The Dance Contest

This is an animated short film from 1934 which features Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto, and Wimpy. I remember seeing this on Art Finley's (Mayor Art) show on KRON-TV in San Francisco in the 1960s when I was 8 or 9 and enjoying it quite a bit. Reading the reviews on this database, I was dismayed to find there were none which were helpful. One was particularly vile. The reviewer wrote the Popeye took his spinach "in order to beat the crap out of evil Bluto." He also wrote that Olive is an idiot and that "Popeye takes his spinach and it makes him an instant Fred Astaire! But, as you'd expect, it soon turns into a butt whipping of Bluto when he gets fresh with Olive." Is such language necessary when you are discussing a cartoon aimed at children? Popeye does not turn into an instant Fred Astaire; I have seen many Astaire and Rogers films and there is no resemblance. It makes me wonder if the writer of this review has mental problems.

Popeye and Olive join a dance contest. They keep stepping on each other and falling down. Bluto takes over and Popeye is only left with spinach. It just so happens that the spinach turns him into a dancing machine. Meanwhile, Wimpy is eating his hamburgers and pulling a level to drop the dancers down trapdoors.

This is a simple Popeye short and really effective. Everybody has the correct position. I'm only concerned that Bluto gets really violent with Olive but that happens sometimes. It's a really solid short.

Dance Contest, The (1934)

*** (out of 4)

Popeye and Olive Oyl are at a dance contest but the poor sailor can't dance so Bluto cuts in. This here is another enjoyable short from the series and manages some nice laughs as well as some good fighting scenes. The highlight here is without question the sequence where Popeye beats Bluto to a pulp but he does it here with the step of a dance. Wimpy is also on hand as the judge and of course eating his hamburgers. There are several funny sequences including the way Wimpy gets rid of the bad dancers.

Popeye and Olive Oyl go to a dance contest. Popeye keeps stepping on Olive's feet, so Bluto pushes him aside to dance with the dame. Fortunately, there's a bowl of spinach for Popeye to eat, which gives him the moves to wow contest judge Wimpy. So Popeye and Bluto do an Apache dance with each other.

It's a good Popeye cartoon of the era, with lots of nice gags, and the actual battle between the boys is better than usual, because of the dance motif. There do appear to be some budgetary concerns, what with the dancers on the floor repeating, but my major issue is with the paucity of gags. The result is a good, if not outstanding episode.

Popeye and Olive vie for a dance trophy. They do some neat tango movies. Jealously, Bluto steps in and messes things up. He is quite the dancer though he does that violent French stuff where the man throws the woman around. Popeye moves in, but soon Olive is gone and Popeye is dancing with Bluto. Quite funny, actually.