Today's cartoon features that one-eyed runt, that spinach-slurpin' sailor, Popeye. Popeye originally appeared in in a comic strip called "Thimble Theater" on January 17, 1929. He was originally just an incidental character, but his popularity rose and rose until he became the star of the strip. In 1933, the Max Fleischer studios began producing Popeye animated cartoons. They were highly successful, and for a time Popeye was the #1 cartoon star in the US, passing over Mickey Mouse for the title. The Fleischers lost their studio to Paramount in 1942, and the Popeye cartoons began a gradual decline in quality at that time. However, in their heyday they were inventive and fun, and rarely the same Popeye / Olive / Bluto rivalry thing over and over. Here's a great one from 1938: "Goonland," which chronicles Popeye's quest to find his long-lost father.
For those of you who prefer the Popeye / Olive / Bluto rivalry, here's another great one, "The Paneless Window Washer" from 1937.
No comments:
Post a Comment