The Twisker Pitcher

The Twisker Pitcher (1937)

**** (out of 4)

It's opening day of baseball and Popeye and Bluto are playing against one another when the mean Bluto goes up 21-0 entering the final inning.

THE TWISKER PITCHER is certainly one of the best episodes from the long-running series. If you're a fan of Popeye or just baseball then you're going to love the creative style on full display here, which includes a lot of baseball action as well as some funny fights. These fights include Olive Oyl going up against Bluto's girlfriend who looks like like him! There are many highlights in the film but one of the best happens when Bluto comes to the plate with the bases loaded. There's a lot of funny moments throughout this short.

It is Popeye's Pirates vs Bluto's Bears at the baseball stadium. Olive Oyl is battling Bluto's girlfriend in the stands. Popeye drops his can of spinach. Bluto eats it all, fills it back up with weeds, and gives it to Popeye. Popeye is surprised by Bluto's new-found excellence. When Popeye eats his spinach, he is shocked by his even worst performance. He pulls out a pack of spinach seeds.

They are switching it up a little in this episode. If Bluto knows about spinach, he would be eating it all the time. Let's not think about that although I always assumed that he hates the taste of spinach. This is interesting and a little different.

This is much cheaper than attending a major league game and more entertaining to boot, although at times it bears little resemblance to anything drawn up by Abner Doubleday. Olive has the best scene, right at the end. Great fun and worth watching. Recommended.

If you know anything about baseball, all you can do is shake your head and laugh (or groan) and the craziness of the game shown in cartoons. Whether it's Popeye, Goofy or some other cartoon figure, you know you are going to see insane antics on the diamond.

Much of the time you see the same things: pitchers who delivers fast balls and curves like you've never seen; catches in the outfield in which the outfield pushes back the entire section of the stands and then catches the ball; and other one-man feats that only Superman could perform. Mostly, you see things that are totally ludicrous, such as Popeye in this cartoon coming to bat 21 times in a space of 10 seconds! All can you is just enjoy the lunacy and laugh.

The big baseball game features "Popeye's Pirates" versus "Bluto's Bears." Each has a special box seat for their best fan. For Popeye, it's Olive Oyl and for Bluto some big heavyset woman. They are right next to each other so you know some fireworks will take place between those two, not just Popeye and Bluto.

What set this Popeye cartoon apart from others is that Popeye's can of spinach drops out of his pocket right before the game and Bluto downs the green stuff, replacing the empty can with weeds. This produces problems for Popeye, as you can imagine.

Overall, more funny stuff and a cartoon that just flew by because it was so entertaining. (Hey, I'm a baseball fan.)

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 Twisker Pitcher' 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 Twisker Pitcher' 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. Bluto's bases loaded gag and Olive Oyl at the end are the highlights. Baseball action in animation rarely was this insane 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 Twisker Pitcher' 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. 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, especially from Jack Mercer.

Overall, wonderful. 9/10 Bethany Cox