Here's another option, used to "cheat" in some videogame meshes. Have two copies of the object - one parented, one not. The unparented version should be in place where it will be once it is dropped. Animate as normal, and if needed, adjust the position of the unparented version to be exactly right at the frame it needs to be. The trick: On the frame the original is "dropped", it is suddenly scaled down to .0001 / .0001 / .0001. Meanwhile, the unparented version suddenly scales UP from .0001 / .0001 / .0001 to 100/100/100, "appearing" out of nowhere. Effectively, the original vanishes and is replaced by the unparented version, which is then free to be animated as you would. A suggestion would be to have three frames before and after of eaach, at the appropriate scale. For example, if the transition is at frame 120: Frame 117: Obj1 : 100 / 100 / 100 Obj2 : .0001 / .0001 / .0001 Frame 118: Obj1 : 100 / 100 / 100 Obj2 : .0001 / .0001 / .0001 Frame 199: Obj1 : 100 / 100 / 100 Obj2 : .0001 / .0001 / .0001 Frame 120: Obj1 : .0001 / .0001 / .0001 Obj2 : 100 / 100 / 100 Frame 121: Obj1 : .0001 / .0001 / .0001 Obj2 : 100 / 100 / 100 Frame 122: Obj1 : .0001 / .0001 / .0001 Obj2 : 100 / 100 / 100 Frame 123: Obj1 : .0001 / .0001 / .0001 Obj2 : 100 / 100 / 100 Another option would be to use linear interpolation, but sometimes that can act wonky if some segements use other interpolation methods.

Remember, kids! Napalm is Nature's Toothpaste!