Swee'Pea (alternatively spelled Swee'pea and Sweapea on some titles and once called Sweep Pea) is a character in
E. C. Segar
Elzie Crisler Segar (; December 8, 1894 – October 13, 1938), known by the pen name E. C. Segar, was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of Popeye, a pop culture character who first appeared in 1929 in Segar's comic strip ''Thimble ...
's
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
''Thimble Theatre''/''
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
series derived from it. His name refers to the flower known as the
sweet pea
The sweet pea, ''Lathyrus odoratus'', is a flowering plant in the genus ''Lathyrus'' in the family Fabaceae ( legumes), native to Sicily, southern Italy and the Aegean Islands.
It is an annual climbing plant, growing to a height of , where sui ...
. Before his addition to the animated shorts, the name "Sweet Pea" was a term of affection used by main character Popeye. In the cartoon ''We Aim to Please'', he addressed girlfriend
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 ...
that way.
As the years went on, Swee'Pea apparently aged enough to speak normally, and could throw punches if necessary; however, his appearance remained that of a crawling baby. In the strip for August 17, 1933, Popeye christens Swee'Pea as "Scooner Seawell Georgia WashentingChristiffer ColumbiaDaniel Boom". Although Swee'Pea remains his most common
sobriquet
A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...
, he is occasionally referred to as Scooner by Popeye and others in later strips. In the Sunday strips, which did not coordinate with the dailies, Swee'Pea is not introduced until 1934.
Film
In the animated ''Popeye'' cartoons produced by
Max Fleischer
Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became ...
and later by
Famous Studios
Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contro ...
, Swee'Pea was portrayed as being in the care of Olive Oyl, although it was unclear whether he was her own child (in the
King Features
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial c ...
cartoons of the early 1960s, it is implied that Swee'Pea is Popeye's nephew). From 1936–1938
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, ...
provided the voice for Swee'Pea which was then taken over by voice actress
Margie Hines
Margaret Louise Hines (October 15, 1909 – December 23, 1985), also known as Marjorie Hines or Margie Hines, was an American voice actress. She was known for her work as a voice artist at Fleischer Studios, where she was the original voice of ...
from 1938 to 1943. Mae Questel was recast as Swee'Pea in the (1960s) Popeye shorts.
Marilyn Schreffler
Marilyn Sue Schreffler (June 14, 1945 – January 7, 1988) was an American voice actress who provided voice-overs for several animated television series, mostly for Hanna-Barbera Productions.
Biography
Marilyn Schreffler was born in Wichita, Ka ...
replaced Mae Questel as the voice of Swee'Pea in the 1970s and 80s,
Corinne Orr
Corinne Orr (born January 6, 1936) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her work on the English version of the anime series ''Speed Racer''.
Biography
Orr became involved in children's theatre beginning at the age of 10 (with her first r ...
also did the role as Swee'Pea in ''Popeye Meets The Man Who Hated Laughter'' (1972). Swee'Pea was also voiced by Tabitha St. Germain in ''Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy'' (2004).
In the feature film ''
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Baby Oyl?" In the film, Swee'Pea can also foretell the future; answering questions in the affirmative by a quick rising whistle. In the film he was played by Wesley Ivan Hurt.
In other accounts, Swee'Pea is depicted as
royalty
Royalty may refer to:
* Any individual monarch, such as a king, queen, emperor, empress, etc.
* Royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen regnant, and sometimes his or her extended family
* Royalty payment for use of such things as int ...
. After Swee'Pea's birth father is killed, Swee'Pea is made the
Crown Prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
of Demonia. As Swee'Pea is of royal birth, he needed protection from an evil uncle who wanted to eliminate him and take control of the kingdom. Swee'Pea's mother left him on the doorstep of the Oyl home, knowing Popeye the trustworthy sailor would protect him.
Alice the Goon
Alice the Goon is a fictional character in E. C. Segar's comic strip ''Thimble Theatre'' and in the ''Popeye'' animated cartoon, cartoon series derived from it.
History
Alice made her debut in the Sunday, December 10, 1933, ''Thimble Theatre'' ...
(originally depicted as a slave of the
Sea Hag
The Sea Hag is a fictional character owned by King Features Syndicate. She is a tall, masculine-looking witch featured in comics/cartoons as a nemesis to the character Popeye. The Sea Hag was created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1929 as part of t ...
) reappeared in a flower dress and hat and officially became Swee'Pea's
babysitter
Babysitting is temporarily caring for a child. Babysitting can be a paid job for all ages; however, it is best known as a temporary activity for early teenagers who are not yet eligible for employment in the general economy. It provides auton ...
after protests by parents who said the hairy monster frightened children.
Appearances
* ''Popeye the Sailor with Little Swee'Pea'' (1936)
* ''Lost and Foundry'' (1937)
* ''I Likes Babies and Infinks'' (1937)
* ''The Football Toucher Downer'' (1937)
* ''Popeye the Sailor with the Jeep'' (1938)
* ''Wotta Nitemare!'' (1939)
* ''Never Sock a Baby'' (1939)
* ''Nurse Mates'' (1940)
* ''Doing Imposskible Stunts'' (1940)
* ''Puttin' on the Act'' (1940)
* ''Child Psykolojiky'' (1941)
* ''Baby Wants a Bottleship'' (1942)
* ''Baby Wants Spinach'' (1950)
* ''Thrill of Fair'' (1951)
* ''Child Sockology'' (1953)
* ''Nurse to Meet Ya'' (1955)
* ''
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy'' (2004)
Parodies
In
MAD Magazine
Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to:
Geography
* Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia
* Mád, a village in Hungary
* Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code
* Mad River (disambiguation), several r ...
#21 (1951), a parody of Swee' Pea named "Swee' Back" appeared in ''Poopeye''. Unlike Swee' Pea', this version could speak in an adult and coherent way and perpetually lured Poopeye into fights with other comic strip characters (claiming that each one had struck him), including "Mammy Jokeum" (a parody of "Mammy Yokum" from ''
Li'l Abner
''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written and drawn ...
''), "Melvin of the Apes" (a parody of
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
) and "Superduperman" (a parody of
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
). After Poopeye had defeated all of them thanks to spinach-containing foods provided by "Mazola Oil" (a parody 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 ...
), Swee' Back revealed his true identity as an adult midget named Mister Swee' Back (also "Mad Man" Swee' Back) who was the Broccoli King and that he had set Poopeye up to be defeated because of Poopeye's spinach use causing broccoli to be outsold. Although punched out by Swee' Back, Poopeye found some spinach and obliterated the evil Swee' Back. The story was reprinted in the paperback ''MAD Strikes Back'' (1962), which was later reprinted in a 50th Anniversary Edition (iBooks, Inc., New York, ).