Dankichi on a Tropical Island: Weird, Old-School Jungle Mayhem

Is it worth your time?

If you have any patience for early animation that feels like it was drawn during a mild hallucination, then yes, give Dankichi on a Tropical Island a shot. It is frantic, loud, and doesn't bother much with things like 'logic' or 'plot continuity'. If you are the type of person who needs a clean narrative arc or gets annoyed by dated caricatures, you’ll probably hate it. It’s definitely not for the 'prestige cinema' crowd.

The whole thing feels like a fever dream. One minute Dankichi is just hanging out, the next he’s fighting off an entire tribe with nothing but a stick and some serious attitude. The animation has this jerky, rubber-hose energy that reminds me a bit of the chaos in Felix the Cat Shatters the Sheik.

There is a scene involving a crocodile that goes on way too long. The crocodile just keeps snapping, and the kid just keeps jumping, and it starts to feel like the loop is broken. It’s kind of hypnotic, honestly. 🐊

Odd Little Details

• The way the background trees seem to vibrate whenever something explodes.
• Dankichi’s face changes proportions depending on how fast he’s running.
• The tribe members move in sync like they’re performing a really bad stage play.
• There’s a weird bird that appears in the corner of the frame for no reason at all.

The pacing is honestly all over the place. Sometimes it feels like you're watching a highlight reel of a much longer, crazier movie. There is no buildup. Just sudden, loud encounters. It’s like the animators were just throwing ideas at the wall to see what would stick. It’s messy. But it’s also weirdly charming in how little it cares about being 'good' in the traditional sense.

Watching this made me think of the wild, unpolished energy in Betty Boop's Big Boss. It has that same 'we're just making this up as we go' vibe. You can almost feel the pencil marks on the screen. It doesn't try to be profound, and thank goodness for that.

I wouldn't call this a masterpiece, but it’s certainly not boring. Just don't go in expecting a coherent story. It's just a boy, an island, and a whole lot of nonsense.