"The Jeep" with Popeye and Olive Oyl (1938)

Here's one of the old Popeye cartoons from the Max and Dave Fleischer Days. The animation is always fluid; or "trippy" as we used to say; in these cartoons. The story lines are kind of entertaining as well; especially if you listen to Popeye's muttering closely. He says some strange things at times.

This one is the usual fare; Olive and Popeye struggling against Brutus as they also struggle with the idiosyncrasies of a new car.

"I Yam What I Yam" - Popeye the Sailor (1933)

This cartoon is in very good shape! If Seymour Kneitel and William Henning were still with us today they would be amazed. They worked under the direction of Dave Fleischer on this one for Paramount. It’s filled with all of the stuff you’d expect in a Popeye cartoon; sight gags abound; and Olive gets to cry for help as she beats the crap out of some Indians.

Wimpy is on board for this adventure, looking for a hamburger, and as usual, causing some problems for Popeye, who always seems to be looking out for him. There is no real plot to this cartoon other than Popeye and Olive Oyl, along with Wimpy, are both in a lifeboat rowing; that is Olive and Wimpy are rowing; Popeye is busy singing about himself.

If you are a fan of the theme song; which was composed by composed by Sammy Lerner in 1933; then the opening lyrics will be of interest to you. It is slightly different than the usual version. And when the credits stop rolling it’s Popeye who does some of the singing. I still haven’t figured out why they used Bluto’s voice for the opening; he’s not even in this cartoon! One of the best versions of the song was recorded by Hoagy Carmichael. For years I thought he wrote it. As a matter of fact I think I even credited him with writing it incorrectly in a post a couple of years ago! Sorry, Sammy!

Politically correct types are herewith forewarned. This cartoon may be offensive to you, as it invokes the stereotypical American Indian of the 1930’s. But then again, everybody in this cartoon is a caricature of something. For instance, Olive Oyl is the man hungry woman representative of the “weaker sex.” Keep that in mind when you watch her beat the carp out of those Indians while calling for help.

For one of the best histories on the Popeye cartoons; and the original comic strip from which they derived; go to Wikipedia at the following link;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popeye

"Cartoons Ain't Human" with Popeye (1943)

In this 1943 release Popeye tries his hand at drawing a cartoon for his nephews. But, first he needs an idea. Quickly looking about him he comes up with a few, only to have one of his better ideas “censored” by a human hand. This cartoon was made during the war, and there are a few references in it that may puzzle the viewer who is not acquainted with the history of World War Two on the home front here in the United States.

All in all, we had it pretty good; at least that’s what I have been told. I was born in 1954, when the war had been over for several years. Aside from the “censored” part in this cartoon, there are references to “rationing”, such as when Popeye pulls out his trusty can of spinach; the label on it reads “Spinach – 17 points”.

Another unusual approach to this cartoon; which was not produced or directed by Max or Dave Fleischer; is that Popeye draws himself, and the other cast members of his cartoon, as stick figures. Not much imagination required for that when looking at Olive Oyl. .

While showing the cartoon to his nephews, Popeye acts as a one man band, playing everything imaginable, creating a soundtrack as wild as the cartoon he has drawn. In it, he plays himself, working for Newt’s Zoot Suits, carrying a sandwich board style sign to advertise Newt’s Suits.  Meantime, back at home, Olive is being accosted by the evil landlord, complete with mustache, who wants the rent, or Olive. When Olive literally calls Popeye for help, the usual high jinx occurs.

The only difference is that this time it’s just a cartoon inside a cartoon; so you don’t have to worry about how it all works out. Directed by Seymour Kneitel, and animated by Orestes Calpini and Otto Feuer, this may be one of the most unusual Popeye cartoons ever.

"Popeye Meets Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" - (1937)

In this 1937 release Popeye continues fighting the good fight against classical villains such as Sinbad in 1936. This story has him in the Middle East where he meets up with Ali Baba and his Forty Thieves. The battle is on for our intrepid hero, as he seemingly waltzes his way through the swords and knives, armed with only his can of spinach and a wry sense of humor. They always seem to save the day for him, so he must have known something we don’t. Or maybe it wasn’t really spinach? Just athought…

So many of the early cartoons, as well as films, were based upon classical literature, which is not as common these days. The box office demands something new each week, devouring millions, but imparting very little of really classical variety; the occasional “Merchant of Venice” with Al Pacino excepted. But, those films are rare these days.

Even the earliest of the silent cartoons were set to classical music when we were kids. TV had to have soundtracks, so they largely used classical recordings without copyrights. No matter, they gave so many of us kids in the 1950’s an ear for music. No point to this post, just more ramblings from the past for consumption by others in the future. Enjoy the cartoon, and listen to Popeye closely. He says some funny stuff.

"Blow me Down" with Popeye the Sailor (1933)

This old Popeye cartoon was released 79 years ago today in 1933. It is one of the earlier Popeye cartoons, in black and white, with the animation done by Max and Dave Fleischer associates Willard Bowsky and William Sturm.

The plot is fairly simple. When Popeye arrives at a town on the coast of Mexico he wants nothing more than to see his beloved Olive Oyl, who is working at a bar. When Popeye arrives, with a flower for Olive, he is quickly drawn into a game of one-upmanship with local bandit Bluto. Things escalate to the point where Bluto calls in all of the towns’ thieves and roughnecks to finish Popeye off while he goes upstairs to “visit” with Olive.

But Popeye, after finishing off a can of spinach and soundly trouncing his foes, is quick to come to her rescue; just as he would continue to do for so many years after. True love never dies.

"Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp" with Popeye (1939)

Some of the best cartoons to come out of the 1930’s were done by 2 of my favorite animators, Max and Dave Fleischer. Their cartoons have fluency to them; the images seem to roll by like waves. They are really a joy to watch. And, of course, the best ones were always the feature length cartoons mimicking some literary character or story. Some of those cartoons are satire, art and just plain old cartoons rolled into one. “Sinbad the Sailor” with Popeye is one which immediately springs to mind in this regard. And so does this one, “Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp”, which is based upon the tale in “The Book of One Thousand and One Arabian Nights”

Popeye, playing Aladdin, is in a struggle to obtain the hand of a beautiful Princess, played by Olive Oyl; this is the basic plot of almost every Popeye cartoon; and involves an evil sorcerer who lures our hero to a cave in order to obtain a magic lamp. Popeye gets the lamp, but just as the evil sorcerer is about to steal the lamp from him, trapping Popeye in the cave, he drops the lamp.

Popeye rubs the lamp and the genie appears, granting him a wish. Popeye wishes to get out of the cave and claim Olive Oyl as his true love. But the sorcerer has other plans and kidnaps her, leaving Popeye in a tight bind. When the sorcerer sends monsters to thwart the true love Popeye feels for Olive Oyl, the game is on. And with a little luck, a genie, and a can of Spinach to help him, the outcome is almost certain from the start.