Jinxy Jenkins & Lucky Lou
is a 2014 short CGI cartoon made by Michael Bidinger and Michelle Kwon of the Ringling College of Art and Design.
Set in San Francisco, it's a boy-meets-girl story with a twist, the twist being that the boy, Jenkins, is hilariously unlucky while the girl, Lou, is hilariously lucky. When these two (literally) collide one day, it's a day of misfortune (and fortune) these two will never forget.
This cartoon provides examples of:
- 13 Is Unlucky: We first see Jenkins walking out of his house, whose street number is 13.
- Blessed with Suck: At the beginning of the short, Lou is clearly tired of the almost-perfect life caused by her good luck.
- Born Lucky: Lucky Lou, as the name suggests.
- Born Unlucky: Jinxy Jenkins, as his name suggests.
- Butt-Monkey: Jenkins. Given how he is hexed with perpetual bad luck, almost nothing ever seems to go right for him. At least, not until Lou came into his life.
- Chekhov's Gun: Jenkins' umbrella manages to save him and Lou.
- Circling Birdies: Parodied, the bluebirds that were bothering Lou circle around her and fly off after her Crash-Into Hello with Jenkins.
- Crash-Into Hello: This is how Jenkins and Lou meet, when Jenkins get his crash-helmet stuck over his eyes and Lou running from some overly-friendly birds.
- Disney Creatures of the Farce: Some cheery bluebirds chase Lou, offering her a wreath of flowers. She doesn't look too pleased to see them.
- First Injury Reaction: Lucky Lou always has good luck, which keeps her from harm but makes her life boring. When she bumps into Jinxy Jenkins, who has bad luck, she falls down and gets a scrape on her palm. She examines it and gets an expression of wonder.
- The Jinx: Jinxy Jenkins attracts bad luck wherever he goes. Things fall on him, mirrors shatter, and the weather instantly changes to inconvenience him.
- Lucky Seven: We first see Lou walking out of her house, whose street number is 7.
- Meet Cute: This short is all about how Jenkins and Lou met.
- Mime and Music-Only Cartoon: Aside from some vocalizations and a shocked scream from Lou, there's no dialogue in this cartoon.
- Parasol Parachute: Double Subverted; Jenkins tries this when the two end up going off a cliff, bu the umbrella breaks. Then Lou takes his hand and it miraculously fixes itself, saving the couple.
- Piano Drop: Jenkins and Lou are (nearly) squashed by dozens of pianos dangling from ropes for no good reason. Then they used them as Stepping Stones in the Sky.
- Redhead In Green: Lou has short red hair and wears a green shirt.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Jenkins' expression when the pair go careening towards a traffic accident, and Lou's expression when she and Jenkins end up in a situation where it looks like not even her luck can save them.
- Victory Is Boring: When passing by some Slot Machines in a window, all of them automatically spin up jackpots. Lou doesn't even take notice of this as she frowns while walking past.
