A Jolly Good Furlough

I've been watching propaganda movies recently. I don't think we appreciate the government influence on the industry, and its easiest to see here.

In this case, the message seems to be that GIs can be relatively happy away compared to home.

The story is that Popeye comes home to his girlfriend and family and finds them a hassle, so much so that he runs back to the front and shoots at the messenger that brings further leave. You can almost see the memo about what it was supposed to illustrate.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Popeye discovers it's more relaxing fighting WWII than being home with his nephews. That twisted message should tell you something about this lame Popeye effort.

The poor sailor is anxious to see Olive and the little ones, but all they do is run over him (Olive, with a car) and torment him (the kids, with their Home Defense Program tests - with Popeye as the victim.)

Generally, the artwork was poor and the jokes lame. I miss the days when the Fleischer Brothers did these cartoons; they were far better. Popeye even gets a little mean-spirited at the end, when he shoots the messenger. No wonder a popular expression over the last half century is, "Hey, I'm only the messenger."

A Jolly Good Furlough (1943)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Popeye does his time during WWII and returns home where his nephews want to show him the special training they've been doing.

A JOLLY GOOD FURLOUGH is yet another mildly entertaining entry from 1943. I say that because a lot of the shorts from this year weren't all that memorable. They were at least entertaining while you watched them but they weren't nearly good enough to where you'd revisit them very often. There are some funny moments here including the invisible paint that the kids created and the ending has a nice laugh as well. The animation is good as you'd expect but there's nothing overly great here.

Popeye is fighting the Japanese single-handedly. After sinking a Japanese island base, he gets mail granting him an one month leave. He goes home to see Olive and his nephews. It's not very restful as Olive runs him over with her car before the nephews get their hands on him. This is Popeye during the war years. He is very much part of the propaganda fight. It may or may not be effective. The basic premise has comedic potential but I don't know if it's good propaganda.

This cartoon with Popeye the Sailor is another cartoon made when the United States were in a war with Japan. It is a racist cartoon, but you can not really judge it that way since it was made back then. Even today people make fun of people when they are in war with them.

Popeye is fighting the war against the Japanese but he gets a furlough. When he gets home all he wants to do is rest a little but that seems impossible. First Olive hits him a couple of times with the car and then his nephews show him their own "Home Defense Program". They show him and also test it on him making sure he will not rest very much.

The racist part is in the middle where the nephews ask Popeye whether he killed some Japanese people (Japs). The nephews impersonate the Japanese in a racist way, but I have to say it is also a very funny part. Other parts are pretty nice as well since Popeye is the biggest victim here. This time spinach can not save him. Entertaining enough.