I Yam Lovesick (1938)

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!!!")