Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s – Volume 3 has been watched five times in the AV Theater. You never would have thought that a series of 70 year old cartoons would still get so much play. But, then I caught the Pharcyde connection in Olive Oyl for President.
Back to the Cartoons
The Fleischer Studios went into a weird period during the 1940s. The brothers weren’t speaking to each other, as the studio moved to Florida. It was a union busting tactic, but the Fleischer Bros still fell victim to Paramount’s wants. By the end of the decade, the Fleischer Studios would become Famous Studios. Famous would start mass producing the Popeye shorts to satisfy audiences that wanted hot animated sailor action.
Now, we get all 17 uncut animated shorts from 1948 through 1949. While most of it is fairly tame, there is enough to get the uppity members of your viewing party into a tizzy. If they can’t accept that ignoring pop culture history does no one any favors, then let them hop on their phones and bounce. No one needs that junk, we’ve got Post War cartoons to watch.
What’s odd about these later shorts is how many were remakes or repurposed footage from other Fleischer/Famous cartoons. I get that money was tight at the time, but things didn’t have to look so damn cheap. That’s why I chose to pull screen shots from the better looking shorts on the set. Let’s remember Popeye in his best form. Although, I’ll still remember him as coked-out Robin Williams hanging out with Bob Altman in the Mediterranean.
Warner Archive does Classic Animation right. While I haven’t got the chance to check out their Jetsons set, this third volume of Popeye the Sailor does the sailor proud. Comparable to the older DVD releases, they sacrifice fluff to present the classic shorts in the best A/V Quality possible. Nobody has made Popeye shine like Warner Archive.
Popeye The Sailor: 1940s – Volume 3 is now available!
Fans can purchase at www.wbshop.com/warnerarchive or online retailers where DVDs and Blu-rays® are sold
DID SOMEBODY SAY MORE POPEYE SCREENSHOTS?
