From the title one can pretty much ascertain the basic plot of this Popeye short. Olive wins first prize in a sweepstakes. She searches the house furiously for the ticket and can't find it. When Popeye and her finally locate the missing ticket, it heads out the window on the wind, sending Popeye into a string of near disasters.
Out of all the Popeye shorts from 1941, this one retains the puns and asides that so wonderfully defined the earlier shorts. In the tail part of the depression era America, or even today, a lost lottery ticket gives a great rooting point for the audience. A great hook for stringing together what turns out to be simply a list of gags. But the film works not just because the gags are good, but because they are woven into a plot that means something and supplemented with funny dialogue and character moments. A great piece of writing comes when Popeye tries to grab the ticket of the backside of a young lady without being slapped. Popeye reads a paper and mutters, "Man bites dog outside frankfurter stand." Classic Popeye humor. There's also some solid animation. The timing is great in how the scenes flow seamlessly from one gag to the next. Though the closing line is dated, there is a funny charm in the dated joke all the same.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
