Cartoon Craze: POPEYE: Little Swee'Pea

great cartoons

Unlike many cartoon collections that only have a handful of episodes by the title character, this one is 100% Popeye. Popeye was produced by the Fleischer Studios from 1933 to 1942, and there are 2 examples from this era, and by the Famous Studios from 1942 through 1957, and this collection has the last one, "Spooky Swabs." Jack Mercer did the voice of Popeye, and Mae Questel (who also did Betty Boop, Little Audrey, and Little Lulu), did Olive Oyl on all the episodes shown on this DVD. The collection has some treasures, and others that though they may not be top-notch, are interesting because they are not widely seen, and all have been well restored. Total running time is 65 minutes. Episode list::1: "Greek Mirthology" (1954), directed by Seymour Kneitel, animated by Tom Golden and George Germanetti, music by Winston Sharples. Popeye's nephews, Poopeye, Pupeye, Pipeye, and Peepeye, would rather eat ice cream, so Popeye tells them about their ancestor Hercules, and how he was saved by eating spinach. 4*2: "A Date to Skate" (1938), directed by Dave Fleischer, animated by Willard Bowsky and Orestes Calpini. This one is the gem of the collection, and is shown in the original b&w (it was later colorized). It is also the final Fleischer Studios episode to feature Mae Questel (she would resume her Olive Oyl role with the Famous Studios). Popeye tries to teach Olive Oyl to skate, in one of the cleverest and funniest cartoons ever. 5 sparkling *!3: "Bride and Gloom" (1954), directed by Isadore Sparber, animated by Tom Johnson and John Gentilella, music by Winston Sharples. It's the eve of Olive Oyl and Popeye's wedding, and Olive Oyl has such a dreadful nightmare about their offspring she cancels the wedding. 4*4: "Floor Flusher" (1954), directed by Isadore Sparber, animated by Tom Golden and Bill Hudson, music by Sharples. Bluto sabotages Popeye and Olive Oyl's cozy evening with some massive plumbing problems. "I gave Bluto a whippin' and stopped all the drippin', I'm Popeye the Plumber Man." 4*5: "Fright to the Finish" (1954), directed by Seymour Kneitel, animated by Al Eugster and William Pattengill, music by Sharples. Bluto scares Olive Oyl and makes her think Popeye is doing the Halloween mischief. 4*6: "Little Swee' Pea" (1936), directed by Dave Fleischer, animated by Seymour Kneitel and William Henning. Olive Oyl is busy, so Popeye takes Swee' Pea to the zoo, and saves her from numerous dangerous animals. This was Swee' Pea's first appearance. Popeye says, "There's no ifs or maybes, I'll never have babies." 5*7: "Ancient Fistory" (1953), directed by Seymour Kneitel, animated by Al Eugster and William Pattengill, music by Sharples. A gender twist on the "Cinderella" story, with Poopdeck Pappy as the godfather that transforms Popeye's can of spinach into a luxury car, and gives him some fancy duds to attend the ball of Princess Olive. 5*8: "Out to Punch" (1956), directed by Seymour Kneitel, animated by Tom Johnson and John Gentilella, music by Sharples. When Bluto finds out Olive Oyl is training Popeye for their boxing match, he does everything he can to exhaust him. 4*9: "Spooky Swabs" (1957), directed by Isadore Sparber, animated by Tom Johnson and Frank Endres, music by Sharples. Stranded at sea on a raft, Popeye and Olive Oyl come across a haunted ship, full of ghosts that want them overboard. After 24 years and 231 episodes, this was the last one produced. 5*10: "Assault and Flattery" (1956), directed by Isadore Sparber, animated by William Pattengill and Al Eugster, music by Sharples. J. Wellington Wimpy plays the judge, trying to decide whether Bluto or Popeye are telling the truth, while gobbling down hamburgers. Bluto and Popeye use excerpts from "The Balmy Swami" and "The Farmer and the Bell" to try to convince him. Includes the "donkey" joke that is edited from some prints. 5*

Warner Brothers is in the process of restoring the classic B&W and Color Popeye Cartoons for a 2007 release. Original Paramount main & end titles will be a part of the restoration.