Nonsense Story, Volume One: Monkey Island – A Peek into Early Animation

Okay, if you're a serious animation buff, especially into early Japanese stuff, then *Nansensu monogatari dai ippen: Sarugashima* is absolutely worth digging up. For most folks, though, this nearly century-old short might feel pretty impenetrable or just... odd. You'll either get swept up in its strange, old-school charm or find yourself wondering what the big deal is. 🤔

This is one of those films that just looks its age, but in a good way. The animation, by Kenzô Masaoka, has this really specific kind of jerky, almost stop-motion feel to it. It’s not smooth like Disney, not at all. It’s more like a series of beautiful, hand-drawn panels brought to life, one frame at a time.

You see the lines. You see the effort. There’s a scene where a monkey is just… doing a little dance. It's not a grand, dramatic moment. But the way its limbs move, kind of floppy and quick, it really stuck with me. You can almost feel the animator's hand moving the paper.

What Even *Is* This?

The 'Nonsense Story' part of the title isn't kidding. Plot-wise, it’s pretty loose. We follow some little cartoon figures — hard to tell exactly who they are, maybe a man and his pet? — as they arrive on an island. And surprise! It’s full of monkeys. 🐒

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Nansensu monogatari dai ippen: Sarugashima (1931) through its definitive frames.

But these aren't just regular monkeys. They’re mischievous. They’re kind of chaotic. One monkey tries to steal a hat, then another one starts juggling coconuts. There’s no big goal, no clear villain, just a string of silly events.

It really feels like someone just animated whatever came to their mind next. Like sketching in a notebook, but it moves. It’s charming, honestly. It doesn't try to teach you a lesson or make you feel something deep. It just is.

The character designs are simple. Almost like early newspaper cartoons. Big eyes, expressive mouths, not a lot of detail. But they manage to convey a surprising amount of personality, especially those monkeys. One little guy keeps making this sort of surprised 'O' face, and it gets me every time. 😂

There's this one shot where the main character, I think he's supposed to be a sailor, looks really bewildered. Like, 'Is this really happening?' And that's kind of how you feel watching it too. It’s a shared bewilderment. 😄

A Glimpse Into the Past

You have to remember, this is from a totally different era