Tag Archives: Popeye The Sailor

Everything’s Ducky

May 15, 2021Saturday MatineesAllan Melvin, Beetle Bailey, Camp Swampy, King Features Syndicate, Popeye The Sailor, Thimble TheatreCall Me Stormy

Hey kids (of all ages), it’s Saturday Morning Cartoon time again!

Our last Saturday Morning entry featured the work of Howard Morris. Most recognizable as Ernest T. Bass from the live-action ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW (previously seen on this channel), but also the voice of many cartoon characters including Jughead from the ARCHIES (also on this channel) and ATOM ANT.

Another recurring troublemaker for Andy and Barney was Allan Melvin, best known as Sam the Butcher from the live-action BRADY BUNCH (animated spin-off previously featured on this channel). He was also seen on damned-near every TV show from the ’50s through the ’80s, as well as doing a boat-load of cartoon character voices.

These two Mayberry misfits were bound to cross paths in the world of animation voice-overs. They did so most famously on MAGILLA GORILLA for Hanna-Barbera. But first they did our entry for today!

As covered here previously, POPEYE THE SAILOR was a long-running, highly popular series of theatrical shorts for Paramount Studios in the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s. But they didn’t own the character. King Features Syndicate, who published the THIMBLE THEATRE newspaper comic strip where he first appeared, did. When his pictures were syndicated to television and became a hit all over again, King Features wanted a piece of that action. Paramount had relinquished its license, so KFS was able to produce (through an assortment of sub-contractors) a couple hundred shorts specifically for TV between 1960 and ’63. While inferior to the theatricals, these went over well-enough for KFS to try making more ‘toons based on their comic strip properties.

BEETLE BAILEY’s newspaper comic started out with him as a college kid in 1950, but he got the bright idea to drop-out and join the Army in 1951, where he’s been a perpetually loafing, humorously incompetent Private ever since. Somehow he never got sent to Korea or Vietnam, but Camp Swampy was dangerous enough, between his own ineptitude and the savage beatings inflicted upon him by Sgt Snorkel.

Beetle was one of three print properties developed for the animated KING FEATURES TRILOGY for TV distribution starting in 1963. More from the OldHorseman.

Aladdin & His Wonderful Lamp

April 11, 2021Moving PicturesAladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, Cartoon Renewal Studios, Dave Fleischer, Olive Oyl, Popeye The SailorCall Me Stormy

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!

Popeye The Sailor Revived

March 17, 2021Humor MeCartoon Renewal Studios, cartoons, Fleischer Studios, Jack Mercer, Mae Questal, Olive Oyl, Paramount Pictures, Popeye The Sailor, WimpyCall Me Stormy

The Cartoon Renewal Studios has restored, remastered and colorized the 1937 two-reel cartoon Popeye The Sailor Meets Ali Baba’s Forty Thieves. Watch as Popeye, accompanied by Olive Oyl and Wimpy, challenge the dreaded Abu Hassan and his force of forty thieves.

Some will complain and rage over the colorized processing, but the sad fact is: Most kids nowadays will never watch black and white cartoons. So if you want younger viewers to see these classic works, they’ve got to not only be restored to improve their quality but also colorized.

The work here is pretty dang sweet! This vintage Fleischer Studios cartoon, originally distributed by Paramount Pictures, springs back to life! Direction is by Dave Fleischer, with Jack Mercer supplying vocals for Popeye and Mae Questal for Olive Oyl.