Frame Rate in Animation— Why Less is More
Having recently watched Dreamwork’s latest movie, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” I could not be happier to see the film do so well. I’ve been a fan of the franchise ever since I watched the first movie when it came out on DVD back in 2011. Granted, I could very well be biased given my natural affinity for cats, but to be fair, you cannot blame me for liking a movie about a sword-wielding, blade-slashing, hat-wearing, feline vigilante whose SECOND language is “cat.”
There are many great things to say about this film: the art style is stunning, the themes of mortality, existential dread, anxiety, and family are handled surprisingly maturely, the characters are written well, each with their own unique quirks and traits, and the soundtrack adds so much more depth to every scene. Yet, one of the more notable things in the film was the variation in frame rate.
There are many scenes where the frame rate is purposely lower, especially during segments with lots of movement. Though, this is certainly not the first time this method has been implemented. Such an animation technique has existed for a while, although it was heavily popularized by the 2018 film, “Spider-Main: Into the Spider-Verse.”
But why did the animators intentionally make this creative decision? What purpose does it serve, both visually and storytelling-wise? Without further ado, let’s put on our boots and jump into the nuances of this rising technique in animation.
The Technique
This technique is pretty simple. Movies generally have a frame rate of 24 frames per second. Frame rate is the number of images displayed every second, that when played back consecutively, creates the illusion of movement. Think of it like a flipbook. (StudioBinder has a great video that explains this topic in great detail)
During fast-paced scenes involving lots of motion, characters were animated at 12 frames per second. In other words, the characters were “animated on twos.”
Animating in Ones, Twos, & Threes
The frame rate can have an impact on how movement is perceived, and there are three main frame rates animators use:
- Animating on 1s: Every new drawing/frame will be on screen for one frame, meaning there are 24 drawings in one second.
- Animating on 2s: Every new drawing/frame will be on screen for two frames, meaning there are 12 drawings in one second.
- Animating on 3s: Every new drawing/frame will be on screen for three frames, meaning there are 8 drawings in one second.
As shown in the GIF above, animating on ones can make the video/motion feel smoother, while animating on threes can make it more jumpy or visceral.
The Purpose
What is the exact purpose of switching the frame rate?
Modeling Movement
Having different frame rates helps illustrate different kinds of movement. For instance, during the giant fight scene, when Puss is running through the buildings and across the rooftops, the majority of his movement is animated on twos or 12 FPS. This is done to emphasize the fast-paced movement. It gives the effect that Puss is moving faster because there are fewer “in-between” frames, which mimics how we see fast-moving objects in real life.
Another example is during the fight scene between Jack Horner and The Baker’s Dozen, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Puss, Kitty, and Perrito, the characters are mostly animated on twos and ones when they are running and fighting each other. This is to, once again, create a fast-paced environment. You’ll notice that during this scene, Jack Horner is animated on ones when aiming his crossbow. This is because Jack is being as steady as possible, so by animating him at a higher frame rate, it can capture his cautiousness as he aims for Puss. Something else to point out is how at the beginning when the Three Bears are running, Papa Bear is mostly animated on threes while the other bears are animated on twos. I personally think this was done to emphasize his large size as he runs. It makes him look more rugged and unpredictable, like how we typically would imagine a large animal charging at us.
Expressing Emotion
Emotion can be enhanced through frame rate, such as when Death chases Puss out of the crystal cave. During this short moment, Puss is animated mostly on threes as he is running away. This makes Puss feel inferior to Death. His movements are more jagged, like an animal in the wild running from a predator. The realization that he is not being chased by an ordinary bounty hunter, but rather by Death itself, triggers his flight or fight response, to which Puss chooses flight. The once fearless hero who was never touched by a blade suddenly, and quite literally, is at the brink of Death. By animating Puss at a lower frame rate, it emphasizes Puss’ fear of dying, making him feel smaller and weaker as the cave walls cave in and turn blood red.
A similar technique was also used in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse during a swinging scene where Miles was animated on twos while Peter B. Parker was animated on ones to illustrate how Miles was not as skilled at web-slinging compared to Peter, who was already very familiar with it.
Irrelevant Interpolation
Something else I’d also like to bring up is the whole idea of “60 FPS” movies. Since movies are generally filmed and published in 24 frames per second, there are people who use AI to “interpolate” the video by generating frames in between the already-existing frames, which makes the video feel “smoother.” You can easily find thousands of YouTube videos showing this, such as this example for “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” While these interpolated videos may look nice in a TikTok edit, from a movie standpoint it makes the film feel lifeless. Each frame was specifically timed to achieve a specific kind of movement, such as ease-in or ease-out. By interpolating the footage, it removes such techniques. At such a high, interpolated framerate, there is very little room for smear frames, exaggerated movements, and stylized animation. It is also important to note that interpolation was made specifically for live-action.
The reason I bring this up is because I’ve seen a lot of Puss in Boots clips on social media recently, many of which were upscaled to 4K and interpolated to 60 FPS. Some of them looked nice as a short, 20-second edit, but a lot of the scenes, especially fight scenes, felt off. The characters lost a lot of their personality because the timing of their movement was essentially flat-lined.
Take a look at this comparison between the regular trailer and the 60 FPS interpolated trailer for “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.”
Here is the original trailer at the standard 24 FPS:
And here is the 4K-upscaled and 60 FPS interpolated trailer:
The interpolation makes it feel like the characters’ actions have less weight to them. Their movements also feel delayed during certain moments, due to the specifically-chosen timing being disregarded and diminished by the interpolation automatically filling in-between frames without understanding basic animation techniques.
Now, this isn’t to say that interpolation is inherently bad. I still enjoy many of these edits, they help create transition slow-motion shots that are satisfying to watch. I simply want to point out how interpolated animation, or simply animation at an extremely high frame rate, can lose its magical touch and end up feeling bland or soulless.
La Conclusión
With all this in mind, it is safe to conclude that “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is an incredibly well-made film, both story-wise and animation-wise. Animation, just like live-action acting, can be enhanced by subtle techniques. In this example, we learned how different frame rates can achieve different results and convey different messages.
And never forget, animation is NOT a genre, nor is it only meant for children. Animation is an excellent medium of storytelling for all ages; a beautiful art form for individual expression.
Animation. Is. Cinema.
