Squash and stretch is the first principle of animation. It’s also, inexplicably, the hill every fan of modern cartoons will die on. Here’s why a technique invented in 1937 still quietly dictates every good cartoon you see in 2026.
What it actually is
Simply put: when something hits another thing, it deforms. Then it bounces back. The deformation is squash. The recovery is stretch. Do both well and your cartoon feels alive. Do either wrong and it looks like furniture.
Examples that prove it
- Looney Tunes: Bugs’ face literally reshapes to sell every reaction
- Spider-Verse: Miles’ leaps stretch a full frame before he lands
- Arcane: fight scenes go crunchy at impact — pure squash language
- The Amazing World of Gumball: squash is the entire directing style
Great animation doesn’t draw frames. It draws forces.
One of our editors, who is definitely not a fridge magnet
Where modern shows trip
A lot of lower-budget 3D animation skips squash and stretch because rigs don’t allow for it. The character walks stiff. The body armor never gives. Fans notice. We noticed. You noticed, you just didn’t know the word for it.
Once you see squash and stretch, you can’t unsee it. Sorry in advance.
