Favorite Popeye part 7---Gavin Freitas

Gavin Freitas, director of The One and Only June Foray and today staff member on The Simpsons told me his favorite Popeye cartoon. This cartoon is available on the new Popeye set so I won't show the whole cartoon.


My favorite Popeye cartoon is, "The Marry Go Round" by Paramount Famous Studios. This cartoon cracked me up as a kid. Popeye is very hesitate and shy to purpose to Olive, so Shorty gives him advice along the way, but his advice backfires. Shorty himself purposes to Olive (on behalf of Popeye) and does a Charles Boyer, "Come with me to the Casbah". "Your eyes are like liquid pools". etc lol. Olive then starts chasing Shorty around the house like a love struck school girl. Loved the design of these cartoons and what fun writing. There's a great iris transition when Shorty and Popeye go from the ship to Olives place. I've never seen a studio do that to my knowledge.

Favorite Popeye Part 6---Tim Hollis

Collector Tim Hollis said his favorite Popeye cartoon via messanger.


I think my favorite was the Fleischer one called "Adventures of Popeye," with its live-action scenes and Popeye coming to life out of a picture book. It was just such an innovative concept for 1935! It had an influence on many of the stories I wrote with my own characters when I was in elementary school.

Favorite Popeye part 5--Mark Arnold

When I asked Mark Arnold what his favorite Popeye Cartoon was, he provided me with a formal essay! This is an incredible answer!

Popeye always seemed to be around in my home since birth. I loved the character and had many toys featuring the character including a plastic marionette, a bendy, a soft toy that made a jigging sound when shaken, plastic figures with a spinach car, puzzles, comic books, coloring books, etc. I still have these toys today.

Unlike now, Popeye seemed to be on TV all the time, at least once or twice a day. There were the black and white Fleischers, the color Famous Studios and the color King Features cartoons. Many poo-poo the 1960s King Features efforts, but my favorite Popeye cartoon of all time happens to be one of them. It is a short entitled “It Only Hurts When They Laughs”. For years, I lost track of this particular cartoon and mistakenly assumed it was one of the 1950s Famous Studios shorts. 

When Popeye collections came out on video and DVD, this particular cartoon was always missing. At the time, I didn’t know it by title, but I knew it because of the storyline and that it made me laugh. The cartoon starts off with Popeye doing his scat-singing (always a good thing), sand flawlessly by longtime Popeye voice artist, Jack Mercer. Brutus (voiced by Jackson Beck), and Popeye, are both on their way to see Olive Oyl (voiced by Mae Questel). This is a typical story, and the boys get into a fistfight at Olive’s house. This time Olive says, “Boys, boys, you must stop this fighting! Now I’ve got to finish the dishes, and to be sure that you’re not fighting, I want to hear you both laughing while I’m in the kitchen,” and she makes them laugh. They do laugh, kind of hesitantly at first, but then they really let the belly laughs fly. Olive leaves the room, and the twist is Popeye and Brutus keep laughing as they sadistically beat each other up! At one point, Brutus comes after Popeye with an ax! We never see the results. The boys keep laughing. OIive finishes the dishes and comes in to check up on them, discovering that her house has been destroyed and the boys covered in multiple bruises and torn clothes.

Though still not officially on home video, the short is available streaming on Amazon Prime and Dailymotion.

I know people tend to hate these 1960 Popeye TV cartoons, but for some strange reason I have had a soft spot for this particular one, which really stayed in my memory. Like I said, I mistakenly thought it was one of the Famous Studios ones for years and then, since it hadn't been released to home video, I thought I had imagined it. My childhood memory is strong of Popeye and Brutus bashing each other over the head with chairs while laughing!

Happy 90th Birthday, Popeye!

Note: Mark Arnold is a pop culture historian with over 10 books to his credit including books on Harvey Comics, The Beatles, Underdog, The Pink Panther, Dennis the Menace, Disney, The Monkees and more!  

 It Only Hurts When They Laughs

Favorite Popeye Part 4--Dave Nimitz

Collector and animator David Nimitz is our next subject. He also provided photos of his collection shown below the cartoon.

He says:

Abusment park 1947 the best fight sequence after he eats his spinach

Favorite Popeye Cartoon Part 3--Greg Ehrbar

Here is Greg Ehrbar's favorite
"My favorite is a personal one, not necessarily a classic, and it's on the new DVD - "We're on Our Way to Rio" I have happy childhood memories seeing it on local TV on the Popeye Playhouse show and thanks to Jerry, I even found the album with the song, "Samba Lele"
But I also really like one believe it or not from the King Features series where Olive keeps shopping and making Popeye return things. "Popeye Goes Sale-ing"

Popeye Goes Sale-ing (Not the video any of you expected huh?)




I'm only posting a clip of We're on our Way to Rio because you hopefully just watched the Popeye Blu Ray

Favorite Popeye Cartoons part 2---Kamden Spies

Yes I'm writing my favorite too. If you actually care, good for you but tomorrow I'll post Greg Ehrbar's favorite. My Favorite is Cartoons Ain't Human. I love it that Popeye knows he's a cartoon and creates his own film.

Favorite Popeye Cartoons

For the rest of the month, I'll be sharing several figures in animation's favorite Popeye Cartoons. The first is animation historian Keith Scott. If you ever go to Universal Studios Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges, Keith is the voice of Popeye and Bluto.Keith Scott writes via messanger:
My favorite Popeye is A CLEAN SHAVEN MAN. I enjoy the battle between Popeye and Bluto, the title song they sing, the great fight scene in the barbershop and Olive's gag at the end. Mid-1930s Fleischer cartoons were very unique and in a world of their own.


A Clean Shaven Man



Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges