Wotta Nitemare (1939)

Wotta Nitemare Review

Wotta Nitemare is a 1939 animated short from Popeye the Sailor series. It is a very inventive, intriguing short.

Here we have Popeye dreaming about Olive and fighting Bluto. I found this episode to be incredibly inventive in its storytelling. Whenever Popeye fought in the dream, that was reflected in the reality where he fought the bed. The highlights were all of those moments in reality as it was so amusing watching him recreate those scenes. And of course the ending where he wakes up and goes and fights Bluto who remains puzzled at all of that is so hilarious and such a strong conclusion.

It was a shame then that the dream sequences never caught up with the reality ones. They are exquisitely animated, that’s for sure. But Olive is forgettable here and the dream action is never as inventive as the reality action is and that was odd. But at least we got those great moments in the bed and this truly is one of the most innovative Popeye shorts out there.

Wotta Nitemare is so innovative in its storytelling, but also frequently amusing and ending on such a great, funny note.

My Rating – 4.2