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5.6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Night Life of the Bugs remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have eight minutes to spare today, yes, Night Life of the Bugs is absolutely worth a quick watch. It is perfect for anyone who loves the weird, rubbery energy of 1930s cartoons, though modern kids raised on clean 3D animation will probably find it creepy as hell.
The setup is incredibly fast. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit saves a fairy—who honestly looks more like a tiny, winged human doll than anything magical—and gets shrunk down as a thank you.
Next thing you know, he is hanging out at a literal bug nightclub. It is just pure, chaotic fun.
This is where the short gets really enjoyable, mostly because of how deeply strange the character designs are. There is a jazz band made of beetles and crickets, and the way they move is wonderfully bouncy.
One grasshopper does this weird leg-kick dance that goes on for about ten seconds too long. It starts to feel a bit awkward, but you still can't look away.
I noticed a tiny mistake around the four-minute mark where a background bug's wing just sort of stops animating for a second. It is these little imperfections that make me love this hand-drawn era so much.
It obviously doesn't have the grand scale of something like The Loves of Madame Dubarry. But it isn't trying to be high art.
The music is the real star here. It has that scratchy, fast jazz soundtrack that makes you want to tap your foot, even if the audio quality sounds like it was recorded inside a tin can.
If you are looking for a deep plot, you won't find one after the first two minutes. Once Oswald gets to the club, the story basically stops to show off different insect gags.
Some of the jokes land, some don't. A bit where a caterpillar uses its own body as a living accordion is pretty clever, though.
If you have ever watched Circus Life and liked the sheer variety of weird acts, this bug club has a similar, albeit tiny, vibe.
Anyway, it is a neat little time capsule. Just don't think too hard about the physics of a rabbit shrinking down to insect size.