What -- No Spinach?

...and in which the star is none other than J. Wellington Wimpy.

It's a wonderful change-of-pace cartoon and lots of fun to see the great hamburger moocher as the center of attention.

Popeye and Bluto are clearly playing the role of straight men to Wimpy's shenanigans.

Wimpy is on no one's side. Just as long as he gets his hamburger. Only in one cartoon, the equally oddball "Hello, How am I?" does this characteristic, at least superficially, make him take on the role of villain.

Very uncharacteristic Popeye cartoon and extremely funny. Too bad Wimpy didn't get a chance to be a star more often.

I love the lyrics of songs in the 1930s, from "legitimate hit songs" recorded by stars to little ditties sung in cartoon sung in Betty Boop episodes or these early Popeye cartoons. Here's an example, sung by Wimpy, who is cooking (that traitor) in "Bluto's Restaurant:"

"There's nothing in the world that can compare With a hamburger, juicy and rare

A hamburger lives For the pleasure it gives It's a thrill-on-the-bill affair

Such heavenly food deserves the best A home and contentment Beneath my vest

There's nothing in the world That's so divine As a hamburger tender and fine

I adore you, hamburger mine!

Unfortunately for Wimpy he is clobbered over the head as he is about the devour that "divine" hamburger. Bluto takes it and puts it in the safe! You get in the safe by dialing a telephone. As I've said a number of times, this is one reason I love cartoons: the outrageous things you see.

Anyway, "that's one hamburger he won't get," says the big boss as he locks it into the safe.

This cartoon has a couple of unique sight gags, such as Wimpy having the menu light up on his chest in neon, when Popeye asks what's cooking. It's also different in that Wimpy plays such a large role, and he rather than Bluto, is more of the "bad guy."

What? No Spinach! (1936)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Popeye stops into Bluto's restaurant and orders a roasted duck but Wimpy thinks it's better for him to have a hamburger. Soon a fight breaks out between Popeye and Bluto.

The title is a tad bit misleading since Popeye never even requests any spinach but that's besides the point. This is certainly another winning Popeye short, which has all of the wonderful trademarks. We have a very good and catchy song by Wimpy about hamburgers. We get some great action scenes including the ending where just about everything in the restaurant is thrown. Then there's the humor, which is especially good when Popeye is complaining about the food being served to him. Fans of the series will certainly find plenty to enjoy with this one.

After Popeye, Wimpy was the most popular character in E.C. Segar's "Thimble Theater" comic strip, but in the Fleischer and Famous Studio cartoons, he was usually just a bit player. This film marks the one time he took center stage.

And it's 100% Wimpy. It takes place in a diner, Wimpy's favorite hangout in the strip. The only difference is that here, Wimpy is an employee, not a patron, but he's still trying to filch free hamburgers from the proprietor, Bluto (who is more or less subbing for Rough House, the greasy spoon cook from the strip). When Popeye enters and orders a roast duck, Wimpy tricks the two into fighting so that he can pilfer some food.

Bluto's a bit more aggressive than Popeye, but they're not playing hero and villain this time, just two straight-men for J. Wellington Wimpy, the comic compilation of the worst traits of W. C. Fields, Stan Laurel, and Oliver Hardy.

It's clear from the film why the cartoonists preferred the more action-oriented Popeye, but it's nice to know that they gave Wimpy his due at least once.

The man reason that the early Popeye cartoons were popular was that the characters were depicted as ordinary working-class types in everyday urban surroundings, which many in the Depression era could identify with. This more or less ended when Paramount bought out the series in the early 1940's and put their own take on it.

Very popular among viewers were the asides mumbled by the voice of Popeye Jack Mercer. The quick-witted Mercer would often ad-lib these asides randomly. Some needed to be edited out, because they wouldn't get past the censor, but most were left in as-is. Mercer continued to voice Popeye, except when overseas during World War 2, until his death in 1984.

Gus Wickie was the voice of Bluto in about 20 of the early cartoons. When the Fleischer brothers moved from New York City to Florida, Wickie decided to stay in The Big Apple, where could more-easily find work as an entertainer.

In this cartoon, and others in the series, Wickie was also allowed to ad-lib asides, which were also popular with the public. Neither Wickie's predecessor, William Pennell, nor his successor, the talented Jackson Beck, opted much for the same ad-libbing,

Also, the character of Wimpy had a more prominent role in this cartoon than in others during the era.

The interaction and dialog between the three is among the best in the series.