Maintaining Identity over Time in Animated Bodies during Metamorphosis Transitions

A character’s body in animation is believed to be a fluid form (Wells 1996) due to its ability to take on any intended form. Characters can manipulate their bodies to assume new identities, hiding, or losing their sense of self in the process (Clarke 2022), whether intentionally or not. However, when discussing identity in animation through the technique of metamorphosis, the body tends to be overlooked despite being mostly affected in these acts of transformation, as audiences are more focused on anticipating the outcome of metamorphosis (Torre 2010) rather than the transition between the two bodies and the reasons behind the way the body transitions. This transition is often subjected to visual elements from an animator’s style that may be relevant to the theme or narrative. Identity in general, as proposed by philosophers such as John Locke or Henri Bergson, is linked more closely to consciousness or memory (Bukatman 2000) for characters to still be considered as characters even when morphed into objects. Metamorphosis, then, seems to separate the body and the consciousness when it comes to a metamorphic being maintaining an identity over time.

This blog investigates the body in metamorphosis through the development of my animation Pick Me!, which follows anthropomorphized candies trying to be bought by a customer in a candy store. The animation aims to identify how the transition of bodies during metamorphosis can be undertaken to suggest the effects of the metamorphic changes in the animated body and the role of metamorphosis in offering multiple ways of building and understanding a narrative. ‘Pick Me!’ can be analyzed through the lens of two theories: Daniel Punday’s (2000) belief that the body can shape narratives due to it carrying cultural-specific meanings, and Caroline Bynum’s (2001) take on traits that are kept throughout different bodies of a metamorphic character to reflect their experiences as a way for identity to be maintained over time. The animation suggests that the metamorphic body can act as an active tool in a narrative to convey identity over time.

Pick Me!

The animation’s story takes place in a competitive setting for the characters, where they all have the same goal of being chosen by the customer’s hand. This narrative places great importance on physical appearance as characters rely on their bodies to achieve their goal by attracting attention. Metamorphosis is used by the main character to manipulate its body to become taller so that it holds an advantage in being chosen. The body of the character in the short is represented as malleable but still rigid. Before metamorphosis can occur, the character has to apply some form of tensional force from within, such as stretching or pulling its body. The body responds to this force after some time and takes a new deformed form. The pauses between each metamorphosed change in the plot suggest the close link between the body and the self. Some forces lead to a chain reaction of changes in form to reflect the amount of force needed to break this body-identity link. The character’s body, as a result of a chain reaction, is shaped by internal and external forces (Figs. 1 and 2).

Fig. 1 - Still from Pick Me! where the character, after multiple failed attempts to straighten the longer leg, gets shot up into the air by the longer leg’s sudden extension.

Fig. 2 - Still from Pick Me! showing the character falling onto the ground, causing the body to reform as a splattered shape.

Despite not having full control over the changes to its body, the character’s identity is maintained over time. According to Bynum (2000), traits of a character are lost or replaced as the body changes. It is only when these traits, each carrying an explanation of its origins, are kept in the new body that identity is maintained over time. In ‘Pick Me!’, each transformation shares information about the character’s thoughts and values. Prior to its metamorphosis, the character’s life was defined by not being noticed and being envious of the other character’s body. After the first transformation, the character (while initially happy with gaining a more advantageous form) still yearns to be taller. The character’s obsession with height is consistent throughout all the forms that it takes and is reflected in the particular deformations to its traits. Despite the importance of having a presentable appearance to increase the character’s chances of being chosen, the character’s metamorphic journey works towards the opposite. Its body becomes increasingly bizarre as a result of the interference of external environmental forces, such as the reaction force of the ground on the character from falling onto it in Figures 1 and 2, but does not affect the character’s determination to become taller.

For Punday (2001), the body can carry symbols and shape a narrative’s meaning, depending on how it is established in the narrative. In the case of Pick Me!, the character’s traits are a symbol of its metamorphosis journey. When looking at the character’s metamorphosis journey in the film, two narratives can be told. Without looking at the body as an identity-carrying object, the character goes through an identity crisis as it slowly loses control over its form after attempting to switch identities into someone else. The body is merely a reflection of the instability of the self and traits could carry no narrative meaning aside from adding visual tension. Conversely, the character’s body hints at a constant self as traits are explainable in the way they are carried over to the transformed body. These traits reflect the character’s unsuccessful attempts at gaining its desired body and the build-up of these experiences informs the character’s next actions. While the messages of these two complementary narratives are similar, one’s understanding of the body affects the tone of the message. These narratives also inform different versions of the character’s personality as it faces the consequences of its actions, one reflecting a more panicked and fearful self while the other suggesting a reckless nature. ‘Pick Me!’ then shows that the body should be given more thought than just its visual quality, especially when paired with metamorphosis.

The body during this type of rapid metamorphosis may be lacking in the surrealness and entertainment value compared to transformative metamorphosis. Despite the smaller and subtler changes to the body, these modifications serve as the main form of communicating information about the character’s identity. The body is, then, equally relevant to the consciousness when discussing identity in a metamorphic being. Through Punday and Bynum’s theories, the animation suggests that understanding the body's ability to carry identity can offer ways to animate metamorphic characters that might suggest subtler narratives. This allows for a more engaging and meaningful narrative experience where one can interpret themes and messages in multiple ways, allowing a work to reach a wider audience.

**Article published: July 12, 2024**

References

Bukatman, Scott. 2000. “Taking Shape: Morphing and the Performance of Self.” In Meta-Morphing: Visual Transformation and the Culture of Quick Change, ed. Vivian Sobchack, 225-250. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Bynum, Caroline. 2001. Metamorphosis and Identity. London: The MIT Press.                              

Clarke, Bruce. 2022. Posthuman Metamorphosis. New York: Fordham University Press.

Punday, Daniel. “A Corporeal Narratology?” Style 34, no. 2 (2000): 227-242.

Torre, Dan. “Cognitive Animation Theory: A Process-Based Reading of Animation and Human Cognition.” animation: an interdisciplinary journal 9, no. 1(2010): 47-64.

Wells, Paul. 1996. “Tom and Jerry: catsuits and mouse-taken identities.” In The Gendered Object, ed. Pat Kirkham, 184-195. New York: Manchester University Press.

Biography

Rui Han Teo is an animator based in Melbourne focused on using exaggeration as her main storytelling technique to create 2D narrative frame-by-frame animations. She is currently undertaking her Master of Animation, Games, and Interactivity at RMIT University.