“I yam what I yam”
That spinach-swigging sailor with the fickle girlfriend with the physique of a green bean finally sails his way onto DVD. This excellent set adds a cornucopia of special features that fans of the sailor or animation fans will adore.
Popeye the Sailor was the creation of Elzie Segar in his comic strip Thimble Theater in 1929 (the strip had been running since 1919). The Oyls, Olive was the daughter of Cole and Nana and Castor is her brother, were the focus of the strip. But one fateful day, the Oyls decided to go on a sea outing and needed a sailor to pilot the ship.
The one eyed, corncob pipe smoking, muttering sailor proved so popular that he was give a prominent role, replacing Olive’s boyfriend Hamgravy as her main squeeze. In 1933, the Fleischer Studios were looking for a new face to put on the silver screen and although nobody would say that Popeye is attractive they thought that he’d do.
They gave the sailor a screen test in a cartoon (“Popeye the Sailor”) starring their popular Betty Boop and it proved so popular that he became a sensation. This set collects the first round of 60 of the Fleischer Brothers studio’s theatrical shorts on the four discs covering 1933-1938. They’ve been remastered from the original elements and they look great.
Disc 1:
Disc 2:
Disc 3:
Disc 4:
All of the cartoons are presented in fullscreen. Special features include the commentaries listed above, but it doesn’t end there. In fact it’s quite a selection too! Each disc has a “From the Vault” section that has cartoons.
Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc 3
Disc 4
The rest are what is called “Popumentaries” and cover a variety of subjects.
Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc 3
Disc 4
Not only is this set loaded with some excellent cartoons in find condition, but some excellent special features as well. This has to be one of the best animation DVDs released this year and well worth the money.
Popeye the Sailor: 1933-1938, Vol. 1 is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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