I Yam Love Sick

The first segment of this 9-minute Popeye cartoon was funny while the second part was "cute, more than funny." Overall, it is still very entertaining. Afterward, you can't help but think, "Boy, hospitals have come a long way since this cartoon." Well, hopefully no hospital was this primitive, no matter what year, but it does have some old-fashioned means of treating people that have long gone out-of-style.

The story begins at Olive's home, where we see her reading a book about love while indulging in some chocolates. Olive has a new boyfriend: Bluto. Yes, she's dumped Popeye again, and didn't even tell our Sailor Man. Why poor Popeye puts up with this fickle woman has always been a mystery to fans of this great cartoon series....but it's something we've come to expect. Hey, Popeye always gets her back, anyway.

Funny bits included Olive gulping down about 20 pieces of chocolate at once, and Bluto coming out of the picture frame and laughing at Popeye.

Popeye's idea of winning Olive back is to fake an illness and hope that she, seeing him in dire straights, cares enough to show she still loves Popeye. The rest of the cartoon takes place in the hospital, where Popeye plays all kinds of tricks to fool the doctor into thinking he's sick. It almost reminded me of a wild Three Stooges film where doctors and patients are running all over the hospital ("Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard!!!")

Olive Oyl is obsessively reading her romance novel and eating chocolate from Bluto. Popeye drops by, but she tells him that she has moved on. What is a Popeye to do? He fakes being sick. Olive Oyl is upset and immediately calls the hospital. The doctors are confused as Popeye keeps faking his symptoms. A distraught Olive Oyl brings him a can of spinach. She is not happy when he reveals his deceit.

Popeye is being such a cute little liar. This actually works with a bare minimum from Bluto and spinach being a placebo. Some of these Popeye faking scenes are classics. This one does lack the fighting energy.

Popeye calls on Olive Oyl. He finds her reading a romance magazine, gorging on chocolates, and professing her love for Bluto. Popeye feigns a physical collapse and Olive has him taken to the hospital, where a series of doctors run tests on him.

Although some of the gags in this cartoon are quite clever -- I like the one of the X-ray showing an anchor where Popeye's spin and hipbones should be -- there one, while perfectly satisfactory, is among the weakest of the Fleischer Popeye cartoons. I attribute this to repetitive design issues in the background work, and the constant interruptions to the gag so we can watch Olive snivel.

I Yam Love Sick (1938)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Olive is all wrapped up in her romance novel that she fails to even notice poor Popeye trying to flirt. With nothing left to do Popeye decides to pretend that he's dying.

I must admit that I thought this here was one of the best films in the series up to this point. I really thought there were a couple hilarious gags early on and especially with Popeye on his "death bed" and the ways he tried to make himself look like he was dying. There's also another very funny sequence with Popeye on the operating table. As usual, the animation itself is terrific and there's no doubt that this is one of the highlights of the series.

The animation in this short is brilliant as Popeye enters a hospital that looks as though gravity and physical logic have departed long ago. I especially loved how the emergency gurney carriers follow an absurd path throughout the hospital, going up on the walls in a crazy curve toward their destination while Olive Oyl follows with her arms akimbo. It's delightful! These are the Popeye shorts I love. There was an organic humor that feels entirely like they weren't just churning out what they thought audiences would love, but what they laughed at while they drew it.