Hunky and Spunky Review

Hunky and Spunky is a 1938 Fleischer animated short that was nominated for an Oscar. It is a pretty good, moving short.

Two donkeys, a mother and her baby, travel together. Suddenly, a farmer comes and takes the baby and it is up to her to save him. This is a rather interesting short and a little bit different than your usual shorts from this period meaning that it’s more dark and emotional which I ultimately respected. The first half is forgettable and I did not like the voices here, but everything else is pretty strong.

Hunky and Spunky is very well animated and also dramatically, effectively scored. The character design of the donkeys and the man is unappealing, but the background work is very strong. I did like the characters here and definitely the emotion is the strongest aspect as the second half is very hopeless, moving and ultimately rather sweet.

Hunky and Spunky is a solid Oscar nominee with weak voices and designs, but an emotional story and an interesting darker approach to it.