Animation Fundamentals: Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry is a classic which masterfully shows off all 12 principles of animation. But we are going to look at just 3 that they demonstrate very well.


At 1:52 we can clearly see anticipation along with stretching as Butch pulls Tom’s ballon nose back. This gives the following snap back a lot of strength and weight to it. What also helps is Tom’s exaggerated reaction as he flies back into his seat.

Then at 2:06 we see Tom’s body squash as he collides with the ceiling. It looks much better than if he just hits his head and fell back down. This pose also helps to communicate to audience about Tom’s form and weight, how he is living being with flexiblity.


Lastly we can see drag at 5:42 as Tom catches the ball. The first thing to move is his hand and then his body stretches out and then moves along out. It’s effective in giving the ball a sense of speed and power as it flies into his hand and drags him along.
