''Popeye the Sailor'' (originally titled as ''Popeye the Sailor with Betty Boop'') is a 1933

animated short Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...

produced by

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () is an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of i ...

and distributed by

Paramount Publix Corporation Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. While billed as a ''

Betty Boop Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick.Pointer (2017) She originally appeared in the ''Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer ...

'' cartoon, it was produced as a vehicle for

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.movie star A movie star (also known as a film star or cinema star) is an actor or actress who is famous for their starring, or leading, roles in movies. The term is used for performers who are marketable stars as they become popular household names and w ...

. The camera zooms in on the illustration of Popeye, which then comes to life, as Popeye (voiced by Billy Costello) sings about his amazing prowess in his signature song "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man". On land with his nemesis

Bluto Bluto, at times known as Brutus, is a cartoon and comics character created in 1932 by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar as a one-time character, named "Bluto the Terrible", in his ''Thimble Theatre'' comic strip (later renamed ''Popeye''). Blut ...

(voiced by

William Pennell William Pennell (March 3, 1889 – September 5, 1956) was an American voice actor and baritone singer, who was the original voice of the character Bluto on the animated ''Popeye'' shorts produced by Fleischer Studios. At the time, Pennell sang ...

), the two sailors vie for the affections of

Olive Oyl Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by E. C. Segar in 1919 for his comic strip ''Thimble Theatre''. The strip was later renamed ''Popeye'' after the sailor character that became the most popular member of the cast; however, Olive Oyl was a ...

(voiced by

Bonnie Poe Bonnie Poe (October 15, 1912 – October 16, 1993) was an American actress and voice artist, best known for providing the voice for the Fleischer Studios animated character Betty Boop beginning in 1933, starting with the Popeye the Sailor seri ...

). Popeye takes Olive Oyl to a carnival and pays the peacock 10¢ and Bluto blows off all of the peacock's feathers. They play two games, the

high striker A high striker, also known as a strength tester, or strongman game, is an attraction used in funfairs, amusement parks, fundraisers, and carnivals. It operates by utilizing the lever where one end holds a puck attached to the tower and the othe ...

and

African dodger African dodger, also known as Hit the Coon or Hit the Nigger Baby, was a carnival game played in the United States. In the game, an African Americans, African-American child would stick his head through a curtain, and attempt to dodge objects, suc ...

, with Popeye "winning" both times and then they watch

doing the

hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song (Mele (Hawaiian language), mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of t ...

. Popeye jumps up on stage, wraps the bearded lady's beard around his waist for a

grass skirt A grass skirt is a costume and garment made with layers of plant fibres such as grasses and leaves that is fastened at the waistline. Pacific Grass skirts were introduced to Hawaii by immigrants from the Gilbert Islands around the 1870s to 1880s a ...

, and dances with Betty, mimicking her movements. He is then bit by a snake, but then tranquilizes it with his pipe. Bluto then abducts Olive Oyl and ties her to a railroad track, using the track itself as "ropes", in order to cause a

train wreck A train wreck, train collision, train accident or train crash is a type of disaster involving one or more trains. Train wrecks often occur as a result of miscommunication, as when a moving train meets another train on the same track; or an acci ...

to kill Olive, where a train is approaching. Popeye fights Bluto, but initially loses, but then eats

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...

and then punches Bluto, causing him to get trapped in a nailed coffin. He then punches the approaching engine and its baggage car and coaches in the "face", and wrecks the whole train in a crushing halt and sparing Olive's life, because of the can of spinach he ate.

Production notes

* This short also introduces the song "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man", written by

Sammy Lerner Samuel Lerner (January 28, 1903 – December 13, 1989) was a Romanian-born songwriter for American and British musical theatre and film. Career Lerner emigrated with his parents into the United States at age seven, and the family settled in Detro ...

, loosely based on the first two lines of the "Pirate King" song in

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

's operetta, ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 ...

''. It would eventually become Popeye's theme song, with a portion of its instrumental appearing over the opening credits. For this cartoon, and at least one following it, the opening credits theme was an extended instrumental of "

The Sailor's Hornpipe The Sailor's Hornpipe (also known as The College Hornpipe and Jack's the Lad) is a traditional hornpipe melody and linked dance with origins in the Royal Navy. History The tune was first printed as the "College Hornpipe" in 1797 or 1798 by J. Dale ...

" (of which only the first bar was used in the later cartoons) followed by a vocal variation on "Strike Up the Band (Here Comes a Sailor)" substituting the words "for Popeye the Sailor" in the latter phrase. The song was sung twice in the opening credits of this cartoon, first by a deep-voiced singer who sounds like Bluto voice, and then by

Mae Questel Mae Questel (born Mae Kwestel, September 13, 1908 – January 4, 1998) was an American actress. She was best known for providing the voices for the animated characters Betty Boop (from 1931) and Olive Oyl (from 1933). She began in vaudeville, ...

(as the voice of Betty Boop). It was also heard in the science-fiction film ''

Alien Resurrection ''Alien Resurrection'' is a 1997 American science fiction horror film, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, written by Joss Whedon, and starring Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder. It is the fourth installment of the ''Alien'' franchise, and was f ...

'' (1997) when it is whistled by Dom Vriess. " Barnacle Bill" is used as the recurring theme for Bluto. * The animation sequence with Popeye singing was reused in the

Screen Songs ''Screen Songs'', formerly known as KoKo Song Car-Tunes, are a series of animated cartoons produced at the Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1938. Paramount brought back the sing-along cartoons in 1945, n ...

cartoon '' Let's Sing with Popeye''. * The locomotive featured is a

2-4-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The type is somet ...

(American type steam locomotive). These types of steam trains with their wheel arrangement were used most common on U.S. railroads from the 1830s through 1928. * It is the only ''Popeye the Sailor with Betty Boop'' short in a Betty Boop cartoon in the

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

series, and the only Betty Boop cartoon not currently owned by Melange Pictures/

Paramount Global Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. I ...

as it is part of the Popeye animated catalog owned by

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with D ...

. * Popeye was one of several newspaper cartoons that the Fleischers animated (the others included

Otto Soglow Otto Soglow (December 23, 1900 – April 3, 1975) was an American cartoonist best known for his comic strip ''The Little King''. Born in Yorkville, Manhattan, Soglow grew up in New York City, where he held various jobs as a teenager and made an ...

's ''

The Little King ''The Little King'' is a 1930-1975 American gag-a-day comic strip created by Otto Soglow, telling its stories in a style using images and very few words, as in pantomime. Publication history Soglow's character first appeared on June 7, 1930, in ...

'' and

Carl Thomas Anderson Carl Thomas Anderson (February 14, 1865 – November 4, 1948) was an American cartoonist best remembered for his comic strip ''Henry''. Readers followed the pantomime adventures of the mute, bald-headed Henry in strips which he signed with his ...

's ''

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

''). In order to increase the chance of Popeye's success, the short was billed as a ''Betty Boop'' cartoon, though she is only featured briefly. The short has also been released as ''Betty Boop Meets Popeye the Sailor''.

Edits

* When shown on

MeTV MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...

in 2021, the African dodger scene was cut.

References

External links

* * {{Betty Boop films Popeye the Sailor theatrical cartoons Betty Boop cartoons 1930s American animated films 1933 animated films 1933 short films American black-and-white films American comedy short films Animated crossover films Fleischer Studios short films Paramount Pictures short films Short films directed by Dave Fleischer 1930s English-language films American animated short films American crossover films