The Man on the Flying Trapeze

Man on the Flying Trapeze, The (1934)

*** (out of 4)

Unusual Popeye cartoon has him sailing in to ask Olive Oyl out but she's left him for the title character. Popeye then goes to the circus to see the man and gets into a battle. This is a rather unusual short because the majority of the dialogue comes from singing. The songs in the film are very good and most of the charm comes from them. There's your typical nice animation and some very good direction in the storytelling and that includes some very good fight scenes in the air. There's also a funny sequence with a woman whom I'm guessing is Olive's mother. we also get Wimpy as the announcer at the circus. This isn't the best Popeye short I've seen but the strange musical numbers make it work watching.

This is an unusual Popeye cartoon in that 98 percent of the dialog is sung - and all of it one song: "The Daring Young Man On The Flying Trepeze." It gets to be a little much after awhile and I'm glad this sort of thing wasn't the normal fare. In fact, I don't if it ever was done again in a Popeye animated short. You can't use any verbal jokes or add to the story when all you are doing is repeating verses of the same song over and over.

However, the sight gags are very good in the beginning before the "trapeze song" took over, as Popeye sails an ocean liner through the dock and down the main street of a big city, right to Olive's house. We also see something else unique (at least, I've never seen her): what looks to be Olive Oyl's mom. It's a shorter, fatter and older version of Olive. She sings to Popeye that Olive has run off with the "man in the flying...."

Fortunately, the circus is right across the street so Popeye takes a bunch of nearby street kids to the tent, watches the big musclebound guy on the trapeze swing a terrified Oliver around like a wet towel, and then goes to get his girl. The ending is funny and unexpected. Olive really took her lumps in this episode!

Popeye gets off the ship and heads over to see Olive Oyl, but her grandmother informs her she has gone with the title character. As a result, everyone sings the song, while ringmaster Wimpy eats a whistle and blows on a hamburger, while the acrobat uses Olive as a prop.

I's one of the great Popeye cartoons produced by the Fleischers, and makes fine use of the title song and the insistence on director Dave Fleischer on packing every cartoon with an enormous number of gags, big and little.

The song dates from 1867, and was inspired by acrobat Jules Leotard, who appeared in the garment that is still called by his name. And no, I don't mean the Jules.

Dave Fleischer was responsible for many gems. Ones that were amusing and charming, though over-cuteness did come through in some efforts and the stories were always pretty thin, with appealing characters, outstanding music and visuals that were inventive and with innovative animation techniques.

'The Man on the Flying Trapeze' is not quite one of the best Popeye cartoons to me. It is extremely well done though and has a lot going for it. Have always enjoyed many of the Popeye cartoons a good deal and like Popeye very much, Fleischer's efforts were always well animated and scored with lots of entertainment value and great chemistry between the characters. 'The Man on the Flying Trapeze' has much of what makes the Popeye series so appealing in its prime era and does nothing to waste the three main characters or make them less interesting. Bluto is missed but Wimpy works well here.

The story is an interesting and beautifully paced one, never being dull, if formulaic (not uncommon with the Popeye cartoons). The material make it even more entertaining, 'The Man on the Flying Trapeze' is non-stop fast-paced fun, avoiding the trap of repetition. It has to be said though that the titular character is a bland one and the one exception to the animation being good, unappealingly and hastily drawn.

The characters are great generally, apart from the titular character. There is a lot of energy here and the danger and excitement of the circus setting is well realised. Popeye is always amusing and likeable and Wimpy is great support and the best character here. The circus is like its own character too.

Furthermore, the animation is beautifully drawn and with enough visual detail to not make it cluttered or static and lively and smooth movement. The music is also outstanding, lots of merry energy and lush orchestration, adding a lot to the action and making the impact even better without being too cartoonish. Fleischer's direction is always accomplished and his style is all over it.

Voice acting is dynamic and of very good quality, Mae Questel is a good fit for Olive Oyl, the voice that most sticks in my mind for the character and who voiced her the best, but William Costello is even better.

Overall, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

While "The Man on the Flying Trapeze" features a villain other than Bluto, it is a substandard cartoon of the day. Much of this is because the title character is poorly animated and creepy looking. Additionally, I am not a huge fan of singing in cartoons--and there's a bit too much of it for my taste.

The story itself features perhaps the grandest entrance by Popeye ever. However, after all that, he finds that Olive Oyl isn't home--she's joined the circus. Popeye goes to investigate and finds her boss, the trapeze artist, is a bit of a Bluto-like character--so Popeye does his usual routing--taking spinach and delivering a huge butt-whipping. All in all, a decent cartoon but just not as well made as you'd expect.