Animators Need an Equal (and Opposite) Reaction

Monty sneeze - with top hat reaction

One of the quickest ways to give your animation weight and believability—even in the wildest, wackiest cartoon world—is to respect a core principle of physics: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

This doesn’t mean your characters need to obey Newton's laws with documentary accuracy. What it does mean is we should obey the laws of Cartoon Physics.  

Actions and Reactions
These reactions are what sell the action to the audience. Without them, your animation looks floaty and unconvincing—like characters are moving through jelly rather than a real space. With them, every gag lands harder, every gesture feels stronger, and your characters suddenly occupy a world that has rules the audience instinctively understands.

Mr Clean

"Mr Clean" - 1988

On the right is a short piece of animation for "Mr Clean" that I did for a TV commercial way back in 1988. 

I remember having some trouble getting the shot right, until I got the basic pattern for Mr Clean folding his arms: arms up, head down. Arms down, head up - then settle at the end. Once the arms and the head were opposing each other, the shot worked. 

What is the Opposite Reaction?
So next time you’re working on a scene, ask yourself: what’s the opposite reaction? If you animate that, even in an exaggerated or stylised way, your work will gain a sense of energy, rhythm, and impact that flat motion can never achieve.

Cartoon physics isn’t about ignoring reality.  It’s about bending it in ways that make the audience believe—even when your characters are doing the impossible.

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