Spinach Packin' Popeye

The premise here is Popeye, going to a blood bank, to do his duty. He has a boxing match, surprisingly, with Bluto. He is beaten and Olive listens to it on the radio. When he comes to see her, she rejects him and calls him weak. Popeye shows her scenes of his previous exploits. These are from some of the older cartoons, including Sinbad. There is a kicker, eventually, spinach at the center of it. Not bad, considering half the film is a rerun.

Popeye gives blood at the blood bank. Instead of resting, Popeye is boxing Bluto in the ring. Popeye gets knocked out and Olive Oyl can't believe it. She promptly decides to leave him for Bluto. This is actually a clip show with clips from Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (1936) and Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves (1937). I didn't know that Popeye did clip shows. While they're great clips, they're still clips. Also Olive Oyl is being a B. Otherwise, this is good Popeye.

Like to love a vast majority of the Popeye cartoons. Also like Popeye himself. A likeable character whose chemistry and animosity with Bluto one that drives the cartoons with such fun and energy, always a highlight. Do have a preference for the Fleischer era cartoons, that are generally funnier, more imaginative and of higher quality, though many of the later Famous Studio offerings entertain, just inferior in quality.

When hearing that 'Spinach Packin Popeye' was a "cheater", my heart did admittedly sink as "cheaters" do not have the best of track records in animation, too many of them being cheap and pointless. The good thing is though that 'Spinach Packin Popeye' was not too bad at all for a type of cartoon that tends to not do much for me. Actually found it on the most part surprisingly good and found it a long way from cheap, even if the point of it was slightly in question. It is nowhere near close to Popeye being at his best, but doesn't disgrace him in any way either.

Part of the problem sometimes with "cheaters" is as to whether the clips inserted are actually good clips and how they fit within the rest of the cartoon. One can have clips that don't really do the character in question justice or have ones that are not even the best moments of the respective cartoons included. And one can also have a story linking it that is not that strong and the clips don't fit. Luckily neither are a problem with 'Spinach Packin Popeye', which includes clips from two of the best Popeye cartoons and the clips are good ones inserted without being disjointed. Sometimes in "cheaters" the quality of the clips compared to the story linking them can be too different, like one being cheaper than the others, not so here with the cartoon being made in one of Famous Studios' better periods. The story is one that is stronger than most stories for "cheaters" and is both amusing and sweet.

'Spinach Packin Popeye' has animation that is very good as always from this period. It's beautifully drawn and with immaculate visual detail, that doesn't ever feel cluttered or static, and lively and smooth movement. The music likewise, lots of merry energy and lush orchestration, adding a lot to the action and making the impact even better without being too cartoonish.

Olive Oyl is used well, even if Popeye and Bluto's material is quite a bit stronger. Both are great fun here, loved Popeye's cause here too, and their chemistry gels so well, shining especially in the clips, from cartoons that were Popeye at his best. 'Spinach Packin Popeye' is amusing to hilarious much of the time and has great energy. The voice acting is typically adept, with Jack Mercer's mumblings and asides coming over most memorably and cannot imagine a better voice actress for Olive Oyl than Mae Questel.

Unfortunately the ending is a let down. It is the one part of the cartoon that feels like a cheat, a cliched one that has been done to death in animation and ends an energetic and fun cartoon on such a bland fizzler.

That is my one big complaint of an otherwise surprisingly good cartoon that is definitely worth a watch, if mainly to see every Popeye as possible. 8/10

This is one of the early color Popeye shorts done by Paramount and is a "cheater"-a cartoon made that uses footage taken from an earlier short in order to save time and/or money. Give the shortages in mateial and manpower (WWII was still going on), it was probably done to save both. Although the clips are taken from two of the three color two-reelers done by Fleischer Studios, they are short and the surrounding new material is good enough that it can hold its own with the clips. Later cheaters done by Paramount don't fare as well. Very good cartoon. The ending is a bit trite, but it's still worth watching. Recommended.