Hospitaliky

This short has Popeye and Bluto trying extremely hard to get admitted to a hospital. I try very hard to avoid them myself, so I fail to see the attraction. But the animation is good, the gags are funny and Popeye's mutterings and asides are a scream, as always. The funniest jokes are often those little muttered comments Jack Mercer would make. They're particularly good in this one. Well worth watching. Recommended.

Now THIS was different: Popeye and Bluto trying to get hurt, trying to be injured badly. Huh?

Well, it's what Olive tells them after the two get into an argument in front of a hospital. "You have to be hurt badly to get into a hospital," she tells them, so both guys go off in separate directions looking for ways to get pulverized and get sent to the hospital!

The scene earlier at the hospital front doors had some good moments of humor. "My high blood pressure is low, too," is one of the good lines Popeye gets off as he and Bluto both go into dramatics pretending to be sick. The only reason they are acting like this is that Olive just walked in, and she's a nurse. They want her attention. When Popeye outdoes Bluto is the theatrics, Bluto calls him a faker and the argument escalates until Olive comes out and tells them what I mentioned in the first paragraph.

What lengths both of these guys do to get injured provides some outstanding moments and some terrific graphics (sight gags). It reminded me a bit of a Dabney Coleman movie in the '80s called "Short Time," where he tried everything to kill himself and was never, thankfully, successful.

In a shocking ending, Popeye gives Bluto the spinach, instead of eating it himself, hoping that Bluto will beat the you-know-what out of him. It's unbelievable!!

This may be the best of an excellent collection of mid-to-late 1930s Popeye cartoon, one of many included in the recent DVD package featuring his theatrical cartoons from 1933-1938. Great stuff!

Hospitaliky (1937)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Highly entertaining short has Popeye and Bluto following Nurse Olive Oyl into the hospital. The men pretend to be sick to try and get her attention but she chews them out explaining that the hospital is for injured people only. The two then set out to get really hurt so they can go to the hospital.

This here is certainly one of the best shorts in the series as there are a great number of laughs, some creative injury attempts and plenty of violence. Obviously one has to wonder why either man would put themselves into so much pain for Olive Oyl but whatever. As far as this short goes it's a great one with non-stop laughs and plenty of action. There's a great scene with Bluto trying to have a safe fall on his head as well as another where he and Popeye fight over who gets to get hit by a train.

Olive Oyl is a nurse walking down the street. Popeye and Bluto spot the beauty and both chase after her. She walks into the hospital. The boys decide to fake illnesses to get admitted. Olive Oyl is not buying it and sends them away. The boys decide to get real hurt through different ways.

After getting rejected by Olive Oyl, I thought the boys would start fighting right away. With this idea, the episode is more interesting and has more variety. The only problem is that it takes too long for the boys to reunite. Maybe they should stay together for the whole run. It does have a great twist to the conclusion.

When both Bluto and Popeye want to get in the hospital to be near Olive Oyl, they proceed to try to cause damage to themselves. They try to explode themselves, let trains run over them, allow the other to beat them up. Whoever thought of this plot was very, very clever.