of gravity as well as aerodynamics in order to achieve the level of flight they sport in the film. The first example would be that in order for a body to lift off the ground, it needs to be light enough and moving at a great enough speed in order to retain its lift. In addition, the lifting surface has to be large enough for the body, or fuselage, to remain in the air. I can't say how much the average pony weighs, but at first glance, you can tell that the wings are nowhere near an adequate size to generate enough lift for any pony. I would also call into question the positioning of the wings of the pegasi, as they seem to grow right out of their ribcage. This may be where their center of gravity is, but by looks alone, a pegasi in flight would be somewhat nose-heavy unless their wings were positioned forward more; possibly just behind their front legs. Of course, there are cases such as hummingbirds who beat their tiny wings fast enough to keep them airborne. The character Rainbow Dash spends most of her time in the air, hovering over her friends, but beats her wings at a seemingly much slower pace than what would be required to sustain. Her normal wing cycle, a full up and down flap, lasts about 24 frames at it's slowest, and about 8 frames at it's fastest. Flight dynamics would demand that she beat her wings much harder and faster in order to retain enough downward thrust to fly. If studying larger birds is any indication, she would have to beat her wings at least six times per second to accomplish this. In the beginning of the movie, Twilight Sparkle, an alicorn, demonstrates this. When she tries to fly, she only manages about 3 flap cycles in the space of a second before dropping to the ground, rather unceremoniously. At the same time Rainbow Dash if maintaining a steady hover while only beating her wings once every second. Even if Twilight weighed more, the number of times she flaps her wings should have been, theoretically, enough to keep her aloft, if a bit unstable.
The aerodynamic physics are continued to be ignored later int he movie when Twilight travels to an alternate dimension and is transformed into a human. During the final battle with the antagonist, Twilight is able to summon her magic and disperse it between her friends, which in turn, allows her, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to sprout their wings. This scene is short, but you can see that the earlier flight characteristics between the characters is still very different. Despite having difficulty maintaining a hover at the start of the movie, Twilight can now hover perfectly in a body she is unfamiliar with. Her flap cycle is now similar to Rainbow Dash's at the start of the film, taking a little over 24 frames to complete a cycle. Alternatively, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's wing cycle has been sped up to about 2 cycles per second. Their wings are all still too small to be optimal for flight, and they flap in a manner that does not suggest that they are thrust down hard enough to give them any sort of lift. Simultaneously, the other mane characters are also hovering in midair as well, so at this point, wings may just be a novelty.
One of the traits in cartoons that help add to their overall appeal is how dynamic the characters are. This is not limited to personality, but also physically as well. Throughout the movie, as well as the series, the ponies display behaviors and movements that are well near impossible for any sort of equine to achieve without breaking itself. Pinkie Pie is probably my favorite example for "breaking" the equine's back. In both pony and human form, she proceeds to defy the laws of physics solely for our amusement. In the opening scene of the movie, Pinkie manages to roll herself into a ball, going as far as to bring her knees up past her chin and wrapping for forelimbs around them. This is difficult for most humans to do, even flexible ones; so to have a pony do it is enough to make you wonder what exactly these ponies are made out of. Perhaps something along the consistency of a marshmallow? Pinkie Pie, in her human form, is even able to bend over at the waist and plant her head on the ground to use as a duster. Personally, I'm flexible enough to touch my forehead to my knees, but I'm not flexible, or balanced enough to use my upper torso as a boron without fear of falling over.
The last incidents where the universe of My Little Pony breaks the laws of physics, is that light has physical, tangible characteristics. In the movie, any unicorn-like creature has the ability to use magic which basically means being able to learn and cast spells. Many of the effects of using said spells cause the caster's horn, or appendage, to light up as a result. However, when using spells such as telekinesis, the object being lifted is surrounded in light, rather than by an unseen forcefield. this leads me to believe that the force of the spell are causing the particles in the air around it to become illuminated. This light also has the ability to create protective bubbles, shielding the occupants from any physical, or magical, harm or even used as an energy weapon. I'm referring to the moment during the final confrontation between the antagonist, Sunset Shimmer, and the mane six. Sunset, in her demon form, lashes out with a burst of magic which Twilight's friends ward off with a barrier of light. I would guess that if the particles were so great in number and condensed, then no other wavelength of light would be unable to penetrate the "barrier". Secondly, Twilight and her friends defeat Sunset Shimmer with a "magical" rainbow, which seems to have physics of its own. The refractions of light strike the other brainwashed characters and passes through them, which makes me question the density of these humans. When the rainbow fades away, we see that it has left a very large crater in its wake. This makes me ask, what sort of light the rainbow is made of since lasers are monochromatic, rather than prismatic. Furthermore, if the rainbow was a sort of "laser" it would not be able to swirl and bend like a tornado, but instead be bounced off of millions of reflective surfaces to achieve this sort of effect.
There are so many different ways that the laws of physics are disregarded in the universe of My Little Pony. Jaws break, hands twist and necks stretch and turn in an almost exorcist-like way. When compared to previous generations of MLP, these traits give Friendship is Magic an amazing amount of life and charm. Without these quirks, the ponies would not have the dynamic physicality to go with their personalities. The characters and their mannerisms make the unreal believable, and the unthinkable appealing without overcomplicating it, or dumbing it down. Anyone can claim that, "this happens" or "that happens" simply because it's all about magic in a land of colorful talking ponies. I just chalk it up to a healthy dose of imagination and friendship. After all, friendship is magic.
Author's note: Unfortunately I had to remove a paragraph from this report due to the limiting number of this post.
PHYS 123
SJSU Animation/Illustraion
My Little Physics Analysis
If you had the power to fly, would you choose to have wings? Or would you use magic or another unseen force to propel yourself through the air? In the universe of MLP, the two pony races that have the ability to fly are the pegasi, and the alicorns. For those who don't know, a pegasus is a horse with wings, and an alicorn is a unicorn with wings. Under normal circumstances, these ponies would need to rely heavily on the laws of gravity as well as aerodynamics in order to achieve the level of flight they sport in the film. The first example would be that in order for a body to lift off the ground, it needs to be light enough and moving at a great enough speed in order to retain its lift. In addition, the lifting surface has to be large enough for the body, or fuselage, to remain in the air. I can't say how much the average pony weighs, but at first glance, you can tell that the wings are nowhere near an adequate size to generate enough lift for any pony. I would also call into question the positioning of the wings of the pegasi, as they seem to grow right out of their ribcage. This may be where their center of gravity is, but by looks alone, a pegasi in flight would be somewhat nose-heavy unless their wings were positioned forward more; possibly just behind their front legs. Of course, there are cases such as hummingbirds who beat their tiny wings fast enough to keep them airborne. The character Rainbow Dash spends most of her time in the air, hovering over her friends, but beats her wings at a seemingly much slower pace than what would be required to sustain. Her normal wing cycle, a full up and down flap, lasts about 24 frames at it's slowest, and about 8 frames at it's fastest. Flight dynamics would demand that she beat her wings much harder and faster in order to retain enough downward thrust to fly. If studying larger birds is any indication, she would have to beat her wings at least six times per second to accomplish this. In the beginning of the movie, Twilight Sparkle, an alicorn, demonstrates this. When she tries to fly, she only manages about 3 flap cycles in the space of a second before dropping to the ground, rather unceremoniously. At the same time Rainbow Dash if maintaining a steady hover while only beating her wings once every second. Even if Twilight weighed more, the number of times she flaps her wings should have been, theoretically, enough to keep her aloft, if a bit unstable.
The aerodynamic physics are continued to be ignored later int he movie when Twilight travels to an alternate dimension and is transformed into a human. During the final battle with the antagonist, Twilight is able to summon her magic and disperse it between her friends, which in turn, allows her, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to sprout their wings. This scene is short, but you can see that the earlier flight characteristics between the characters is still very different. Despite having difficulty maintaining a hover at the start of the movie, Twilight can now hover perfectly in a body she is unfamiliar with. Her flap cycle is now similar to Rainbow Dash's at the start of the film, taking a little over 24 frames to complete a cycle. Alternatively, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's wing cycle has been sped up to about 2 cycles per second. Their wings are all still too small to be optimal for flight, and they flap in a manner that does not suggest that they are thrust down hard enough to give them any sort of lift. Simultaneously, the other mane characters are also hovering in midair as well, so at this point, wings may just be a novelty.
One of the traits in cartoons that help add to their overall appeal is how dynamic the characters are. This is not limited to personality, but also physically as well. Throughout the movie, as well as the series, the ponies display behaviors and movements that are well near impossible for any sort of equine to achieve without breaking itself. Pinkie Pie is probably my favorite example for "breaking" the equine's back. In both pony and human form, she proceeds to defy the laws of physics solely for our amusement. In the opening scene of the movie, Pinkie manages to roll herself into a ball, going as far as to bring her knees up past her chin and wrapping for forelimbs around them. This is difficult for most humans to do, even flexible ones; so to have a pony do it is enough to make you wonder what exactly these ponies are made out of. Perhaps something along the consistency of a marshmallow? Pinkie Pie, in her human form, is even able to bend over at the waist and plant her head on the ground to use as a duster. Personally, I'm flexible enough to touch my forehead to my knees, but I'm not flexible, or balanced enough to use my upper torso as a boron without fear of falling over.
The last incidents where the universe of My Little Pony breaks the laws of physics, is that light has physical, tangible characteristics. In the movie, any unicorn-like creature has the ability to use magic which basically means being able to learn and cast spells. Many of the effects of using said spells cause the caster's horn, or appendage, to light up as a result. However, when using spells such as telekinesis, the object being lifted is surrounded in light, rather than by an unseen forcefield. this leads me to believe that the force of the spell are causing the particles in the air around it to become illuminated. This light also has the ability to create protective bubbles, shielding the occupants from any physical, or magical, harm or even used as an energy weapon. I'm referring to the moment during the final confrontation between the antagonist, Sunset Shimmer, and the mane six. Sunset, in her demon form, lashes out with a burst of magic which Twilight's friends ward off with a barrier of light. I would guess that if the particles were so great in number and condensed, then no other wavelength of light would be unable to penetrate the "barrier". Secondly, Twilight and her friends defeat Sunset Shimmer with a "magical" rainbow, which seems to have physics of its own. The refractions of light strike the other brainwashed characters and passes through them, which makes me question the density of these humans. When the rainbow fades away, we see that it has left a very large crater in its wake. This makes me ask, what sort of light the rainbow is made of since lasers are monochromatic, rather than prismatic. Furthermore, if the rainbow was a sort of "laser" it would not be able to swirl and bend like a tornado, but instead be bounced off of millions of reflective surfaces to achieve this sort of effect.
There are so many different ways that the laws of physics are disregarded in the universe of My Little Pony. Jaws break, hands twist and necks stretch and turn in an almost exorcist-like way. When compared to previous generations of MLP, these traits give Friendship is Magic an amazing amount of life and charm. Without these quirks, the ponies would not have the dynamic physicality to go with their personalities. The characters and their mannerisms make the unreal believable, and the unthinkable appealing without overcomplicating it, or dumbing it down. Anyone can claim that, "this happens" or "that happens" simply because it's all about magic in a land of colorful talking ponies. I just chalk it up to a healthy dose of imagination and friendship. After all, friendship is magic.
Author's note: Unfortunately I had to remove a paragraph from this report due to the limiting number of this post.
Last edited by a moderator:
