Popeye the Sailor: 1941-1943, Vol. 3 – DVD Review

Popeye sails the seven seas once more in this third collection of cartoons from the Fleischer Studios. This time around war looms on the horizon and everyone’s favorite sailor is not one to set on the sidelines so he joined up and his costume changed to the official uniform of the U.S. Navy.

Popeye the Sailor had his start in the Thimble Theatre comic strip in 1929. In 1933, the Fleischer Studios, founded by brothers Max and Dave, optioned the Thimble Theatre characters and started making cartoons featuring Popeye. By 1941, the United States had entered the World War and everyone was called upon to do their patriotic duty – even cartoons.
This included Popeye and he was enlisted into the U.S. Navy with The Mighty Navy (1941). He would continue to wear the whites of the Navy uniform well into the 1960s. Popeye is a hilarious character and a joy to behold, especially when he pops open a can of spinach. He always wants to date Olive Oyl, but is often hindered by Bluto also courting for Miss Oyl (what they see in her I’ll never know). Warner Brothers continues their fine line of the adventures of the old salt with this collection that begins his wartime toons. As usual they’ve assembled a great collection of special features to supplement the hilarious cartoons. The Popeye cartoons in the collection are presented in fullscreen. Disc one’s Special features include commentaries from animation historian Jerry Beck and Steven Waldman, son of animator/director Myron Waldman on Problem Pappy and Popeye meets Rip Van Winkle and by Beck and director Bob Jaques on The Mighty Navy. There are also three “Out of the Inkwell” shorts totaling 18 minutes, The Clown’s Little Brother (1920), The Cartoon Factory (1924), and Koko Needles the Boss (1927), in the From the Vault section. Next are three documentaries, Directing the Sailor: The Art of Myron Waldman (7 minutes), Popeye: The Mighty Ensign (7 minutes), and Pip-Eye, Pup-Eye, Poop-Eye, an’ Peep-Eye: Chips off the Old Salt (3 minutes). Disc two has commentaries from directors John Kricfalusi and Eddie Fitzgerald and cartoonist Kali Fontecchio on Me Musical Nephews, animator Mark Kausler on Seein’ Red, White ‘n’ Blue, director Jaques on Too Weak to Work, and Beck again on the Hungry Goat. The 27-minute “Forging the Frame” looks at animation from 1921-1930. The From the Vault section contains the 10-minute short “Finding his Voice” (1929), a voice synchronized cartoon. Popeye sailed the seven seas and during this time period joined up with the U.S. Navy. I suppose he enjoyed his service that he would wear his dress whites for years to come. What makes this set worth owning is the great special features that put Popeye into the proper historical context. Aw heck, you know you just want to see the cartoons and the special features are the gravy. I yam what I yam. Popeye the Sailor: 1941-1943, Vol. 3 is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for this version of the DVD in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.