The Three Fearless Frogs: A Weird Little Trip

Is it worth your time?

If you like old-school animation that looks like it was cut out of construction paper by someone who stayed up way too late, yes. If you need a plot that makes logical sense, you might want to skip this one. 🐸

Noburō Ōfuji has this style that is just... bizarre. The movement is jerky, obviously, but there is a strange heart to it. You can see the paper edges.

There is a specific moment where one of the frogs does this little dance move that made me laugh out loud. It is not sophisticated, but it is just so human. Or frog-like? I am not sure.

Sometimes the film feels like it is falling apart. The backgrounds are cluttered and move in ways that feel like a messy scrapbook. It is a far cry from the polish of The Plumber, which has its own weird vibe.

The pacing is all over the place. One second they are just hanging out, and the next, there is a whole confrontation happening. It moves faster than a real frog, that is for sure.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Three Fearless Frogs (1933) through its definitive frames.

I found myself comparing it to It's the Cats because of how the animals act like little people. It is a classic trope, but done with such low-budget grit here that it feels fresher.

I am not going to sit here and tell you this is a masterpiece. It is barely a movie, really. It is more like a faded memory you found in an attic.

My favorite bit? The way the light flickers. It makes the whole thing feel like it could vanish if you blinked too hard.

Anyway, watch it if you want to see how far animation has come. Or if you just like frogs.

• The textures are actually pretty cool.
• The music is a bit repetitive.
• I think I saw a stray thumbprint on one of the frames.