Nix on Hypnotricks (1941) *** (out of 4)Fast paced and entertaining short has an evil hypnotist putting a spell on Olive and forcing her to walk to him. This puts her in all sorts of danger and Popeye gets most of the abuse trying to save her.This here is a pretty good entry for the series as there are plenty of laughs and a lot of action as well. The majority of the running time has Popeye chasing Olive all over the place and taken a beating along the way. The highlight of the short is a scene where Popeye gets abused by a flock of birds. As you'd expect, the animation is top- notch.

I had always remembered one of my favorite Jack Mercer quips, directed at Olive Oyl of course, but I couldn't find the short where it appeared. It didn't help that I remembered the quote as being closer to it's Shakespearian phrasing. Finally I found it here in Volume 3 of the classic set: "That which we call a flower, by any other moniker would smell just as much."The quality of this restoration is very good, as they are in most of the sets.As to the plot line and execution of "Hypnotricks," you could pretty much figure out the ending, even if you hadn't seen it a million times before ;)

Hey, you can get hypnotized for just 10 cents in this Popeye cartoon of 1941. Professor "I. Stare" will hypnotize you.The problem is the guy can't drum up any business. So, he grabs a phone book, flips the pages and random puts his finger on the page. Yes, it's "Olive Oyl," whose name is on the swami's fingertip. (I say swami because the guy is wearing a turban, has a beard and looks like the stereotyped one of the day.) Anyway, the guy must be pretty good as the words "come to me, come to me," over the phone soon put Olive in trance and see sleepwalks out of the apartment. Popeye, you had been with her at the time, sizes up the situation and follows her.The rest of the cartoon - the bulk of it - is Popeye battling traffic, construction sites and skyscrapers in trying to follow Olive."I'm just a victim of circum-trance," comments Popeye.There are good sight gags in here, although ones we've seen before in previous sleepwalking stories, and the artwork looked excellent on this new restored Popeye The Sailor Man 1941-1943 DVD.

This short has a different villain, a different voice for Olive Oyl and is toward the latter stages of the Fleischers' run doing cartoons for Paramount. The gags are more visual than verbal here as Popeye once again must save Olive from a fate worse than death. Great animation and well worth watching. Recommended.