Randall's Stance and Gait

[lizardgirl]

Still haven't seen MU yet (it comes out tomorrow but I'm seeing it on Sunday, eep!) but one thing I have noticed thus far that has really bothered me is his stance and gait, which seems to be different to his stance and gait in MI. I've only seen a few bits with Randall standing and walking, but that development reel on the other thread which shows Randall and his cupcakes really emphasised to me just how different his natural pose is from what we see in MI; in Mi, his knees tend to face forwards, if at a bit of an angle, and he doesn't hunker his torso down much, keeping himself more elevated. In MU, it seems as though he knees face outwards a lot more, and that they continue to do so even when he walks.

I might be totally wrong, seeing as I haven't really seen much of Randall actually walking in MU at all, but if there is actually a recognisable difference, I wonder whether it was purposeful or accidental. I have a sad feeling it's the latter, since it's a mistake that's easy to make in terms of Randall's design, as most people assume that his knees bend outwards, but having watched Randall in MI for so many years, it's a bit jarring seeing this difference. What does anyone else think?

[RandallBoggs]

*first sentence, jaw drop* REALLY? *said like Cleveland Brown*

Well I'm not sure on anatomical bits but umm...as for keeping himself more elevated...I guess it's because he got a little heavier when he was older or that keeping himself "up more" actually became more of a strain later on. Of course at the time we see him, he's rather exhausted, so it was probably to spare some energy on his part.
It's kind of like how he loses the pinkish hue to his hands and feet when he's older.
Of course, lets all remember, Ran's pretty flexible, and we've seen him move, so maybe it's just perspective too hehehe.

[lizardgirl]

Actually, I meant that he seems to carry himself a lot closer to the ground in MU, not in MI. As a college student he seems almost to squat down a lot more- in the cupcake scene, the underside of his torso almost touches the ground when he shakes from being hit, whereas if he were standing as he usually does in MI, that wouldn't have happened.

It's not a big deal but just something I've noticed that's been bothering me a bit. Maybe it's just something that changed with age, but I can't see why Pixar would have made that decision consciously, if you see what I mean, since it's not really an anatomical change that's an obvious marker of age or anything. it's a fair comment that he's a flexible guy (the way his hips twist right round in that football goalie image we saw with him and Mike is pretty amazing haha) but I'm referring more to his automatic, normal standing pose which (hopefully) shouldn't require too much flexibility.

[RandallBoggs]

Ohhh...umm...well he WAS hit in the face with the tray, which sort of dazed him...and he was kind of leaning in I guess with his offer, which made the underside of his mouth prime target for getting hit upward...

*chuckles* Maybe Pixar isn't as in control of what they produce as they think ^_-

[pitbulllady]

Jul 11, 2013 17:25:06 GMT -5 lizardgirl said:

Still haven't seen MU yet (it comes out tomorrow but I'm seeing it on Sunday, eep!) but one thing I have noticed thus far that has really bothered me is his stance and gait, which seems to be different to his stance and gait in MI. I've only seen a few bits with Randall standing and walking, but that development reel on the other thread which shows Randall and his cupcakes really emphasised to me just how different his natural pose is from what we see in MI; in Mi, his knees tend to face forwards, if at a bit of an angle, and he doesn't hunker his torso down much, keeping himself more elevated. In MU, it seems as though he knees face outwards a lot more, and that they continue to do so even when he walks.

I might be totally wrong, seeing as I haven't really seen much of Randall actually walking in MU at all, but if there is actually a recognisable difference, I wonder whether it was purposeful or accidental. I have a sad feeling it's the latter, since it's a mistake that's easy to make in terms of Randall's design, as most people assume that his knees bend outwards, but having watched Randall in MI for so many years, it's a bit jarring seeing this difference. What does anyone else think?

There IS a difference, but I chalk it up to a combination of both him physically maturing more, and stress. Most four-legged animals, as they mature, develop a wider ribcage and pelvic girdle, which tends to push the limbs out more to the side. Randall's also under tremendous stress, physically, since he spends most of his day standing, putting pressure on his joints, forcing his knees to bend more to compensate. In that scene in the restroom where he's approaching the mirror and sink, he actually does rub his back with one of his lower hands, so he's definitely feeling those aches and pains.

pitbulllady

[number-1-scarer]

ive noticed hes closer to the ground in MI and always had the thought that maybey this could be an indication that hes lacking calcium of some sort, like with some lizards you can tell if they are low on essential calcium if they cant hold themselves up with their legs very well and generally if lizards can hold themselves up it indicates a strong healthy amount of calcium intake.

i know some people dont like to think hes a lizard but i think pixar intended him to be a reptile/ lizard and so i like to think he carrys some similar traits to lizards just exaggerated forms.

[pitbulllady]

Jul 11, 2013 21:12:34 GMT -5 number-1-scarer said:

ive noticed hes closer to the ground in MI and always had the thought that maybey this could be an indication that hes lacking calcium of some sort, like with some lizards you can tell if they are low on essential calcium if they cant hold themselves up with their legs very well and generally if lizards can hold themselves up it indicates a strong healthy amount of calcium intake.

i know some people dont like to think hes a lizard but i think pixar intended him to be a reptile/ lizard and so i like to think he carrys some similar traits to lizards just exaggerated forms.

I don't see Randall as a lizard at all; even his skeletal system, not to mention his all-important metabolism, is totally unlike any reptile. Lizards that are UVB dependent, which means they're diurnal, are the ones who have calcium deficiencies because even if they get calcium in their diets, they cannot metabolize it without adequate UVB absorption. Given the fact that Randall works inside during the day, when the sun is shining, he'd have died of calcium deficiency long before he got the point at which we see him in MI. He's got light-reflective eyes to some degree, which means that he is physically designed to see well in the dark, not a trait of diurnal lizards. He'd have the same calcium metabolizing ability that we do and get most of it via whatever he ate without having to worry about basking in the sun for extended periods. Take it from someone who has worked on concrete floors, usually not being allowed to sit for more than a few minutes per day, for 30 years-it WILL mess up your joints, and it won't take long to do that, either. Keep in mind that for two years, Randall has had very little sleep, and has not even had the opportunities that the other monsters got to sit down, relax and take a load off. When they got to go home and prop up their feet, tentacles, hooves, whatever, he had to go down into that basement to work-standing up-on the Scream Extractor. Again, he'd be on a concrete floor, too. The guy had lost that youthful vigor and pep that we saw in MU, not to mention the emotional toll on him from all that he's been through, and that will also affect poster and movement. We also have to consider that he's worked as a Scarer for at least 6 years, having to crouch to the floor and cling flat to walls much of the time in Scaring, so he's adopted that posture the way that sailors have a different stance and walk from people who have never spent long periods of time on a ship at sea.

pitbulllady

[lizardgirl]

Jul 11, 2013 19:16:30 GMT -5 pitbulllady said:

There IS a difference, but I chalk it up to a combination of both him physically maturing more, and stress. Most four-legged animals, as they mature, develop a wider ribcage and pelvic girdle, which tends to push the limbs out more to the side. Randall's also under tremendous stress, physically, since he spends most of his day standing, putting pressure on his joints, forcing his knees to bend more to compensate. In that scene in the restroom where he's approaching the mirror and sink, he actually does rub his back with one of his lower hands, so he's definitely feeling those aches and pains.

pitbulllady

I'm sorry, I hate to be a pedant and a stickler about this, but I'm saying that it's the other way round- that his legs stick out more when he's younger, not when he's older. Everything you've said in this post makes sense if he was lower during MI, but he isn't (in my opinion, anyway).

In MU, he seems almost to waddle forward, whilst in MI, due to his knees facing forward and his legs raising him off the ground more, he almost pushes himself forward, especially with his hind legs. The best example of that is when he's saying to Fungus, "why are you still here? Go, move, now!" and walks off-screen.

Even ignoring how close he is to the ground (because that's quite difficult to judge) I'm more interested in the fact that his legs seem to be at a totally different angle in MU than in MI. Again, this is the whole knees facing out (in MU) versus knees facing forward (MI) thing.

And THIS is why I'm curious: because the change seems to be the other way round to what most people would expect.