Aladdin & His Wonderful Lamp
A few weeks back, we brought you the Cartoon Renewal Studios’ crisp new remastering of the classic Dave Fleischer cartoon Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba’s 40 Thieves. Today, we have the 1939 followup Aladdin And His Wonderful Lamp.
At 22 minutes, this is the longest of the original Popeye cartoons. And, in our opinion, it’s also the best of the three pictures spun around tales from the Arabian Nights, the other being Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor.
It’s hard to beat the Technicolor of the 1930s and 1940s, and Cartoon Renewal Studios has done a superb job restoring the richly textured and colored saturation.
Here, Popeye transforms into a sultan romancing Queen Olive Oyl, while battling an evil genie. It’s a retelling of the Aladdin story, setting the stage in a way that foretold Disney’s later version.
In this instance, Olive Oyl is the imagined screenwriter, concocting the adventure for Surprise Pictures. Wimpy is missing in action as is Bluto, but there’s plenty going on, as well as some memorable lines of dialogue. As Popeye woos Olive, he exclaims, “I’ve never made love in Technicolor before!”
Hope you enjoy this classic brought back to life!
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