You Gotta Be a Football Hero

AS IS THE case in all of the POPEYE Series, this short makes use of a small number of repertory company "players"; having been recruited from the THIMBLE THEATRE/POPEYE Comic Strip. Hence, we find Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto and J. Wellington Wimpy (Wimpy for short) assuming different roles in a variety of situations.

AS IS THE norm for these shorts, we find very little to zero in the category of continuity. Normal conditions here are non existent. Most of the scenarios revolve around many a subject that is a far cry from the sea going trade of protagonist Popeye and antagonist Bluto. The one unifying element is a universal employment of the "eternal triangle" and its effect on the three participants.

BEING THAT FOOTBALL was by this time a major force in the American sports diet, it was chosen as the subject. This appears to have no pretense to the Collegiate game, as there is no representation of any fictional college trappings. Not a pennant, marching band nor organized cheering section is depicted. There is an allusion to cheer-leading by a female, namely Olive (who else), which also serves as a catalyst for bringing some variety of sight gags to the screen.

AS FOR THE competing teams, we have Bluto's bunch; being a huge bunch of ruffians like their QB & Captain. Bluto, like Julius Caesar befor him, wears a different colored jersey/tunic to distinguish himself from the "troops."

THE OPPOSITION ON the other hand, is made up of what Bluto calls "runts"; that is smaller or even regular sized guys like our Popeye, who eventually recruit his help in playing the game. (Gee, what a surprise).

WE MUST MAKE mention of some of the original gags that were displayed to good effect here. First off, we are treated to a visual pun in our first long distance and the gradual close-up viewing of the football stadium. These are most often referred to as "bowls", due to their shape and expanding seating areas. So,Director Dave Fleischer gave us a real "bowl" shape here.

AS USUAL THE handy can of spinach saves the day! Now that should be no surprise and definitely wouldn't qualify as a "spoiler."

Fleischer Studios, particularly in the early years, did some extremely visually well-crafted cartoons. Most of the more unusual ones were Koko the Clown and Betty Boop shorts, but there were a number of Popeye shorts that are notable for great visual bits too. The most interesting ones here are Popeye giving new meaning to the nickname "Crazylegs" and Olive doing a cheer on the sidelines for Bluto (yes, Bluto-Olive is fickle, remember?) that reveals she's a contortionist. While not as good as Football Toucher Downer, this has its moments and a running gag that features Wimpy. What else can you ask for? There is a colorized version. The black and white is superior. Well worth watching. Recommended.

Do you want to see literal giants on the gridiron? Well, here they are with Bluto and his football team, who come out on the field and are as tall as the strange- looking goal posts! Bluto quickly grabs fickle Olive out of the stands. Olive is wearing the big coonskin coat one used to see at the football games back in the '20s and '30s. Popeye is left alone and humiliated in the stands.

What's worse is Olive returns and gives a big cheer and sings "You've Got To Be Football Hero....To Get Along With the Beautiful Girls."

"I takes that from no woman," says Popeye, who then leaps out of seat and follows a sign that says "New Players Register Here." Only in cartoons can one be in the stands one minute, and be playing in the game the next!!!

What's happens after that is a series of silly and insane football visuals, especially 'cheerleader" Olive spelling out "Bluto" with her ultra-thin, elastic body! It's hilarious, as is "Swivel Hips" Popeye on the gridiron.

These old football games, from this one to Goofy to the Three Stooges to the Marx Brothers, are all the craziest, nonsensical farces you will ever seen....but a ton of fun to watch.

While this is a perfect cartoon to watch during this fall/football season, the reason I watched this one in particular right now is because this was the last one with original Popeye voice William Costello doing him. It seems he had a swelled head and was fired by Max Fleischer as a result. Jack Mercer-who was part of the studio staff at the time and did impersonations of Costello as the cartoon character to many of his colleagues' pleasure-replaced him and continued doing the voice for the rest of his lifetime. Anyway, Bluto is the football hero Olive Oyl loves which gets Popeye jealous so he joins the other team. I'll stop there and just say this was quite a funny cartoon to watch with many of the gags one associates with the Fleischer brothers (as usual, Dave Fleischer is credited as director but since he's always printed as such with each cartoon from the studio, that's a bit doubtful). Anyway, that's a recommendation for You Gotta Be a Football Hero.

You Gotta Be a Football Hero (1935)

*** (out of 4)

Olive Oyl forces Popeye to go to a football game where she ends up leaving him for Bluto, In order to win her back Popeye joins the other team. The highlight of this film is a scene where Popeye think he has the football and is running it back for a touchdown but in reality he just has Bluto's head and is dragging him. The football action is pretty nice throughout as Popeye ends up having to plan the other team by himself. Wimpy appears in a couple scenes and adds some nice laughs as well.