Kiko the Kangaroo: Why is a kangaroo boxing?

Is this worth your time?

If you have a soft spot for the rougher, weirder side of animation history, then yes. You’ll probably like it if you grew up watching Circus or other vintage shorts where the logic is loose and the slapstick is fast.

If you need your cartoons to have a cohesive moral or high-budget polish, you’re going to hate this. It’s a bit mean-spirited, honestly.

The whole thing feels like a fever dream. A father kangaroo decides his son Elmer—who just wants to play the violin—needs to be a champion boxer. It’s not exactly the most supportive parenting choice I’ve ever seen.

There’s this moment where Elmer is trying to practice his scales, and the dad just pushes him toward the ring. It’s surprisingly uncomfortable to watch. It reminded me a bit of the tension in The Champ, but, you know, with marsupials.

Oddly specific details I noticed:

• The way the boxing gloves look like they’re made of lead.
• The background animation in the training scene is surprisingly sparse, almost like they ran out of paint.
• The violin-playing sound effects are delightfully scratchy.

The pacing is all over the place. One second we’re doing a musical bit, the next we’re in a full-blown prizefight. It doesn't transition; it just jumps.

It’s not as polished as some of the stuff from that era. Sometimes the characters seem to drift off-model. It’s got that same kinetic, slightly chaotic energy you see in Crazy Feet.

Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it a weird artifact of a time when people thought kangaroos boxing was the height of comedy? Absolutely.

The finale feels like it goes on for an extra thirty seconds too long, just hammering the joke home until it stops being funny and starts being... just a lot of movement. You can almost feel the animators getting tired of the scene while you're watching it. 🥊

Still, it’s a fun little watch if you just want to turn your brain off for a few minutes. Don't expect to walk away thinking about the 'human condition' or whatever. It’s just a kangaroo, a violin, and a very confused son.