Hook, Lion and Sinker

Disney and Donald Duck are reasons enough to watch any cartoon, and Hook, Lion and Sinker is just one example of why I love them so much. Donald is great as usual, the briskly paced story being an ideal match for his trademark temperamental personality, while Louie is a cunning and lively foil and his son is sweet but never overly cutesy. The animation is as hoped very pleasing to look at, anybody who loves vibrant colours and great background detail will be as very satisfied with the animation quality here as I am. The music has lush and upbeat orchestration and enhances the action perfectly. The gags are very funny, while the being-shot-in-the-bottom gag is a running gag that is used a lot the situations, of Louie and son's ways of stealing the fish from Donald, are varied so it is a running gag that doesn't wear thin. For me though the best gag was when Louie turned into one of the mounted lions on the wall to avoid being shot at. And I loved that Hook, Lion and Sinker was a case of Donald getting the upper hand, something that you don't see very often. In conclusion, if you like Disney or Donald you'll enjoy Hook, Lion and Sinker very much. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Hook, Lion and Sinker (1950)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Donald returns from a fishing trip with a major score, which attracts the attention of a mountain lion and his son. Soon the father lion is trying to steal some fish but Donald isn't going to let it go that easily.

HOOK, LION AND SINKER is a classic Disney short that has plenty of nice laughs, some great action and of course beautiful animation. There are several highlights here but the running gag with the son having to remove buckshot from his father is certainly very funny. Also extremely funny is a site gag on Donald's wall of previous lions that have tried to steal his fish. The action itself is pretty fast and violent just like fans love it.

A mountain lion has been fishing free a tree without much success. The cub has been too obstreperous. So when Donald Donald comes in from a very successful session in the piscatorial arts, they see no reason why they shouldn't just take some of the fish, or all of them. But Mr. Duck has a shotgun.

It's another typically funny Donald Duck cartoon, with the bonus that there's no dialogue, although Donald does mutter to himself occasionally. Disney had begun producing cartoons in the silent era, and his shorts still held by the rule that if you couldn't tell what was going on just by looking, it wasn't working. And this one does.

This short takes a basic premise used often by Disney and others-someone has something another character wants and the rest of the short consists of comical attempts to take away and/or keep said possession. In the hands of Tex Avery, this simple plot can produce The Legend of Rockabye Point, which is a masterpiece. Then there's this cartoon, far more representative of the norm-an average cartoon, humorous in spots, entertaining but not terribly special in and of itself. Which proves the point that it's not the idea that matters, but how it is used. Worth watching at least once.

This is a funny Disney cartoon starring Donald Duck as a fisherman who kept getting his fish taken by a hungry lion and his mischievous cub. But, Donald proves that he was one tough duck with his fiery attitude and his rifle in tow.

There were plenty of funny moments in this cartoon short, from the cub accidentally dragging the lion in the river to Donald getting almost outsmarted by the fish thieves a few times. The cub plucking the rifle pellets from the lion's behind was also funny.

A great cartoon where Donald gets the last laugh!

Grade A