How a Mosquito Operates

I must thank the great Britanic film director Mike Leigh for including this animated film between his Top 10 films of all time otherwise I wouldn't know about it and see how cool this is. And the strangest thing is that is quite rare you see a film director or a actor quoting a animation as one of his favorites films.

Why "How a Mosquito Operates" is so fascinating? It's simplicity, originality and the way it was made makes this animation one of the most interesting ever made. Released in 1912 (yes, on the same year the Titanic sank) this short animated film tells in a very charming and funny way the story of a hunger mosquito that flies away into the apartment of a man only to suck his blood. This situation probably happened to everybody, we are sleeping or trying to sleep and then a mosquito appears bugging us, biting us, flying all around. So here's a film that present us a simple story yet very funny to watch.

The techniques employed here are very good, making this film very good to look at even today in a sophisticated era whose animated films have the best techniques, the most interesting stories and all of that. The way the story was told was incredibly original, using comical effects (the mosquito doesn't fly to get into the apartment, he climbs the door and enters into a passage, very funny moment) and believe me it's great for educational purposes. If a kid asks you how and why a mosquito operates instead of telling a boring and long conversation about the issue show to the kid this animation. It will present some education and laughs at the same time.

Director and creator of "How a Mosquito Operates" (AKA "The Story of a Mosquito") Winsor McCay made a wonderful job here. So everyone here's another must see film. 10/10

Animation historian John Canemaker once rightfully pointed out that HOW A MOSQUITO OPERATES is a milestone in the development of so-called "personality animation." Rather than the surreal metamorphosis parades which characterize the animated movies of the 1900s, HOW A MOSQUITO OPERATES puts two defined personalities in conflict: a gluttonous, arrogant, but crafty mosquito and his anxious human quarry. The film has aged very well since the gags are weird and morbid. However, if mosquitoes squick you out, then you might want to avoid this short-- the mosquito ain't designed like Jiminy Cricket!

Several thoughts came to mind after watching this early animated film about a hungry mosquito. First, it's striking to consider that this was made just six years after J. Stuart Blackton's Humorous Phases of Funny Faces and four years after Émile Cohl's Fantasmagorie-the first landmark works in animation history. Yet in that short time, the quality of animated films had already improved significantly. How a Mosquito Operates feels surprisingly advanced and even shares some of the atmosphere found in Steamboat Willie (1928), the first Mickey Mouse cartoon.

Second, while the animation shows clear progress, the film still bears some of the theatrical influence that defined early cinema. The events are relatable-most people have experienced the irritation of a mosquito-but they're presented in an exaggerated, imaginative way. This mosquito wears a hat, carries a suitcase, sharpens its stinger, and bites with absurd depth to highlight the discomfort it causes. It's an excellent example of the transitional period in animation, where realism and fantasy were still vying for dominance in storytelling.

Third, there seems to be an educational or metaphorical layer. From what I gather, the man in the film has been drinking heavily, and the mosquito-also "drinking" to excess-suffers dire consequences. It's a clever parallel and a surprisingly powerful message. That said, the film could have been a bit shorter. The final part, which really leans into this metaphor, feels unnecessarily long and starts to drag.

The animation is fairly simple compared with most of Winsor McCay's later animated movies, but nevertheless this is a humorously offbeat feature - at least, that is, as long as you don't have any phobias about mosquitoes.

The simple story shows a mosquito tracking a prospective meal, and then getting down to work. The mosquito is cleverly drawn, and the story features a couple of pretty good, if slightly morbid, gags. Later on, McCay began to fill his features with a wealth of background detail, which is missing here, and as a result it is fairly plain-looking at times. But for such an early effort, it's made pretty well, and is worth seeing.

Okay, this one is really tough to rate and review. Let´s start by acknowledge why it´s great, important, and good. Winsor McCay is one of the pioneers of animation. Without him and work like this short, animation would not be where it is today. Surely another like him would emerge eventually, but here we are. The animation is cool to look at and McCay clearly had a style to his drawings, but I most say I find the short too long for what it is. It´s repetitive and it´s nature is a bit in east and west. I´m personally not a fan and wont revisit it anytime soon but acknowledging the importance might make you feel different about it.

A hungry mosquito sucks the blood of a sleeping man.

The animation is simple but looks really nice. It has a style to it that I can´t tell was intentionally scary or looks exactly like McCay wanted it. It´s a really nightmarish looking animation that is pure nightmarefuel. The mosquito looks scary enough, but the man looks so horrifying. This is not helped by the over-the-top actions of the mosquito that makes the act of sucking blood look so extreme and unpleasant. Again, I have no idea if that was the intentional feelings McCay wanted to Conway, but here we are.

While the animation has a style to it it´s still really primitive and there is so much repetition to what happens. The mosquito dose the same action three or four times in a row and for a short that is 6 minutes it feels so much longer because of it. While it looks and works fine, I think it could have conveyed what it wanted in less runtime. There just isn't a lot to it and the primitive nature hasn't aged it well. I forgive it for the primitive state though since it was groundbreaking for the time.

The music is also a bit tone shifting all throughout. It´s also disturbing yet triumphant when the mosquito gets´s to suck blood and I'm not sure if it´s the hero of villain of the story.

While once again, I´ll acknowledge the importance of McCay´s work it´s not something I´m drawn too. I find it too scary, simple, repetitive and while groundbreaking for it´s time, it´s a bit lackluster and not that impactful today. While it´s fine I find it a bit to boring to really want to watch it again.