Pleased to Meet Cha!

TAKING THE LEAST complicated of situations, the Brothers Fleischer brought us as good a POPEYE picture as is possible. The short involves the arrival of the two already feuding rivals for the affections of the maiden, Olive Oyl to her residence at the same time. Popeye arrives at the front door, Bluto to the back. (WE know which is which as the front door has a welcome mat.)

FROM THAT POINT, it's just one continuous and very inventive series of great gags. All were intended to decide which one would please the lovely Olive and hence determine who would stay.

AS WE HAVE already stated, this one is most elemental in form and execution. With only the three characters, the production team was able to give us what was perhaps a one reel look at the "Eternal Triangle." We could have seen entrances by Wimpy (who was used extensively by the Fleischers) or some other nondescript characters but the chosen route was simplicity, and the uncomplicated worked very well.

ONE THING THAT struck us while viewing this cartoon on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) was how great a comedy mind that Director, brother Dave Fleischer, possessed. He had a great sense on how to frame a gag; as well as how to give a particular bit of comic play the right length of time to play out it course to near maximum effect.

IN THIS SENSE, we are comparing him to perhaps as great a comedy director as the silver screen had produced. That would be Arthur Stanley Jefferson; better known to the World as Stan Laurel.

WE ARE AWARDING this one reel cartoon, PLEASED TO MEET CHA (Paramount/Fleischer Studios, 1935) a full 10 on the rating scale.

Popeye and Bluto call on Olive Oyl at the same time. When they begin to fight, she insists one of them leave. They compete to see who stays by whoever can perform the best trick. This seems to be defined as breaking Olive's crockery on each other's head.

It's still early in the Popeye-and-Bluto-fight trope that dominated the series through its end more than twenty years later, so there is some effort put into novel ways of trying the boys trying to kill each other before Popeye pulls out the old spinach can. There's also the pleasure of ancillary gags, interesting points of view, and breaking the fourth wall to amuse the audience.

Both Popeye and Bluto have arrived to court Olive Oyl at the same time. One is at the front door and the other is at the back door. Olive Oyl is overwhelmed and the boys break in. It's a conflict of oneupmanship as both boys play tricks on one another with Olive Oyl laughing her head off. Popeye has had enough and pulls out the spinach. Of course, he destroys the house, but fixes everything with a flick of the rug.

This is the classic Popeye love triangle. The story is classic Popeye. I do wonder if Popeye couldn't accidentally knock Olive Oyl out. I kind of wanted that with her laughing so much. She's not always the sweetest.

Pleased to Meet Cha! (1935)

*** (out of 4)

Olive is at home alone when Popeye and Bluto both call on her at the same time. The two men agree that whoever does the best trick gets to stay while the other leaves. There's nothing too overly fresh here but there are enough laughs to make this a good entry in the series. The tricks range from pies in the face to plates to the back of the head and these here get the most laughs. The best sequence in the film is when Olive gets her own justice when the boys mess up her house.

On DVD from Warner.

Dave Fleischer was responsible for many gems. Ones that were amusing and charming, though over-cuteness did come through in some efforts and the stories were always pretty thin, with appealing characters, outstanding music and visuals that were inventive and with innovative animation techniques.

While maybe not quite classic Popeye, 'Pleased to Meet Cha!' is still very good and very funny. Have always enjoyed many of the Popeye cartoons a good deal and like Popeye very much, Fleischer's efforts were always well animated and scored with lots of entertainment value and great chemistry between Popeye, Olive Oyl and Bluto. 'Pleased to Meet Cha!' has everything that makes the Popeye series so appealing in its prime era and does nothing to waste the three main characters or make them less interesting.

The story is an interesting and beautifully paced one, never being dull, if formulaic (not uncommon with the Popeye cartoons), though with a lot of variety and creative moments. The humour and gags make it even more entertaining with very amusing to hilarious gags, and the cartoon is hardly devoid of them.

All three characters are great, though Olive Oyl's material is not as great as Popeye and Bluto's, though she is used very nicely and her actions towards the end make for one of the cartoon's highlights. Those two are spot on and their chemistry drives 'Pleased to Meet Cha!' and has so much energy. Popeye is always amusing and likeable but for me Bluto is here the funnier and more interesting character.

Furthermore, the animation is beautifully drawn and with enough visual detail to not make it cluttered or static and lively and smooth movement. Some creative little things too as Popeye and Bluto fight over not leaving. The music is also outstanding, lots of merry energy and lush orchestration, adding a lot to the action and making the impact even better without being too cartoonish. Fleischer's direction is always accomplished and his style is all over it.

Voice acting is dynamic and of very good quality on the most part, William Costello and especially William Pennell give Popeye and Bluto so much life. Mae Questel fits and voice Olive Oyl well, much better than Bonnie Poe.

All in all, very enjoyable if not quite classic Popeye. 8/10 Bethany Cox