Popeye for President

Popeye for President (1956)

*** (out of 4)

Popeye and Bluto are running for President and they soon realize that the election is tied with only one person in the country who hasn't voted yet and that's Olive Oyl. Both men rush to her farm to win her vote by doing the various chores.

POPEYE FOR PRESIDENT is certainly one of the better shorts from this era of the series. There's a lot of great action throughout the film as well as some nice laughs. The highlights certainly begin once we're on the farm and we get some creative scenes of Popeye helping out on the farm including a very funny bit dealing with some wood that needs chopped. Fans of the series will certainly enjoy this film as the action is non-stop.

For so many reasons, a more actual short animation today than in 1956. Because the political frame becomes , in our society, the most important part. The victory of Spinach Party versus Blutocratic Party remains the axis of contemporary elections and the vote of Olive Oyl remains the best part.

It's the Presidential election time and Popeye, of the Spinach Party, is running against Bluto, of the Blutocratic Party. Popeye promises free ice cream while Bluto dishes out cigars. Things are not looking good for our hero, according to the crowd size. Popeye has just one little dog sitting there waging is tale while Bluto has a huge group of people listening to him.

While the two candidates get in an argument, they notice a neon ticker-tape sign flashing on a nearby building that says the election is all tied up with just one vote left in Green County: a "Miss Olive Oyl." Naturally, our two rivals are going to do their best to persuade Olive to vote for them so they race out to the country outskirts to woo her.

Popeye's methods of chopping and stack wood, plowing the field and putting hay in the hayloft are creative and very funny. Bluto is stupid and ineffective in every thing he does in this cartoon, an appropriate representative of his party name.

Lots of punches with attacks and counterattacks. The vote for president is tied and who should have the deciding vote but our dear Olive Oyl. So Popeye and Opponent, Bluto, duke it out. They each try to impress the farm woman with their abilities to cut wood, plow a field, and store hay. Olive is using them to do the work she usually does. Fortunately for Popeye, Olive has a spinach field. Some of the bits are clever and work quite well. Perhaps one of the better in the series. Of course, since it's 1956, the picture quality is quite good, and the color, like most of these late features, enhances the events.

Popeye and Bluto are running for the same office. Everyone has voted save Olive Oyl, and her vote will decide the election. So they head over to her farm and compete by doing chores.

While I can forgive the folks at Famous Studios their failure to explain the Electoral College in six minutes, I find it harder to ignore the utterly hackneyed way in which they present this cartoon. Popeye and Bluto fight. Bluto cheats. Finally Bluto clouts Popeye and leaves him in a situation from which he cannot escape, but there's some spinach to hand, which he eats, escapes, and clobbers Bluto. Just like all the other times.