Through Frames in Sketch and Story

Squash and stretch ,  often cited as the first principle of animation, and is usually introduced as a visual trick to simulate weight, flexibility, and exaggerated motion.  It’s how bouncing balls bounce and how faces emote, but has its role been oversimplified over time? Have we started to see squash and stretch only as a tool for physical movement, rather than as a narrative and tonal device ? Across genres, squash and stretch shifts in how it’s applied, and more importantly, how it’s perceived . That shift reveals more about the expectations we place on different kinds of animation than it does about the principle itself. The Genre Divide: Why Perception Matters In Western animation, squash and stretch has long been a hallmark of comedy. Some of the examples include,  Tom and Jerry , SpongeBob SquarePants , or classic Disney. It’s bouncy, exaggerated, and often funny. That kind of visual elasticity fits comfortably in worlds that lean into playfulness or absurdity....