Quiet! Pleeze

It was so great to have Popeye's father Pappy return once again after liking him so much in his previous outings, he and Popeye are such a great pairing. It is always interesting when Popeye is partnered with characters other than Olive and Bluto and quite a lot of the cartoons that don't have them are still quite good. That is of course on how good the other character is as a character and their chemistry with Popeye, and to me Pappy was one of the best and funniest.

'Quiet Pleeze' to me was not quite as good as the previous Popeye and Pappy cartoon 'Problem Pappy', but it is very good and great fun for anybody who loves those two characters and seeing their chemistry. It is towards being one of the best 1941 Popeye cartoons, and easily one of the best for the studio in what was not a good period for them. Although it is a variant of 'Sock a Bye Baby', 'Quiet Pleeze' does not feel over derivative or a rip off. Proof that there were still some glimmers of light in a generally murky, but quite dark, tunnel for Fleischer Studios in the early 40s. But at least the Popeye series was still watchable, even if the series had far better years overall.

Not really all that much to criticise really. It is quite slight and plot-wise it's nothing earth shattering.

However, these are minor quibbles, especially as everything else works and is done brilliantly. The animation is neatly and expressively drawn (especially the fever effects on Pappy) and still very much like the work that goes into the backgrounds. The music, appropriately like its own character, is as beautifully orchestrated and characterful as ever.

There is a very high number of gags, and they are every bit as sharp, as funny (at best hilarious) and witty as the ones in 'Quiet Pleeze'. Especially in the second half, where 'Quiet Pleeze' is brimful with energy and wit capped off by a deliciously wild and hilarious ending. The pacing is lively throughout.

While Popeye is as ever amusing and likeable, with his frustration is not hard to relate to and his willingness to help his father admirable, Pappy steals the show and is an absolute joy. They interact so beautifully together too, even more so than with most of the cartoons with Popeye and Olive and Popeye, Olive and Bluto from the early 40s. Jack Mercer is again in a one man show and is typically exuberant, not many people did asides and mumblings as well as he in his day.

Concluding, very good. 8/10.

Quiet! Pleeze (1941)

*** (out of 4)

Pappy is hungover but pretends to just be sick so that Popeye doesn't get mad. Popeye makes him go to bed and then struggles to keep everything on the outside quiet so that his father can rest.

This here is basically a re-worked version of SOCK-A-BYE BABY but in that case it was a baby that Popeye was trying to keep asleep. This film isn't quite as good as that one but there are still plenty of good gags that keeps it entertaining and worth watching. The funniest moments happen early on when Popeye is checking out how sick his dad is and we get some wonderful visual jokes dealing with his fever. If you're a fan of the series then you should enjoy this one and especially the action towards the end of the film.

The Fleischers, toward the end of the studio's existence, for whatever reason, chose to do one or two thematically similar shorts that copied (somewhat) earlier shorts in the Popeye series. Given that Famous Studios practically strip-mined the old Fleischers for ideas (and usually just pointed up how poor their shorts were in comparison), Max and Dave can be given some slack here. Particularly as this cartoon is perhaps slightly better, given that it has Jack Mercer and a funnier ending. The animation is superb, though the sight gags in the earlier short are more effective. Both are very good work. Well worth seeking out. Most recommended.

Quiet!Pleeze had an appropriate opening, of Popeye's cantankerous father, Poopdeck Pappy, suffering from wicked hangover, to mournful strains of "How Dry I Am", popular song mourning of inebriation and feeling blah. Indeed, Pappy WAS in such bad mood that when a cat padded along, as felines do, he barked "Quit that stamping around!"(There is a silly version of "How Dry I Am", about which I do not think.) Pappy would NOT ADMIT that he had been drinking too much, said he had hangover, checking himself to mean headache. He asked son Popeye to keep things quiet so he could rest. Some of the means used in Sock-a-Bye, Baby, filmed in 1934, were repeated in this cartoon, the punching of a building under construction, causing it to collapse, as punching the radio, which knocked out the singer. (A buddy of mine and I pretended to be punched when radio listeners smashed radios.) Popeye returned to the apartment, to find Pappy, after his nap, PARTYING AGAIN! Pappy told his son that he felt like a million, just needed rest and quiet, but had NOT really learned his lesson! The cartoon ended with Popeye HIMSELF in bed, no doubt because his father's unwillingness to co-operate made him sick. Surely, This was amusing variant of Sock-a-Bye, Baby, which showed what Poopdeck Pappy was like. As sidenote, Poopdeck Pappy did not appear much after 1941; after the Fleischer brothers were bounced in 1942, and the studio became Famous Studios, Poopdeck Pappy appeared only once or twice. (Eugene the Jeep was not in the 1942-57 Famous Studios cartoons at all, and J Wellington Wimpy was in only a handful.) At all events, I loved this cartoon as much as Sock-a-Bye, Baby, even if ALL the means that Popeye used to quiet things did not appear, like the music-school episode.

"Pappy" has a hangover ("er, headache," as he explains to his son Popeye) and just wants some peace and quiet as he sleeps it off. Popeye tries to oblige.

Oh, boy, does Popeye try. The lengths he goes to please his pappy! Popeye first has to use his brains and he comes up with a clever way to stop a baby across the street from crying. (Popeye doesn't think of just shutting his window.) After that, it gets physical and Popeye battles noisy trucks, general traffic, factory whistles and then louder construction noise, including the demolition of a building.

There is a good ending to this cartoon as Pappy is last seen dancing and scatting to the music at some dance.....apparently well-rested. Popeye, of course, is pooped.

Pappy is a great character in these early 1940s cartoons. Jack Mercer does a super job with his voice, as both father and son.