Greek Mirthology

The nephews -- Popeye still has four of them at this point -- don't want to eat their spinach. They prefer ice cream. So Popeye tells them about their multiply great uncle Hercules, and he he ate garlic for strength until Bluto comes riding into town on an elephant.

Famous Studios was still doing well with their visuals, large due to simple but appealing background work, and taking advantage of the simplifying tendency of character design. I don't find the gag construction here particularly amusing, but it certainly fits the milieu of the short. The lack of Olive Oyl is probably a trade-off for putting the nephews in.

Popeye is trying to get his nephews to eat their spinach. He tells them the story of Hercules who is portrayed by Popeye. Instead of spinach, he gets his strength by sniffing garlic. He is confronted by a bully portrayed by Bluto.

This is a colored Popeye short. I would simplify it by going straight into the Hercules story. The nephews can still appear in ancient Greece. It's a little weird to sniff garlic. It looks weird. I guess it's a little funny and that's the point.

Popeye is babysitting those bratty nephews of his, and trying to make them eat spinach. They'd rather had ice cream cones. Popeye tries to explain to them they have to eat their spinach if they want to grow up as strong as their great, great, great, great Uncle Hercules.

Popeye then tells the kids the story of Hercules, which begins with the famous man - the strongest and popular in town - jumping off his chariot to help a "boidy whickha fell outta a tree." He helps the "boid" by sniffing some garlic - not spinach! The nephews catch that and and, "see, he didn't spinach." Popeye interrupts, "Don't jump to inclusions...as I was saying...."

He then finishes the story about the battle between Hercules and a visiting strongman-bully (Bluto, who else?) who have a contest to see who's strongest. We see how the Popeye family tree evolved from garlic to spinach.

Did the kids learn anything from the story? No, they still prefer ice cream. (Who can blame them?)

The artwork in this cartoon was above average with nice, bold colors.

Before spinach was garlic. Before Popeye was Hercules. And all can be reduced for the pledge for healthy food from an uncle exaspered by his nephews appetite for...ice cream. So, nice adventures, a lot of clorophorme and nice but so unfair end for the efforts of poor uncle and his mithological story about past of family.

Really like to love a good deal of Popeye cartoons and like the character of Popeye. Love Bluto more and his chemistry with Popeye has always driven their cartoons. Will admit though to preferring the Popeye cartoons from the Dave Fleischer era, the cartoons tend to be funnier and there is more originality and more risk taking in some of them.

'Greek Mirthology' is a late Popeye cartoon and made in Famous Studios' roughest and most variable period where budgets were much smaller in particularly the animation and deadlines and time constraints were shorter and tighter. All things considered, while there are infinitely better Popeye cartoons (especially during the Fleischer era) and there are signs of what made this period an inferior one for Famous Studios, 'Greek Mirthology' is not a bad late Popeye cartoon at all, actually really very enjoyable and one of the better cartoons, Popeye and overall, in Famous Studios' late output.

As to be expected, the story is standard and very slight, while not being as repetitive as feared and being something different from the norm.

Similarly the animation quality is uneven, never terrible but never fantastic. The colours are fine and there is smoothness and nice detail but there are many moments where the backgrounds are sparse and the drawing rough.

What is fantastic about 'Greek Mirthology' is the music score, the best thing for me. It's beautifully orchestrated, rhythmically it's full of energy and there is so much character and atmosphere, it's also brilliant at adding to the action and enhancing it. The gags, ranging from very amusing to hilarious and creative for late Famous Studios/Popeye, are executed very well, the interplay between the characters is lively and witty if in need of more variety at times and the pace is never dull.

The characters do a great job carrying the cartoon, Bluto being the funniest and most interesting. Hercules is great fun and charismatic and his interplay with Bluto timed beautifully and lots of fun, but it's the entertaining interplay between Popeye and his nephews where 'Greek Mirthology' most shines. Jack Mercer and Jackson Beck give great vocal characterisations, Beck in particular and Mercer is the voice actors that spring to mind generally for me for Popeye's voice. Seeing Popeye's family history and the origins of the spinach was of great interest.

Concluding, very enjoyable and an interesting change of pace. 8/10 Bethany Cox