---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There’s nothing harder to do in animation…"
description: "\"There’s nothing harder to do in animation than nothing. Movement is our medium.\" — Milt Kahl"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/milt-kahl-110900_animation_there-s-nothing-harder-to-do-in-animatio_2963631.jpg"
---

#  There’s nothing harder to do in animation than nothing…

![“There’s nothing harder to do in animation than nothing. Movement is our medium.” quote by Milt Kahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/milt-kahl-110900_animation_there-s-nothing-harder-to-do-in-animatio_2963631.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/milt-kahl-110900_animation_there-s-nothing-harder-to-do-in-animatio_2963631.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/milt-kahl-110900_animation_there-s-nothing-harder-to-do-in-animatio_2963631.jpg)

> “There’s nothing harder to do in animation than nothing. Movement is our medium.”

Milt Kahl

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

In animation, doing nothing is the hardest task; movement defines the medium.

**In simple terms:** Movement is essential to animation.

Key Takeaway

Embrace motion to convey meaning.

Themes

animation movement creativity medium

Mood

thoughtful creative

Type

Animation:1 Harder:0 Medium:0 Mediums:0 Movement:1 Movement Medium:0 Animation Movement:0 Harder Animation:0

When to use this quote

- film production
- advertising
- video games
- educational media

Key Concepts

visual storytelling artistic expression technical skill

Questions to Reflect On

- How does motion enhance narrative?
- What techniques add dynamic energy?

A Different Perspective

Lack of movement can make animation feel lifeless.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Animation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animation/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/)

## Related quotes

> [Movement is my medium and my metaphor. I know that if a wave of energy is allowed to complete itself, it yields a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-roth/movement-is-my-medium-and-my-metaphor-i-know-that-if-a-wave-of-energy/)

[Gabrielle Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-roth/)

> [What I personally gravitate toward tends to be fantasy, medium dark - not too dark - fairy tales and sci fi. Stop-motion takes something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-selick/what-i-personally-gravitate-toward-tends-to-be-fantasy-medium-dark/)

[Henry Selick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-selick/)

> [I came from a Hindi medium school... the principal felt that I would not fit into an English medium college. Though I was top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lakshmi-mittal/i-came-from-a-hindi-medium-school-the-principal-felt-that-i-would-not/)

[Lakshmi Mittal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lakshmi-mittal/)

> [I believe that music is a force in itself. It is there and it needs an outlet, a medium. In a way, we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-believe-that-music-is-a-force-in-itself-it-is-there-and-it-needs-an/)

[Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/)

> [I have had a hard time settling on one medium and feel like a dilettante at times, taking up one medium and then wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-johnson/i-have-had-a-hard-time-settling-on-one-medium-and-feel-like-a/)

[Nancy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-johnson/)

> [I'm a person of the arts. I love the arts very, very, very much. And ah, I'm a musician, I'm a director, I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-m-a-person-of-the-arts-i-love-the-arts-very-very-very-much-and-ah-i/)

[Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/)

> [Television is such a mediocre medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-montgomery/television-is-such-a-mediocre-medium/)

[Elizabeth Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-montgomery/)

> [Film is an editor's medium. You can create very good raw material and they can make it horrible, or you can do not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/film-is-an-editor-s-medium-you-can-create-very-good-raw-material-and/)

[Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/)

> [They call television a medium because nothing's well done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goodman-ace/they-call-television-a-medium-because-nothing-s-well-done/)

[Goodman Ace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goodman-ace/)

> [Aggression is not a breed thing. Its a state of mind, and it comes from how the human is with the dog. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-millan/aggression-is-not-a-breed-thing-its-a-state-of-mind-and-it-comes-from/)

[Cesar Millan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-millan/)

> [Every medium has its advantages and weaknesses and there are many things I can put down on paper that I might not be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-wright/every-medium-has-its-advantages-and-weaknesses-and-there-are-many/)

[Lawrence Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-wright/)

> [Short fiction is the medium I love the most, because it requires that I bring everything I've learned about poetry - the concision, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rash/short-fiction-is-the-medium-i-love-the-most-because-it-requires-that/)

[Ron Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rash/)

> [No medium is more limited than any other. It's what a person does with it. We could talk about the differences between music and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-henson/no-medium-is-more-limited-than-any-other-it-s-what-a-person-does-with/)

[Bill Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-henson/)

> [Every medium has its own kind of freedom. I don't want to just cross from one to the next. I want to enjoy the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takashi-miike/every-medium-has-its-own-kind-of-freedom-i-don-t-want-to-just-cross/)

[Takashi Miike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takashi-miike/)

> [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/)

[Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/)

## More by Milt Kahl

> [Actually, I don't really draw that well. It's just that I don't stop trying as quickly. I keep at it. I happen to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milt-kahl/actually-i-don-t-really-draw-that-well-it-s-just-that-i-don-t-stop/)

Milt Kahl

Explore all 2 Milt Kahl quotes

## More Animation quotes

> [If I'm doing a voice-over session, like animation or something, and I'm doing three different voices, you've gotta separate them. You've gotta find the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-adlon/if-i-m-doing-a-voice-over-session-like-animation-or-something-and-i-m/)

[Pamela Adlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-adlon/)

> [I was always into cartoons and animation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nonito-donaire/i-was-always-into-cartoons-and-animation/)

[Nonito Donaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nonito-donaire/)

> [What's unique about Disney Animation, many of the films have this perennial quality about them. They don't seem like old films, they still seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-minkoff/what-s-unique-about-disney-animation-many-of-the-films-have-this/)

[Rob Minkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-minkoff/)

> [I was always tinkering around with stuff but nothing serious at the time. I was doing animations and drawing like crazy, but I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-vangaalen/i-was-always-tinkering-around-with-stuff-but-nothing-serious-at-the/)

Chad VanGaalen

> [In feature animation, cartoony or exaggerated animation is almost taboo. There is this precedent that if you do that kind of stuff people won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genndy-tartakovsky/in-feature-animation-cartoony-or-exaggerated-animation-is-almost/)

[Genndy Tartakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genndy-tartakovsky/)

> [CGI has fully ruined car crashes. Because how can you be impressed with them now? When you watch them in the '70s, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/cgi-has-fully-ruined-car-crashes-because-how-can-you-be-impressed/)

[Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/)

> [To this day I over prepare. I draw storyboards for every scene - chicken scratches so crude that they amuse and horrify the crew.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/to-this-day-i-over-prepare-i-draw-storyboards-for-every-scene-chicken/)

[Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/)

> [I was invited to join the MGM cartoon department. But if I'd started work in animation I'd have had to take a cut in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-was-invited-to-join-the-mgm-cartoon-department-but-if-i-d-started/)

[Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/)

> [I took a lot of influences from Studio Ghibli, which is the Japanese animation studio that made 'Spirited Away' and 'Castle in the Sky.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hewlett/i-took-a-lot-of-influences-from-studio-ghibli-which-is-the-japanese/)

[Jamie Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hewlett/)

> [I've worked in animation for a long time. I started in Spain and I wanted to make feature films. That desire to figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-garcia/i-ve-worked-in-animation-for-a-long-time-i-started-in-spain-and-i/)

[Raul Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-garcia/)

> [If you were to look at an old 'Betty Boop' cartoon or an 'Out of the Ink Well' animation, there are many things about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-seibert/if-you-were-to-look-at-an-old-betty-boop-cartoon-or-an-out-of-the-ink/)

[Fred Seibert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-seibert/)

> [Animation has always been about technology. You can't have animation without technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-wedge/animation-has-always-been-about-technology-you-can-t-have-animation/)

[Chris Wedge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-wedge/)

> [In a movie, it's often important to have aliens whose gestures and facial expressions can be 'read' by humans. And in the days before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/in-a-movie-it-s-often-important-to-have-aliens-whose-gestures-and/)

[Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/)

> [Tigress is my alternate personality, especially with children. I love animation because you get to do things you don't normally get to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-yuh-nelson/tigress-is-my-alternate-personality-especially-with-children-i-love/)

[Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-yuh-nelson/)

> [With live-action I think we'd have lost the universal appeal of the Persepolis story. With live-action, it would have turned into a story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/with-live-action-i-think-we-d-have-lost-the-universal-appeal-of-the/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

[Browse all 837 Animation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animation/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There’s nothing harder to do in animation than nothing. Movement is our medium.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Milt Kahl"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milt-kahl/there-s-nothing-harder-to-do-in-animation-than-nothing-movement-is/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Animation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milt-kahl/there-s-nothing-harder-to-do-in-animation-than-nothing-movement-is/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/milt-kahl-110900_animation_there-s-nothing-harder-to-do-in-animatio_2963631.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/milt-kahl-110900_animation_there-s-nothing-harder-to-do-in-animatio_2963631.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/milt-kahl-110900_animation_there-s-nothing-harder-to-do-in-animatio_2963631.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There’s nothing harder to do in animation than nothing. Movement is our medium.” — Milt Kahl",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Milt Kahl",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milt-kahl/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "There’s nothing harder to do in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milt-kahl/there-s-nothing-harder-to-do-in-animation-than-nothing-movement-is/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milt-kahl/there-s-nothing-harder-to-do-in-animation-than-nothing-movement-is/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
