Twenty years before Taylor Swift‘s “The Fate of Ophelia” was recorded, a character named Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) was leaning into his uniqueness with a magnificently awkward dance routine, as seen in a memorable scene from the 2004 coming-of-age comedy Napoleon Dynamite. His sweet moves were soundtracked by Jamiroquai’s “Canned Heat,” but anyone who hasn’t seen the movie — and who happens to stumble upon the fan-made “Ophelia” x Napoleon Dynamite mashup making the rounds — just might think the choreo was meant to be paired with Swift’s 2025 single instead. Because it’s actually perfect.
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Swift fan @betterspiritsprintco on Instagram posted the funny edit on Friday (Oct. 3), the release day of the pop star’s twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, which is already setting records; as of press time on Sunday, the Instagram post has been liked by more than 63,000 Instagram accounts.
The video’s caption: “how it feels to listen to the fate of ophelia.” The comments section unanimously agreed.
Featuring the aforementioned Napoleon Dynamite-dance moment, the edited clip shows the quirky protagonist getting his groove on to an audio clip of “The Fate of Ophelia,” Showgirl’s opening track and first single (and the first song from the set to get an official music video, which dropped online on Sunday after premiering at movie theaters on Friday during the box office-topping The Release Party of a Showgirl).
Somehow, the timing of it all is just right. Napoleon hits his marks. Subtle reactions from the audience are spot-on.
Just wait until you get to the moves synced to Swift’s lyric “I swore my loyalty to me, myself, and I” — it only gets better from there.
Watch the fan edit of “The Fate of Ophelia” and Napoleon Dynamite dancing on Instagram here.
