Dave Fleischer was responsible for many gems. Ones that were amusing and charming, though over-cuteness did come through in some efforts and the stories were always pretty thin, with appealing characters, outstanding music and visuals that were inventive and with innovative animation techniques.
There are however far better cartoons of his and the studio in general than 'Hunky and Spunky', and the whole Hunky and Spunky series overall. It looks good and is cute enough with one good character, but it feels rather bland and is easily forgettable after a couple of days if even that. Far from a bad cartoon, let alone a terrible one. Just that there is not much that is great, excepting two elements.
'Hunky and Spunky's' best asset is the animation. Simply put it is great, very colourful and atmosphere with smooth character designs, meticulous if not innovative attention to detail and gorgeously detailed backgrounds. The other outstanding asset is Sammy Timberg's music score, both lively and lush and adds a lot to the cartoon's mood.
Of the characters, the best and only really interesting character is the prospector, both fun and sinister and 'Hunky and Spunky' does pick up quite a bit when he appears. A couple of mildly amusing parts in the early stages, the cartoon does have cute and charming moments and the waking up sequence is a memorable highlight. Jack Mercer does a nice job.
Conversely, Hunky and Spunky are sweet if rather too overly cute and not particularly interesting. The story is very slight, only with the prospector is there anything resembling a story and even then it's very predictable and formulaic, and tends to be far too sugary sweet.
Pacing is also rather too slow in the first half. The second half is far more interesting and is entertaining and suspenseful, but it also feels like a different cartoon. There are amusing moments, but it never gets more than that and generally it's fairly mild.
In summary, watchable and inoffensive but bland and forgettable. 5/10 Bethany Cox
There are however far better cartoons of his and the studio in general than 'Hunky and Spunky', and the whole Hunky and Spunky series overall. It looks good and is cute enough with one good character, but it feels rather bland and is easily forgettable after a couple of days if even that. Far from a bad cartoon, let alone a terrible one. Just that there is not much that is great, excepting two elements.
'Hunky and Spunky's' best asset is the animation. Simply put it is great, very colourful and atmosphere with smooth character designs, meticulous if not innovative attention to detail and gorgeously detailed backgrounds. The other outstanding asset is Sammy Timberg's music score, both lively and lush and adds a lot to the cartoon's mood.
Of the characters, the best and only really interesting character is the prospector, both fun and sinister and 'Hunky and Spunky' does pick up quite a bit when he appears. A couple of mildly amusing parts in the early stages, the cartoon does have cute and charming moments and the waking up sequence is a memorable highlight. Jack Mercer does a nice job.
Conversely, Hunky and Spunky are sweet if rather too overly cute and not particularly interesting. The story is very slight, only with the prospector is there anything resembling a story and even then it's very predictable and formulaic, and tends to be far too sugary sweet.
Pacing is also rather too slow in the first half. The second half is far more interesting and is entertaining and suspenseful, but it also feels like a different cartoon. There are amusing moments, but it never gets more than that and generally it's fairly mild.
In summary, watchable and inoffensive but bland and forgettable. 5/10 Bethany Cox
