First Term Paper Outline - Despicable Me

Introduction

Thesis - In the film Despicable Me the natural laws of physics are purposely changed or broken for comedic effect.

Body Paragraphs

1. Different Gravity Laws and Exaggerated Paths of Action

The force of gravity behaves in different ways in the despicable me universe.

1. At the beginning of the movie, the child who falls onto the inflated pyramid bounces back up into the air in a large, exaggerated arc before landing.
2. When the moon returns to its normal size, it floats back up into orbit around Earth rather than crashing down into the planet.

2. Superhuman Strength and Uneven Forces

Characters have superhuman strength and forces don’t always seem to have equal and opposite reactions.

1. Gru’s elderly mother manages to throw a man across the room when she kicks a punching bag into him and she doesn’t experience an equal and opposite force in the other direction.
2. Gru punches a shark much greater in mass than him and sends it flying back without Gru experiencing any recoil in the opposite direction.
3. Gru is able to survive missile explosions
4. The tiny minions are able to hold up Gru and the shrink machine as they hang from the ceiling in Vector’s house.

3. Conservation of mass is not followed

Objects can be pulled out of nowhere or from spaces that their mass and volume should not allow. The shrink ray not only decreases the volume of objects, but also decreases the mass, making them lighter in weight.

1. Gru’s minions pull large weapons out from nowhere during his speech about stealing the moon.
2. Vector pulls out his squid gun from nowhere and manages to shoot multiple squids from it despite the gun’s small size.
3. A group of large missiles that wouldn’t normally fit in a small space come out of the sides of Gru’s flying vehicle as they pursue Vector.
4. The moon is shrunk in size by the shrink ray, but instead of simply being compressed, it does not retain its mass. It becomes so light in weight that people can hold it. This would not be possible if much of the matter in the moon had not been destroyed in the shrinking process.

Conclusion

Bending or breaking the laws of physics in an animation can bring humor to scenes and lighten the tone. The film Despicable Me breaks the rules throughout the movie to make it more entertaining and lighthearted.