Outline for the Second Term Paper

Films of Choice - My Neighbor Totoro, Kung Fu Panda, Big Hero 6

Physics not followed - Alpine climate: the phenomenon of reaching such a high altitude on Earth - above the edge of the habitat at which trees stop growing - that mean temperatures can be no higher than 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Thesis - My Neighbor Totoro, Kung Fu Panda, and Big Hero 6 are three films from three different studios that all ignore the physics phenomenon known as alpine climate.

Body Paragraphs -

My Neighbor Totoro (Film 1) -  When Satsuki and May are flying in the air with Totoro, neither of them express any sense of cold despite being warmed with merely their pajamas.

→ Analysis 1: Although Totoro is explicitly stated to be a forest spirit in the lyrics of the movie’s ending song, nowhere in the film is he shown to have the powers of controlling alpine climate. His powers consist of summoning a giant cat bus, flying, making it rain harder if he hits the ground with enough pressure, and being invisible to adults.

→ Analysis 2: Although the fly segment seems to occur in a dream, the fact that Satsuki and May both dream it, the fact that the tree Totoro planted in the girls’ backyard within this sequence actually grows after the girls “wake up”, and the fact that Totoro is a real person - as shown by how he helps Satsuki find May when the latter gets lost during the film’s climax - leads to the logical conclusion that Totoro did actually fly the two girls into the air.

→ Justification: Most - if not all - of the Studio Ghibli films contain a flying scene, even if the movie does not actually need one to further the plot or develop the characters. In virtually every case of a flying Ghibli scene, the sky is even painted the exact same way, much like an artistic signature for the studio. Thus, My Neighbor Totoro has two children fly in the air wearing pajamas without either of the children feeling extremely cold.

Kung Fu Panda (Film 2) - Near the beginning of the film, Po launches himself in the air with a chair that has fireworks attached to it, but he does not express any sense of cold despite being over 11,800 feet in the air and only wearing pants. We know he is over 11,800 feet in the air because 11,800 feet is the approximate height at which trees stop growing in China, and no trees are visible when Po reaches the apex of his lift.

→ Analysis 1: However, this lack of response to an extreme change in temperature is consistent in the film. When Po’s entire body is scorched with flames during his first training sequence with Master Shifu and the Furious Five, he acts as though he just ran a few miles. This is an underreaction to receiving third degree burns. Master Shifu and the Furious Five’s deadpan reaction to this confirm that such a resilience to an extreme change in temperature is not unusual in their world of Kung Fu Panda.

→ Analysis 2: Furthermore, we see another consistence lack of response to an extreme change in temperature near the film’s climax, when Tai Lung encases his fists in blue fire and beats his former master Shifu using those flaming fists. Neither of the characters respond with enough pain at being smothered with blue fire, which is at least 1500 degrees Celsius, hotter than red fire.

→ Justification: Much like in the Wile E Coyote/Roadrunner cartoons, the focus of any sequence where a character is comically lifted up high into the air is their reaction to the pain they will feel when the fall down and hit the ground. Taking alpine climate into account would take away from this comedic focus and make the end result of the character hitting the ground much less satisfying.

Big Hero 6 (Film 3) - Whenever Hiro is flying in the air with Baymax, his calf/shin is uncovered, but he does not react to the chilling sensation that he should feel in San Fransokyo, which is likely located where the real world’s San Francisco is located when one considers how several San Francisco landmarks are present in San Fransokyo while Tokyo landmarks are not present in San Fransokyo (although Tokyo architecture and designs are present on San Fransokyo’s San Francisco landmarks. In-fact, “The Art of Big Hero 6” establishes that San Fransokyo was formed by Japanese immigrants after a powerful earthquake devastated the area where the real world’s San Francisco is located).

→ Analysis 1: This is consistent with Hiro entering the void of another dimension to

rescue Abigail Callaghan. The dimension he travels in looks like a fantasy rendition of outer space, complete with objects drifting around with very little gravity. In reality, outer space is 2.7 degrees Kelvin, which is only 2.7 degrees above absolute zero. The exposed portion of Hiro’s legs should have been very stiff in that temperature, but the fact that they were not - in addition to the fact that he went into the portal dimension without expressing any wariness of the freezing temperature - shows that this is most likely a regular aspect of physics in the world of Big Hero 6.

→ Analysis 2: It is interesting to note that Hiro’s supersuit is not the only one with

exposed skin: Honey Lemon’s fingers and the lower part of Wasabi’s head from the bottom of his nose to his neck are all areas of exposed skin. They also spend time flying relatively comfortably with Baymax, so it is likely that - in their world - alpine climate does not affect them the way it would in the real world.

→ Justification: As with many decisions in filmmaking, this aspect of physics was likely ignored for the sake of character design. A notable aspect of Hiro’s design is that he wears short pants that expose his calf/shin. Thus, his supersuit also exposes his calf/shin to maintain a silhouette that communicates the appearance of Hiro. Hiro’s older brother Tadashi similarly has some of his calf/shin exposed due to wearing short skinny jeans, which helps communicate that the two boys are brothers.

Conclusion -

• The phenomenon of alpine climate is oftentimes not followed in movies that depict fantasy flight, but the audience is willing to suspend their belief strongly enough that this can continue to happen over the course of multiple movies.
• The idea of flying - undeterred by climate and other natural forces - is a storytelling element that has existed for several centuries, so it is a storytelling trope that is here to stay.