First Term Paper Outline: The Laws of Physics in "Frozen"

I. Introduction

A. 3D Animation Film: Frozen (2013)
B. Hypothesis: Like many other animations, "Frozen" takes place on a fantasy land, it keeps and breaks some physical laws of the real world.

II. Body

A. Unnatural gravity
1. Anna jumps up to an exaggerated height and stays still in the air much longer than she should in reality. (Song mark: For the first time in forever)
2. When Kristoff is making an escape over a cliff, he continues flying horizontally even after his sledge falls off.
3. When Elsa is in extreme sadness (e.g. her parents' deaths, Anna's freeze), the snowflakes are stay still in the air like there is no gravity any more.
4. When Elsa is thawing the kingdom, snowflakes and ices are all flying upwards.

B. Exaggerated Resistance
1. Anna slides a long distance horizontally on the wooden floor (ballroom).
2. When Anna is climbing the steep mountain (almost upright), she grabbed the rocks (wearing gloves and boots with heels) without reliable supports and didn't fall.

C. Inertia (Obey the same law as the real world)
1. The little Elsa slipped on the ice with her body leaning backward.
2. When Kristoff was riding his reindeer in a very fast speed and then suddenly stopped, he continued "flying" forward for a short amount of time.

D. Contradictions:
1. When people are dancing in the ballroom, the resistance of the floor seems normal which is different from "Anna's slide".

III. Conclusion

1. Even though the animation is made in the virtual world, the fundamental physical laws are still based on the real world in order to make everything believable.
2. The unreal physical laws in the animation don't look unnatural and indeed increase some dramatic effects.