The Unlucky Butterfly: A weird, sad 1931 fever dream

Is this worth your time?

If you enjoy early animation that feels like it might have been pulled out of a fever dream, yes. If you need logic or happy endings, stay away. This isn't for people who want a coherent narrative, but it's great for those of us who like watching 1930s artists figure out how to make ink move on paper.

The premise is simple: a butterfly is obsessed with a mouse. The mouse, understandably, has other things to do. It’s a bit like watching Arctic Antics but with way more heartbreak and fewer penguins.

The animation is... something.

There is this one shot where the butterfly’s wings flutter in a way that looks like the ink is literally vibrating off the frame. It’s hypnotic. You can tell the animators were experimenting with how to show longing, but it mostly just comes across as desperate. Really, really desperate.

The mouse doesn’t say a word, obviously, but he has this look on his face—a sort of blank, rodent indifference—that is honestly kind of brutal. It reminds me of the coldness you see in Blackmail, just translated into a cartoon animal format.

A strange tangent

Did anyone else notice the background trees? They sway in this rhythmic, almost nauseating way. I swear they didn't match the frame rate of the characters. It gives the whole thing a disjointed, twitchy feeling that I couldn't look away from. 🦋

It’s not as polished as later studio work, but that’s why I like it. It’s raw. It feels like someone just sat down with a pen and decided to draw a sad bug for ten minutes. No committee meetings, no focus groups, just pure, weird 1931 energy.

• The mouse’s tail animation is shockingly smooth.
• The butterfly’s flight path makes zero sense.
• The ending is abrupt, almost like the film ran out of money or patience.

If you want to see how far we've come since Studies in Movement, this is a fascinating little relic. Just don't expect to feel good afterward. It’s a bummer, but a beautifully drawn one.