Wimmin Is a Myskery

Popeye is on his knee proposing. Olive Oyl agrees to give him an answer in the morning. As she sleeps, she dreams about married life with their four rambunctious children. The kids are united in driving their mother crazy while causing havoc in the house.

The four kids are usually his nephews, but for this one, they are the imaginary sons. That is unusual. What's more unusual is Popeye popping the question. That is a big deal. They could have done more with the kids causing havoc around town. Instead, they are staying inside the house. That does give a sense of isolation for Olive Oyl. Yah! I wouldn't want that either.

Wimmin is a Myskery (1940)

*** (out of 4)

Olive is at home getting everything cleaned up and as soon as she finishes the last room she hears a loud bang. She rushes into the kitchen and sees that Popeye's four nephews have wrecked the place. From here it's a battle as the boys cause one issue after another.

WIMMIN IS A MYSKERY is an extremely fast short in the series as it pretty much features action from the first sequence to the very last. If you're a fan of the series then there's no question that you'll enjoy what's on display here as you will find that wonderful animation that you expect and you'll also get some good laughs. Popeye doesn't show up until the very end but there's plenty of fun action without him.

We know from the beginning that Olive is dreaming. She is to give Popeye the answer to his proposal in the morning. But in the dream, the four nephews show up and it's a disaster. They pretty much destroy her house, attack her, play cruel tricks, and so on. It's non-stop action from the get go. It would be like having a pack of wolverines in your house. Needless to say, Olive has a tough decision to make.

When the short begins, something very unusual is happening....Popeye is FINALLY asking Olive Oyl to marry him. Instead of giving him an answer right away, she tells him she needs a night to think about it. During the interim, Olive has a dream in which she is now the mother of Popeye's demonic children.

This episode in the Popeye series is interesting because it's the first time you see Popeye's familiar nephews...though here they play Popeye's children in the dream sequence. The name of one of the children is different but other than that they are essentially the nephews....and brats like Popeye's nephews. These awful kids returned two years later for "Pip-eye, Pup-eye, Poop-eye an' Peep-eye".

Overall, an enjoyable and well animated Popeye cartoon. Neither brilliant nor a must-see but important for fans due to the kids.

Popeye questions popion, I mean pops the qustion to Olive Oyl. She must have time to think. The sailor man goes away, and Miss Oyl goes to bed, to dream of their four children.

Jack Merce,r who voiced Popeye and Margery Hines, who did the honors for Olive were married at the time and that might have been why the Fleischers came up with this cartoon. It's quite a change of pace for the series, and it's Miss Oyl who bears the brunt of damage for a change.

The four kiddies were popular enough that they were reintroduced to the series a couple of years later, only as nephews. In future episodes, whose nephews they were varied.