RUNNING TIME: 114 min

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INTRODUCTION: THE LATE, GREAT ALTMAN
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Now I know what you all are thinking; how could I choose POPEYE to honor him? Well, I’m not exactly honoring him with this review, but merely mentioning that he passed away last year; yes, I know, POPEYE is considered one of his worst films. In many ways, this is director Altman’s most unorthodox film: it is not only based on a well-known comic book but it is also a musical. It marked the starring debut of Robin Williams, one of the world’s most beloved comedians, and also a stunning cast which, regardless of what others say, are very faithful of their comic book counterparts. Today, I’m pleased to present to you all my review on the harshly underrated and despised film POPEYE, which I think is way better than people take it for.

For the uninitiated, Popeye is a sailor with only one eye, huge muscles, a pipe (which toots like a steam whistle), and a massive speech impediment which gives his character a funny mannerism; for example, words like “infant” come out of his word like “infink,” and “mother” would come out as “mudder.” He was created in 1929 by Elzie Crisler (“E.C.” for short) Seger for the King Features Syndicate, and four years later, the comic would appear onscreen in a number of Parmount cartoons made by Max and Dave Fleischer. Even though Seger died in 1938 at only 43 years of age, his creation would prove to become immensely popular (at one point he was considered more famous than Mickey Mouse), and cartoons still were made over a course of 20 years after his death. I’m sure many of you have seen these cartoons, which would usually have the lovable Popeye attempting to save his sweetheart Olive Oyl (who I strongly believe is anorexic) from the obese, bearded giant known as Bluto. Eventually, Popeye and Olive adopt a baby named Swee’Pea, who was sent to Popeye in the mail by an “unknown mudder.”

So, what led to the film being made? Well, Paramount and King Features wanted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the character, and they hired Pulitzer Prize- winning cartoonist Jules Feiffer to write the screenplay. He won an Oscar for an animated short in 1961, and later adapted the play “Carnal Knowledge” to the screen for director Mike Nichols. However, Feiffer also happened to be a huge fan of the comic strip, which debuted the same month and year of his birth (January 1929); director Robert Altman would come onboard and shooting would take place in Malta, in a little area called Mellieha. The film was released just before Christmas in 1980, and many critics hailed it as boring, unfunny and the worst film of the year! Yes, it’s true: our beloved sailorman was bashed and laughed at, and the movie seemed to sink into obscurity slowly after that. What happened? It’s hard to believe that the public didn’t fancy Popeye anymore. It is also hard to believe that a massive fan and cartoonist could louse up the adaptation; the film was finally released on DVD last year in the UK, after years of being obsolete.

The film opens like a 1930’s Paramount cartoon, with the classic cartoon character appearing briefly, and then we see Popeye in a small boat caught up in a sea storm; he arrives in the town of Sweethaven, which pretty much ignores him as an outsider and the taxman seems to give him some ridiculous charges simply for being there. Popeye manages to snag a room for renk at the Oyl residence, and soon meets Olive Oyl (Shelley Duvall) the demanding, skinny daughter who is set to marry the local harbormaster Bluto (Paul L. Smith), however she is beginning to have second thoughts. At first she looks at Popeye as some kind of weirdo, though while talking one night, they happened to find an abandoned baby, which someone had left for Popeye anonymously, and she begins to confide in him. Popeye decides to name the baby Swee’Pea, and when Bluto catches all three of them together, well, he gets the wrong idea and beats up Popeye to a pulp.

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WILLIAMS AND DUVALL MAKE A PERFECT TEAM
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The casting is not only inspired but also impossible to resist. Can you really imagine any other actor but Robin Williams in the title role? At the time, he was only known because of his wacky sitcom “Mork & Mindy,” in which he played a Martian who falls in love with a Colorado college girl. Ok, fine, maybe he is not ideal, though he still pulls off the character with glee and irreverence; his speech impediment is perfect, and he can really deliver the goofy dialogue with gusto. Only Williams could say something a line as mediocre as this and make it funny: “You’re not going to win Bluto…cause your bad! And the good always wins over the bad!” I’ve always thought Williams is a gifted comedian, and his gaspingly hilarious comic timing is what sets him apart from others; while he may not be as known as Popeye as other roles, I still think this is one of his most memorable.

Among the supporting roles, we have Paul L. Lester (MIDNIGHT EXPRESS) giving a brooding interpretation of Bluto, and Paul Dooley is terrific as Wimpy, who will give his soul any day for a hamburger. The legendary Ray Walston is great as Poopdack Pappy, who looks at his son as a spoiled little brat because he won’t eat Spinach. In smaller roles, you can also spot Dennis Franz as the roughhouse Spike, Donald Moffat as the Taxman, and Oscar-winner Linda Hunt (THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY) as the boxer’s “mudder.” Famous composer Van Dyke Parks, who does many scores for children’s films, can be seen briefly as a piano player.

I guess it that it takes a certain audience to get into the spirit and sense of humor present in Jules Feiffer’s screenplay, though I truly believe that he perfectly captures E. C. Segar’s creation with energy and creativeness. The salty, slurred dialogue for Popeye’s and Poopdeck Pappy’s characters is particularly delightful, and while he writes Olive Oyl as a stuck up bitch at first, he also gives her character time to develop and turn around, attitude wise. The lack of dialogue he gives to Bluto I think was a wise choice as well, because he is better as just being a growling bastard with a mean, jealous streak. Overall, Feiffer’s affection for the comic is very evident I think in his adaptation, even though he does resort to contrived plot turns---like a subplot involving a buried treasure.

Perhaps the best contribution might be Altman’s direction. At times, the film actually plays like a live-action cartoon, and he employs a lot of old-fashioned cartoonish sound effects; look at the fight scenes, in particular, like when Popeye uses another guy’s head as a virtual punching bag, or after he punches someone, you hear little birdie sounds. How could critics call this film boring when there seems to be a surprise hidden up Altman’s sleeve every second; the boxing sequence is a great set-piece because we see a style reminiscent of old cartoons and Three Stooges shorts, while at the same time belonging into Popeye’s world. First, Popeye is just watching in the audience but when Olive’s brother gets booted out, he just jumps on in with a boxing outfit and after he gets punched, he shows a disgruntled face and just makes his pipe spin around at super speed.

While I love POPEYE for all its details, quirks and faithfulness to its source, it still has its fair share of problems, and it starts with the songs. Most of the songs by Harry Nilsson are, unfortunately, badly staged and the some of the singer’s voices are just horribly dubbed; Bluto’s singing voice is the most obvious because the character is white, though the voice sounds like it comes from an African-American! Duvall’s solo number “He Needs Me” is sweet, and I love Williams’ song-and-dance to “I Yam What I Yam,” though most of the other songs are just dull with no finesse to them whatsoever. Of course, the entire cast sings “Popeye, the Sailor Man” at the finale which is probably the best of all the songs, and Williams does some great moves while dancing to it. As a musical overall, though, POPEYE is ill-conceived and I think would have worked better without most of the songs.

Despite these abnormalities, however, I still love POPEYE for what it is: a fun, enjoyable adaptation of the beloved comic strip, and I encourage you all to give it a chance on DVD. Unfortunately, there are no special features, not even a theatrical trailer; however, there are English subtitles in case you are thrown off by Popeye’s dialogue.
The picture also looks pretty damn good for being over 25 years old, with most of the scratches and grain cleaned up, giving the film an overall rich quality, bringing out Giuseppe Rotunno’s nice cinematography. The DVD is available from Amazon for 6 GBP; just open up a can of spinach to eat instead of popcorn, and enjoy the movie! Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend! Chris :)

QUOTE #7: “You was disobedient when you was two, and you are disobedient now. Spinach has kept our family strong for generations, but youse only spit it out!” --- Ray Walston