The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

The laws of physics in the real world are grounded with unbroken rules. In the animation world laws of physics are bended and broken. In The Little Mermaid, Ariel experiences two different worlds when following her heart. Daily actions and reactions are exaggerated to make the film more enjoyable to the audience. Laws that are broken in this memorable Disney movie are: gravity under water, gravity on land, and size plus weight.

                On the surface or under water gravity still exists. Water is much heavier then air, for example, a cubic foot of air weighs 1/12lbs where a cubic foot of sea water weighs 64lbs. Just as air has weight and exerts pressure on all sides of an object in the atmosphere, water exerts pressure around any object immersed in it. We can push water out of the way because its weight is distributed on all sides and the molecules can be easily moved.  Water pressure, like air pressure, is a function of weight; the deeper one goes the greater the surrounding water pressure. The main character Ariel lives in the depths of the vast ocean, but the laws of physics don’t always apply throughout the movie. For instance, Ariel’s stylized hair, with bangs, stay in perfect shape at certain times when she swims around. Hair is almost weightless under water moving behind as one swims forward.

                After Ariel and Flounder visit Scuttle above water, Ariel realizes she has missed the concert she was supposed to sing in and franticly swims back home. Her tail is stiff, but the end part of her fin moves. The speed in which she is swimming does not add up with her movements. Just like when humans bend their knees some when kicking water to swim forward Ariel’s tail would follow the same laws of physics when swimming as she is part human. Her tail bends at the area where knees would be located. During the song, Under the Sea, Sebastian pops a bubble with a large fish inside. The fish falls at a high speed landing as if a bowling ball hit the ground. A fish does not weigh the same as a bowling ball and it would not physically fall straight down in real life underwater.

                During the song, Kiss the Girl, Eric and Ariel are in a wooden row boat floating as a few dozen fish circle the boat under water which causes the row boat to spin. The weight of the fish would not be able to push the wooden row boat in circles floating along the surface of the lake. The force created by the fish might ripple the surface of the water, but it would not be enough to move the boat at the speed it was spinning in the movie. Being an animated and fiction movie the scenes with broken laws of physics are ok because it makes the movie enjoyable and different to its audience.

                Just as there are laws for under the water there are laws of gravity on the surface. The famous scene when Ariel is on the rock singing, as wave’s crash behind her, show cases the power of unrealistic wind. There is no other sign of huge gusts of wind during this scene which keeps Ariel’s whole body of hair afloat for many minutes. In reality the body of her hair would fall back down to her back while a few wisps of hair might fly within whatever wind is near.  There would be some signs of wind as wind does reside along the shore near a huge body of water. Another example of the laws of gravity being broken is when the French cook is preparing dinner and using a butcher’s knife he chops off the head of a fish with much force. The head fly’s several feet from where he is covering much distance. The force of the knife coming down and hitting the wooden cutting board would not cause the fish head to fly several feet from its starting point. In any case the fish head would jump then fall a few inches away with the swing and force of the French cooks arm coming down on the fish.   

                During Eric and Ariel’s horse buggy ride they come upon a cliff in the road and the horse pulling them carries the couple and buggy to the other side with no effort or strain. In real life this would not be possible. With the distance if the two cliffs and the speed that the horse and buggy was traveling would cause the passengers and horse to go over crashing to the ground. When the horse is in mid air the buggy, containing the weight of two people would weigh the horse down falling below the horse’s core of gravity. In the movie Ariel and Eric make it to the other side of the cliff with inches to spare continuing on with their date.

                In the laws of physics size and weight play a big role depending on how it falls, moves, or floats. In The little Mermaid, the opening concert Sebastian composes the show, but as he does his job of waving the music stick about he stays frozen in mid water not sinking or floating up. In real life when an object is floating in mid water it will float to the surface if oxygen resides within it. If the oxygen is depleted from the object it will then sink to the ocean floor. Unless limbs are propelling to keep him afloat Sebastian would not be able to float in mid water. Not even his composing with the wave of his claws would allow him to do that. Another example of size and weight laws being broken is when Sebastian follows Ariel to her grotto and gets stuck in the rock door. He uses the leverage of seaweed to pull him forward to get free without ripping the seaweed out of the sandy floor bottom. With the weight of Sebastian, a crab, and the weight of the seaweed he would have ripped out or torn the seaweed. In the movie the seaweed stretches as he pulls himself forward causing his bottom half of his body to stretch as well then finalizing in a pop landing a few feet from the door. During the song, Under the Sea, Sebastian and several starfish ride on bubbles as they float to the surface. This cannot be possible as the weight of a crab is heavier than a bubble. The bubble would have popped touching any kind of solid object. With the magic of animation the laws of physics are broken within the song to make it theatrical.

                 When Ariel becomes human under water, Sebastian and Flounder puller her up to the surface as she does not know how to swim with legs. Being so deep under water as they are Ariel would have lost the oxygen within her lungs causing her to sink. The weight of her body would be too heavy for a fish and a crab to pull her all the way to the surface and then to land. The element of size and weight is played out in this scene, but the laws of physics are twisted to make it a heroic scene of Ariel’s friends.

 Towards the end of the movie Flounder has to drag Ariel, who is staying afloat on a wine barrel, towards the ship that is several miles away from shore.  With the weight of the hollow wine barrel and of Ariel would be extremely heavy for a little fish, Flounder, to pull forward towards the ship with rope. The size of Flounder compared to the barrel and Ariel is noticeable to the eye and sticks out like a sore thumb in the movie. Even someone who doesn’t know much about physics would understand that it would not be possible for a little fish to pull a human along in the water.

      

            The laws of physics are broken several times in this movie to give a more pleasing effect to its young audience. The rule breaking causes the enhancement of the fantasy played throughout this Disney film. Even though the laws of physics are being broken the messages and heartfelt story warms the soul making this Disney film a treasured favorite and classic.