Beware of Barnacle Bill

I love this cartoon!! The song, Barnacle Bill the Sailor" is a favorite of mine and this is one of the few cartoons in the series where Olive Oyl gets her comeuppance. Although occasionally, Olive and Popeye treat each other as though they are truly in love, Olive all too often treats Popeye rather shabbily, in my view, and I've frequently wondered why he doesn't just quit seeing her. She can't seem to make up her mind between Bluto and Popeye, anyway. While I believe that a gentleman treats a lady like a lady even if she periodically doesn't behave like one (a man who does not act like a gentleman unless expressly requested to behave otherwise should be ignored), I also believe that constantly having the same woman throw one over in favor of the same clown indicates a permanent change of interests is of mutual benefit to all parties. It's a delightful short and the ending is a hoot! The army won't even know what hit them!

Beware of Barnacle Bill (1935)

*** (out of 4)

Popeye asks Olive Oyl to marry him but she turns him down because she's in love with Barnacle Bill (played by Bluto). This short isn't as funny as most in the series and the fighting scenes aren't the greatest but the movie remains quite fresh since all of the dialogue is being sung by the characters. This was done before but it works quite well here as the dialogue sounds very good being sung and makes for some smile enticing charm.

Available from Warner.

Popeye visits Olive Oyl to tell her she can ask him to marry her. Olive, alas, is in love with Barnacle Bill the Sailor, a particularly large version of Bluto.

All this is explained in a cleaned-up version of the 19th Century drinking song, which contains a number of words which could not be used under the Production Code. Bill/Bluto shows up and proceeds to murderlize Popeye, until the inevitable can of spinach.

The details on this one are excellent, including the strange way that Mae Questal sings her lines. It's a partial remake of a 1930 talkarton with Bimbo and Betty Boop, in which the lines were not so severely bowdlerized.

........But not a Dead Man's Hand !!

WITH THE RELEASE of this Popeye short, the Fleischer Studio managed to keep up a high standard of quality that was second only to that output from the Disney people. Artwork and animation continues to advance the cause of the craft toward that of a true art-form. (or at least a sub-genre of the motion picture).

AS IS THE case with all of the POPEYE Shorts of that period, te music was outstanding and tailor made to every picture. Other than the obvious adaptation of the Segar Comic Strip from King Features and the fulfilling of its purpose in providing the movie going public with some chuckles before any feature, the Fleischer team filled yet another niche. That would be providing a series of mini-musical comedies to add to any film exhibitors' programming.

THE ONLY DOWN side to the Popeye series was that it (much the same as the later Fleischer SUPERMAN cartoons) was Max & Dave Fleischer's top rated characters. This fact flew in the face of their being only licensed to the brothers from other copyright owners; those being King Features Syndicate and National Comics Publications respectively.

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.

'Beware of Barnacle Bill' is one of the best Popeye cartoons from this period and one of my personal favourites actually of the whole series. 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 Popeye, Olive Oyl and Bluto (as the titular character of the cartoon's title). 'Beware of Barnacle Bill' has everything that makes the Popeye series so appealing in its prime era and does nothing to waste the three main characters or make them less interesting.

The story is an interesting and beautifully paced one, never being dull, if formulaic (not uncommon with the Popeye cartoons). It is a familiar premise, and wasn't new around then, but it is one of the best examples of it because of the fresh and funny execution and that there were characters worth caring for. The humour and gags make it even more entertaining, avoiding the trap of repetition. Its best moment is the riot that is the ending.

All three characters are great, though Olive Oyl is a bit underused and her material not as great as Popeye and Bluto's, though what happens to her is a rare change of pace. Popeye and Bluto are spot on and their chemistry drives 'Beware of Barnacle Bill' and has so much energy. Popeye is always amusing and likeable but for me Bluto is here the funnier and more interesting character.

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/singing is dynamic and of very good quality.

Overall, wonderful classic Popeye. 9/10 Bethany Cox