Olive's $weep$take Ticket

Cleverly done, but still slightly strange to me. I watched all the Popeye cartoons on TV as a child in the 50s and early 60s, but missed this one somehow until 2021. Maybe that has something to do with why it struck me a little strange. Olive's sewing schtick is a great gag to kick it off and gives her a more prominent role than many other times. I've never understood why Popeye, Bluto/Brutus, or anyone would find her appealing in any way. She's built like a pre-teen boy, is certainly no beauty, but most importantly, she's a fickle witch. How could you ever trust her?

Olive gets a phone call. She has won a sweepstake first prize but she can't find her ticket. Popeye joins in the search while dreaming of riches. The ticket gets blown into the streets and Popeye goes into pursuit.

This is fun. The ticket stuck to a haughty woman's backside does not play the same as it did back then. It's good to know that Popeye remains a gentleman. The ending is perfect and it's perfect for Popeye and Olive. The only thing missing is spinach.

"Olive's $weep$take Ticket" is a welcome relief because it doesn't feature Bluto nor Popeye ingesting spinach in order to beat anyone to a pulp. Instead, it's a comedic effort...and a mildly enjoyable one.

The story begins with Olive receiving a phone call to alert her that she's won a sweepstakes. However, she's misplaced the ticket and she and Popeye spend a lot of time looking for it. Once found, unfortunately, things don't get any easier. See the film and see what's next.

The short is a nice change of pace. However, I also feel that they could have done more with the plot to make it funnier and, perhaps, goofier. Worth seeing and well animated (as you'd expect)...just not all memorable.

Olive's $weep$take Ticket (1941)

*** (out of 4)

Olive tells Popeye that she has the winning sweepstakes ticket but she's lost it. This send Popeye on a wild chase trying to locate the ticket and then keeping up with it.

OLIVE'S $SWEEP$TAKE TICKET isn't the greatest film in the animated series but it's at least entertaining enough to make it worth watching. As you'd expect there's some terrific animation throughout and there's also some clever humor as poor Popeye has to put his life in constant danger as he tries to find the ticket and keep it safe. There's a lot of fun animation here that makes this a winner.

Really like to love a vast majority of Popeye's cartoons and the character himself. If more Fleischer's output than Famous Studios'. Fleischer's Popeye cartoons tended to be funnier, more imaginative and better made. Famous Studios' on the most part entertained though their later Popeye, and overall filmography actually, cartoons had tighter deadlines and lower budgets evident which accounted for the animation not being as good, less surprises and the material not as imaginative.

While not one of my all time favourite Popeye cartoons, 'Olive's Sweepstake Ticket' is still a winner. It is a contender for the best cartoon of the series from 1941, and for a cartoon made when Fleischer Studios had declined drastically it is hugely impressive. It stands out because it is one of the funniest and also it is not as predictable as one fears, being something of a change of pace. Refreshing considering that the studio generally had run out of ideas and 'Olive's Sweepstake Ticket' is proof that the studio had not completely lost it.

Olive is underused, which is not uncommon for the Popeye series and yeah maybe it could have been goofier in places.

However, 'Olive's Sweepstake Ticket' has so many great things that help make it a great cartoon. Popeye has great comic timing and easy to like, count me in as another person who actually felt sorry for him by the end of the cartoon. The wordplay and dialogue are very clever and one is not left stone-faced. Mercer, as aforementioned, cannot be faulted with the voice work, mumblings and asides have seldom been funnier.

Morever, the animation is very good, simple but has some nice detail in the backgrounds, the shading is crisp and the character designs are far from ugly or off. The inventive reaction shots, like a number of Popeye cartoons, make for great viewing. Even better is the music (always important for me to talk about and Popeye cartoons always fared very well in this respect), again lush and cleverly orchestrated and doing so well adding to and enhancing the action. The gags are a sizable amount and they do work thanks to crisp timing and creative visuals. The haughty woman character is hilarious and certainly did not expect the ending.

In conclusion, absolutely a winner. 9/10.