The Spinach Overture

Last Saturday I watched this Popeye cartoon on TCM at someone's apartment in New York City. The sailor man has a band with Olive and Wimpy as members. Bluto, with the long hair associated with symphony conductors at the time, shows him up with his more classically professional playing. Because of that, Popeye's bandmates leave him to join Bluto. Then a spinach can comes into play...This was quite an amusing cartoon from the Fleischer period of the character. Oh, course, that theme song also gets played along the way...

This time it's Popeye trying to hold his own in concert hall. He has been deserted by Olive and is left behind to fend for himself. He uses spinach to become a great pianist. Of course, by this time, Bluto is conducting a symphony orchestra. It is going to end up in fisticuffs. This is a moderately entertaining feature, using a different angle.

Spinach Overture was a well put-together Popeye cartoon, with Popeye leading his amateur band, Olive Oyl playing harp, Wimpy as drummer, and two others, playing Von Suppe's Poet and Peasant Overture. The Rehearsal Hall was in a high-rise office building; trouble was that in the NEXT room, Maestro Bluto, conducting a symphony orchestra, JEERED at Popeye, sought to outdo him, first playing violin and leading the combo, then on piano. Popeye, after his band was invited by Bluto to come next door, ate his spinach, played the piano superbly, THEN-- took over as orchestra conductor, coming out on top. What is also significant about this Popeye is that in 1948, Famous Studios produced Symphony in Spinach, about a musical rivalry between Popeye and Bluto, in a Rehearsal Hall ALSO in a high-rise office building. Not only had this remake of Spinach Overture the same basic theme. Some of the gags in the Fleischer version repeated in the Famous remake, like Popeye's punching Bluto with trombone slide. Both Popeyes involving musical rivalry are excellent; the Spinach Overture is the more amusing of the two

Popeye is rehearsing his band -- Wimpy, Olive Oyl, her brother Castor, and Oscar -- and pretty off-key in their rendition of the "Poet and Peasant Overture. In comes Bluto, who shows off his musical chops and steals the players away. Fortunately, Popeye has a can of spinach hidden in the spinet.

It's a good, if standard plot for the Popeye cartoons, but it is enlivened by its side. Whoever is playing the piano does a nice jazz version of von Suppe's music.

If you don't recognize Castor Oyl and Oscar, don't worry. They were characters in Elzie Segar's THIMBLE THEATER comic strip, where the Popster, Olive, and Wimpy originated.

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.

'The Spinach Overture' is one of the best Popeye cartoons from this period and one of my personal favourites actually of the whole series. 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. 'The Spinach Overture' 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). It is a familiar premise, and wasn't new around then, but it is one of the best examples of it because of the fresh and funny execution and that there were characters worth caring for. The humour and gags make it even more entertaining, avoiding the trap of repetition. Some of the dialogue makes one smile and laugh, Olive Oyl shows a sarcastic side at one point and it's quite funny once you get over that it came from her. Music-themed cartoons is not a novel concept but it feels fresh here (maybe there was some slight bias on my part, seeing as any cartoon centred around music and especially classical immediately has me sold) and it is so exciting and fun to watch, with a snappy pace and beautifully crafted and sometimes creative visuals.

All three characters are great, though Olive Oyl is a little underused. Popeye and Bluto are spot on and their chemistry drives 'The Spinach Overture' and has so much energy. Popeye is always amusing and likeable but for me Bluto is here the funnier and more interesting character. Love the orchestras and the choice of instruments and who to play them, it is not everyday where you see Olive Oyl playing the harp.

Furthermore, the animation is beautifully drawn and with enough visual detail to not make it cluttered or static and lively and smooth movement. 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. The musical interpolations are witty and the use of Suppe's "Poet and Peasant" is genius. Fleischer's direction is always accomplished and his style is all over it.

Voice acting is dynamic and of very good quality, especially from Jack Mercer.

Overall, wonderful. 9/10 Bethany Cox