Hawaiian Pineapples (1930) is a weird, jittery trip to the islands

If you have about six minutes and you don't mind a movie that looks like it was drawn on a napkin during a bumpy train ride, Hawaiian Pineapples is for you.

It is definitely worth watching if you are into that early, slightly creepy animation style where everything—even the trees—seems to be breathing. 🌴

If you hate repetitive music or cartoons where the laws of physics are just suggestions, you should probably skip this one and watch something like Code of the Sea instead.

I found this short tucked away in a digital archive and honestly, the first thing I noticed was how loud the scratches on the film are. It adds a certain charm, I guess.

The story is barely a story. It is just a mouse in a plane.

He is wearing these little goggles that make him look more like a bug than a rodent. I love how his plane's propeller looks like it is made of wet noodles when it spins.

Then the ducks show up. 🦆

These are not nice ducks. They just start landing on the wings of his plane for no reason at all.

You can see the mouse getting visibly stressed, and his tail starts twitching in this jagged, 1930s way. It is hilarious how heavy the animators made these ducks seem.

The plane literally sags every time a new bird flops down. It is such a simple gag but it works because the timing is just a little bit off, which makes it feel more real somehow.

I noticed a weird detail in the background. The clouds look like they were cut out of construction paper and they just kind of vibrate in place.

The music is this looping jazz track that feels like it’s chasing you down a hallway. 🎷

There is a moment where the mouse tries to shoo the ducks away and he almost falls out of the cockpit. The way his body stretches is so rubbery and weird.

It reminded me a bit of the energy in A Salty Sap, just total chaos from start to finish.

Then we get to the volcano. It has a face, because of course it does.

The volcano looks like it hasn't slept in three weeks. It’s just sitting there, waiting to be annoyed by a biplane.

When the mouse finally crashes into it, the animation gets really frantic. Smoke everywhere. The screen is basically a mess of black ink for a few seconds.

I think Paul Terry and Frank Moser were just trying to see how much movement they could cram into one frame before the whole thing became unreadable. 🌋

One reaction shot of the mouse after the crash lingers for like four seconds too long. He just stares at the camera with these big, empty eyes.

It’s kind of haunting? I don’t think it was supposed to be, but that’s the beauty of these old shorts.

The ending is abrupt. Like, the movie just decides it is finished and stops. 🛑

I wish there was more of a payoff with the ducks, but they just sort of disappear once the fire starts. Typical.

The whole thing feels like a fever dream you’d have after eating too much pineapple, which I guess makes the title accurate.

It is not a masterpiece. It isn't even the best Terrytoon I've seen lately.

But there is something so honest about how clunky it is. It doesn't care about being perfect.

If you're looking for something polished, go elsewhere. But if you want to see a mouse lose his mind over some birds, give it a go.

I’m still thinking about that volcano’s face. It looked so disappointed in everyone. I relate to that volcano.