Long before Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” existed, Jon Heder’s Napoleon Dynamite perfected an awkwardly charismatic dance in the 2004 cult comedy. That original sequence was set to Jamiroquai’s “Canned Heat,” but a recent fan-made mashup that overlays Swift’s 2025 single makes the choreography feel uncannily tailor-made for her song.
An Instagram account, @betterspiritsprintco, shared the edit on Friday, Oct. 3 — the same day Swift’s twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, arrived. By Sunday, that reel had drawn more than 63,000 likes.
The clip’s caption reads: “how it feels to listen to the fate of ophelia.” Judging by the responses, viewers agreed: the mashup lands with near-universal enthusiasm.
The short edit inserts the “Fate of Ophelia” audio over the iconic moment in which Napoleon cuts loose. In addition to being the opening track and lead single from The Life of a Showgirl, “The Fate of Ophelia” was the first song from the album to receive an official music video — which premiered online on Sunday after a theatrical debut on Friday during the promotional event for the record.
The result is unexpectedly flawless: Napoleon’s timing hits every beat, and the crowd’s subtle reactions in the film align remarkably well with Swift’s phrasing.
It only becomes more delightful when the choreography syncs with the lyric “I swore my loyalty to me, myself, and I” — the pairing elevates the entire sequence.
Watch the fan edit of “The Fate of Ophelia” set to Napoleon Dynamite’s dance on Instagram here.
