Hospitaliky

One of my favorite Popeye shorts is from 1937. Despite my 9 out of 10 rating, I really enjoy this cartoon and consider it another favorite of mine.

In this short, oh boy! How can men be so foolish in their attempts to impress women? I mean, Popeye and Bluto go to colossal lengths to impress Olive Oyl, trying wild stunts like skydiving and crashing a scooter into a wall. Olive Oyl is working as a nurse at the hospital. Please keep in mind that professional "toons" perform these stunts, and you should not attempt them at home. Stay safe, and enjoy this cartoon!

I love how Popeye pretends to be sick with hilarious fits. I enjoy the humor and creativity in the story, especially the unexpected twist at the end with the spinach-eating scene. So overall, it is another marvelous Popeye short from 1937.

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.

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!

Yeah-Yeah. I know full-well that "Hospitaliky" is "just-a-cartoon". But, with that said - I think that Popeye & Bluto's rivalry and their mutual attraction towards Olive Oyl is downright demented and, yes, just plain stupid (for the most part).

And, here in "Hospitaliky" (instead of just asking Olive for a date) Popeye & Bluto, literally, go to the most ridiculous extremes (risking their very lives) in order to be admitted into the hospital (as a seriously injured patient) where their sweetheart, Olive just happens to work as a nurse.

Anyway - (IMO) - "Hospitaliky" really overplayed this whole business of Popeye & Bluto seeking out Olive's affections. And because of that I could only give this vintage cartoon nothing more than just a 4-star rating.