History Of Popeye

“I’ m Popeye The Sailor Man….. Pom Pom”

 

Are your kids running around the house, singing and dancing to the tune of Popeye? If yes, then do not get furious or shout at them. Switching on the television and putting the Cartoon Network to watch The Popeye Show like a true disciple is something which every child loves to indulge in. Your kids are not to be blamed here - this short, balding, ornery character called Popeye is exceptionally addictive and has a countless number of fan-following (your kids also being a part of it), ever since its creation in 1929. The cartoon series is a combination of comedy and heroism. All the plots of the series feature around the one-eyed, toothless, pipe-smoking action man Popeye, his girlfriend Olive Oyl and his enemy Bluto. The ‘Thimble Theatre’ comic strips gave the world a true entertainment in form of ‘Popeye’, which gained popularity from the day of its inception.

 

Popeye is a fictional hero that has appeared in comic strips, animated movies as well as numerous television shows. This fictional hero was created by Elzie Crisler Segar and was first seen in the daily ‘King Features’ comic strip ‘Thimble Theatre’ on January 17, 1929. Though ‘Thimble Theatre’ comic strip was first published on December 19, 1919, it was only in the tenth year that Popeye made its debut as the central character, thanks to the sailor’s popularity. Since 1929, Popeye became the main focus of the comic strip and ‘Thimble Theatre’ became one of the ‘King Features’ most popular properties in the 1930s.

 

Popeye got a place on the silver screen in a 1933 Betty Boop cartoon entitled ‘Popeye the Sailor’ from the Fleischer Studios. There were around 600 cartoon series made during this time, which are still in worldwide syndication. The Fleischer Popeye cartoons can be seen now on the Cartoon Network and there are many videos and DVDs available of the cartoon series as well. Though ‘Thimble Theatre’ continued the Popeye saga, Segar stories were a bit complicated and followed unexpected directions, in comparison to the Fleischer stories that were adapted into a series of ‘Popeye the Sailor’ theatrical cartoon shorts for Paramount Pictures. Fleischer stories followed a standard convention, making the characters fundamentally predictable.

 

All said and done, the cartoon series emerged as a grand success throughout the world. The strong characterization, extempore dialogue delivery by Popeye and Olive Oyl, especially the muttered asides for which Popeye was famous, contributed to a major success of the Fleischer studios. This down-to-earth character replaced all famous cartoon characters in the U.S.A. The color cartoons of Popeye were produced following its fame and popularity, the first color version being ‘Popeye the sailor meets Sinbad the Sailor’ in 1936. The Popeye cartoons changed exclusively to color in 1943, but by that time the Fleischer’s were not directly involved, because of misunderstandings between the brothers.

 

The Paramount took over the ownership of Fleischer Studios in 1941 and renamed it as the Famous Studios. They continued producing Popeye cartoons. Though the cartoon series got produced till 1957 and remained successful, it lacked the flair and the eccentric imagination of the Fleischer version. In 1980, Paramount Pictures turned Popeye into flesh and blood in their live action motion pictures in which Robin Williams starred as Popeye and Olive Oyl was played by Shelley Duvall. Ted Turner’s cartoon network celebrated the 60^th anniversary of sailorman’s film debut with a series of 6 prime-time specials ‘Popumentary’ in 1993.

 

Known as ‘Iron Arm’ in Italy, ‘Karl Alfred’ in Sweden and ‘Terror of the Sea’ in Denmark, Popeye’s popularity knew no bounds, as it started appearing in comic books published around the world. While Popeye, Olive Oyl and Bluto were the three prominent characters in the series, Swee'Pea (baby), J. Wellington Wimpy (a hamburger-loving moocher), George W. Geezil (a local cobbler), Eugene the Jeep (a yellow, vaguely dog-like animal), Sea Hag (a terrible pirate) and Alice the Goon (a monstrous creature) were others that were a part of the series.

 

Popeye’s superhuman strength, which he got after consuming a can of spinach, was a go-getter for this not-so-popular vegetable industry. His spinach obsession, which began in the ‘Thimble Theatre’ strip interestingly, became an essential plot in the latest animated version. Spinach capital Crystal City, Texas erected a statue of Popeye in 1937 to honor E.C Segar and Popeye for their influence on America’s eating habits, making Popeye as the first ever comic character immortalized in a public sculpture. The cartoon series popularized this ostracized vegetable in such a way that it led to a 33% increase in U.S spinach consumption, thus, saving the spinach industry in the 1930s. Today, the cartoon series is owned by Warner Bros. Animation and Turner Entertainment.