One of the greatest things about cartoons is that normal laws of Physics and Biology don’t apply. Artists are able to draw animals in a way that is exaggerated or anthropomorphised in order to build life into a character. It takes an equally creative mind to turn those drawings around and ask, “What would the anatomy of these animated characters would actually look like?” South Korean artist Hyungkoo Lee has done exactly that with a series of sculptures.
Using resin, wire, aluminium sticks, and paint, Hyungkoo Lee has imagined the skeletal structure of some of the most beloved animated characters of all time. Their exaggerated features were reconciled with the actual anatomy of their representative animal, yielding some pretty impressive results. The exhibition “Animatus” was featured at the Natural History Museum in Basel, Switzerland in the summer of 2008.
Rather than depicting them as strictly scientific duplications, the artist has shown them in action and given them life. The scenes include Donald Duck falling from the sky while his nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, look around for adventure. Wile E. Coyote tries to catch the Roadrunner, who easily outpaces him, though real life coyotes are twice as fast as roadrunners. You can almost hear Goofy chuckle “ah-hyuck” as he is shown doubled over in laughter.