Customer Reviews

Popeye: Original Classics from the Fleischer Studio

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As we all impatiently wait for King Features Syndicate and Time Warner Corp. to strike a deal and finally release classic Fleischer (and Famous Studios) "Popeye" cartoons on DVD, Steve Stanchfield and his Thunderbean Animation studio have decided to give the one-eyed sailorman the treatment he truly deserves. In colaboration with his new distributor (Mackinac Media), Mr. Stanchfield has compiled all of the public domain Fleischer "Popeyes" and released a magnificent collector's edition DVD, which looks better than many "official" studios' cartoon DVD releases. This DVD set includes the following B&W "Popeye" episodes:

Little Swee'Pea (1936)
I'm In the Army Now (1936)
The Paneless Window Washer (1937)
I Never Changes My Altitude (1937)
A Date to Skate (1938)
Customers Wanted (1939)
Me Musical Nephews (1942)

"I Never Changes My Altitude" and "The Paneless Window Washer", animated by Willard Bowsky and Orestes Calpini, count among the best "Popeye" cartoons ever made. They feature superb character designs, astounding animation, beautiful use of perspectives, voice actors' witty under-the-breath mumblings, and, of course, hilarious and energetic fistfights between Popeye and Bluto. Seymour Kneitel's "Little Swee'Pea" is also a great Fleischer short. The cartoon displays some amazing three-dimensional backgrounds, an illusion achieved through the Fleischers' innovative Stereoptical Process. "A Date to Skate", although "Bluto-less," is a true Fleischer gem (according to many fans, the best Fleischer "Popeye" film), which contains Jack Mercer's (Popeye) and Mae Questel's (Olive) funny and intelligent under-the-breath puns and an interesting example of the Fleischeresque self-reflexive approach to animation. "Me Musical Nephews" is a fast-paced and fun musical cartoon, featuring wild animation gags and a very original "cartoony" ending. Even though the short was made by the Fleischers' successors - Famous Studios, it retained the frantic rhythm, upbeat energy, and the visual aura of the late Fleischer output. All black and white cartoons on this DVD set have an excellent, crystal-clear visual quality, fantastic sound, and restored original Paramount Studios opening and closing logos.

The DVD also contains all three well-known two-reel Three-Color-Technicolor "Popeye" specials, based on The Arabian Nights:

Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (1936)
Popeye Meets Ali Baba and His 40 Thieves (1937)
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (1939)

Prior to the Thunderbean/Mackinac DVD release, these three cartoons had been issued on countless poor-quality, cheap-transfer public domain video tapes. But, on this DVD set, the Fleischers' two-reel specials look better than they ever did on the home video market. The first two films, animated by Willard Bowsky's unit at the Fleischer Studios, display beautiful Stereoptical (3D) backgrounds. Compiled from some of the best existing 35mm and 16mm material, they are breathtaking eye-candies that give us viscerally powerful viewing experience. Not only are these films visually astonishing, they also have great adventurous stories, fantastic animation, lots of fast-paced action, and voice-actors' incessantly humorous ad-libbing.

As if all this is not enough, this DVD set is loaded with rare bonus material, which includes:

*Rare Interviews with Jack Mercer (voice of Popeye), Mae Questel (Voice of Olive Oyl), Jackson Beck (Bluto/Brutus), animators Shamus Culhane, Gordon Sheehan and Rosalie Waldman
* A Number of Still Galleries: Original animation art, Storyboards, Posters and rare behind the scenes photos and Stills from the Popeye Picnic
*A visit to Chester, Illinois- home of Popeye
*Original Fleischers' "Sing Along with Popeye" (1933)
*A documentary: Tour of the Fleischer Studios from 1939
*Soaky TV commercial
*Pencil tests
*A rare recording by the first voice of Popeye (William "Red Pepper Sam" Costello)

I would buy this DVD even if Warner Bros and King Features Syndicate came to an agreement to finally release the copyrighted Fleischer/Famous "Popeye" library on DVD. This set is, by far, the BEST compilation of public domain Fleischer "Popeyes" and is worth every cent of its price (actually, $9 is a bit too cheap for the set of this quality). Thank you Thunderbean Animation and Steve Stanchfield for giving Popeye the respect he deserves (when his official companies seem unwilling to do so).

Gordan Calma
Fleischer Popeye Tribute
[...]

King Features and Turner Broadcasting should be ashamed of themselves for not releasing the classic black-and-white Popeye cartoons on video. However, seven Popeye shorts fell into the public domain and now are showcased in this fine collection, along with the Technicolor two-reelers from 1936 to 1939. Three of the B&W cartoons - "The Paneless Window Washer" (1937), "I Never Changes My Altitude" (1937) and "A Date to Skate" (1938) - are among Max and Dave Fleischer's best efforts. Highly recommended.

I received this DVD for Christmas (thank you for taking me off the "Naughty" list this year, Santa) and I think it's one of the best gifts a Popeye fan could hope for. Yes, all of the cartoons included in this collection are available from other distributors--but they sure don't look and sound as good as the ones on this disc. These days, the term "Digitally Restored" has about as much meaning as the term "Best Of"...in other words, DON'T YOU BELIEVE IT. But in this instance, the phrase rings true because these are the finest copies of these vintage classics currently available on DVD (and I've seen practically everything from the el cheapo Popeye DVDs to the higher-bracket collections). What distinguishes this edition is not only the visual and sound quality of the cartoons, but the Special Features as well. There are audio interviews with voice artists Jack Mercer (Popeye), Mae Questel (Olive Oyl), Jackson Beck (Bluto) and other folks who helped make these cartoons so endearing; still galleries of publicity materials, posters, model sheets, and original animation art; promotional shorts; a 1939 pencil test; rare COLOR behind-the-scenes footage of Max Fleischer's studio; and more.

If you're looking for a collection of Popeye cartoons on DVD and are understandably overwhelmed by the sheer number of Popeye discs on store shelves, I'd advise you to pick up this one. Unlike many of the others, this edition was assembled with real care and love.

I've owned Super 8 film copies of the three two-reelers included in this dvd and the color reproduction is just as good if not better than what is on the films. The two-reelers, running just under 20 minutes each, are "Popeye Meets Sinbad", Popeye Meets Ali Baba", "Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp" and they look excellent on this dvd.
All the cartoons here are well presented but the inclusion of those three "extra-length color specials" in such pristine condition make this an enjoyable and valuable collection.

I was honored to have part of my audio interview with Mae Questel included on this disk and it's fascinating to also hear the other rare interviews with those who performed the voices in these classics.
My entire interview with Miss Questel ran over 6 minutes and she also talked about the Popeye two-reelers as well as being the voice of Betty Boop and numerous other cartoon characters.
The complete interview is available free online at www.nuttynutnewsnetwork.com as one of the tracks in the "1986 Convention" section. In the intro for that same section you can hear Mae do the "Popeye" voice and also sing "Button Up Your Overcoat".

Producer Steve Stanchfield in association with other Popeye aficianados has compiled a wonderful assortment of extra features to accompany these classic Fleischer era films. These include interviews with Jack Mercer, Mae Questel and Jackson Beck, pencil test footage, and a bonus 1933 "sing a long with Popeye" cartoon. (Also be sure an check out Popeye singing "Good Vibrations" with The Beach Boys! It's a hoot!)

The three technicolor extra length films are true to their original Technicolor heritage rather than amped up to overly
vivid shades. The Black and White films have never looked this good before, and are sourced from rare 35mm material. This attention to detail is what makes this compilation truly "Original"!

If you are a fan of vintage animation from the 1930's I'd encourage your purchase of this release. Not only will you get the best quality restorations of these classic Popeye films available, you'll be supporting this small studio's development of future rare animation DVD titles. These include "Attack of the 30's Characters" an excellent compendium of cartoons from every major cartoon studio who produced films in this decade. Other titles to follow!!!

Del Walker
DVDToons.com

Wonderful stuff! Very well produced and presented. The moving 3-D backgrounds, the intense detail. Wimpy with his meat grinder, stalking the duck around Sinbad's island or complaining about a picture show he saw on the other guys' penny. Popeye blushing when the roller skate retal guy asks what Olive's shoe size is (camera pans both of her size 18's!) Catch the humor that was over our heads when we were kids. My two boys (11 & 14) love it.

This was a great set of cartoons. Sound and visual quality were execellent. I'm still waiting for Olive Oyl sleepwalking through a skyscraper ("did you ever see a dream walking"), Popeye at the circus with Sweet Pea (man on the flying trapeeze) and finally Sweet Pea in the factory. In the meantime this will keep me satisfied. BTW, my wife wants to know exactly how Sweet Pea fits into Popeye's geneaology? Or is this another one of those moral contradictions in the 1930s that included Porky Pig with a jacket and no pants?

This is the best popeye dvd I have and I do have a lot! Kids might not know what's the big deal with Fleischer cartoons but any real popeye fan knows!

I help care for an 35 yr. old mentally handicapped adult who only watches the original Fleischer Popeye cartoons. For approx. 8 hrs. a day that's all he watches because that's all he wants to watch! Show him anything else and he refuses to watch TV at all. Every one of those VHS tapes now are in poor condition so this DVD will help him continue to watch (should he choose to) the best of Popeye for years to come. By the way, he's seen these Fleischer cartoons EVERYDAY for at least 10 years straight, 8 hours a day. No exaggeration. It's got to be record!

COMMENT: Notice the review dates of others on this page...all before the release of the DVD. One is identical to the review written in January for anoher Popeye DVD! Having preordered this DVD, I received it and watched it today. I own and have viewed both of the DVDs I refer to in this review. You can decide who is hyping this product and who isn't. REVIEW: How many times can they repackage the same shorts? The release date appears to be perfectly timed for the holiday gift giving season. It has the same shorts already available on the "Special 75th Anniversary Edition Popeye Original Classics" DVD. The packaging is different, but that is all. They are both produced from public domain sources and not from original masters. Many times the contrast varies so much that some of the background scenes' details appear then disappear only to appear again. This is very annoying and distracting. The "Special Bonus Features" are also the same on both DVDs. So, if you already have the "75th Anniversary Edition" DVD, don't bother with this one. The public is still waiting on a real studio remastering of the Popeye classics.