Popeye

I am not ashamed to admit it but I love Popeye, the cartoon and the movie starring the amazing Robin Williams as Popeye. He is almost unrecognizable in the role but completely believable. I love Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl because she really does a superb job living up to and beyond my expectations as the ultra-skinny love interest to muscular Popeye. It's like watching old friends. "I'll pay Tuesday for a Hamburger today" was a common statement. Of course, Popeye and Olive Oyl have Brutus as an obstacle to their happiness and almost the loss of Sweet Pea. It's a kind a family film too. It has music and dancing. Okay, it's not the greatest musical film ever made but it's always worth watching again. It reminds me of being 7 years old and seeing this film at the movie theater.

Wow, again "the worst movie ever made". At least when you go by those self proclaimed internet-movie-critics on IMDb who never bother to bestow upon the heavily bored public their highly imaginative musings like "Two hours of my life I will never get back", without even having one (a life that is) in the first place. Fact is: Every movie in this database is "the worst ever made" ... for someone ... then scroll up or down a bit and suddenly the same movie will become a "never fully appreciated masterpiece". What does this teach us? The truth, like always, lies somewhere in between and is highly subjective. Go and see it for yourself. Don't be interested in what I have to say. Well, if you still are: I quite liked it.

I remember my Dad taking me to watch this film as a Christmas treet. This film was made here in Malta and we are very proud of it, the set still stands today as a tourist attraction in Anchor bay. i remember loving this film. Robbin Williams was only known for the series of "Mork and Mindy', he still had a very long way to go but you can see that he was more than a promising star in the entertainment business. I learnt that at the time he was having serious troubles with cocaine and a cheating wife. This film was really cool and should they re-attempt it(not that Popeye is so much in vogue this days....although he should be) I can't imagine anyone but Robin Williams himself for the part.

POPEYE was Robin Williams' first starring role in a feature film, and he inhabits the character perfectly. This movie, more than any other that I can remember, is the best example of a live action cartoon, in the best sense of the term. Watching it was like a cartoon come to life. It was truly wonderful and extremely funny to watch characters behaving as if they were in one, from their movement to the way they spoke. And none exemplify this better than Robin Williams in the title role, who channels his unbridled comic talent into a completely dedicated performance which is equally hilarious and touching. The story is fairly simple, though. Popeye rows into the town of Sweethaven looking for his 'Pap.' While there, he (and the audience) find out about how messed up that town really is. They have an absurd amount of taxes, and everyone is kept in fear of a mysterious Commodore and Captain Bluto, who run the town. He also meets Olive Oyl, played (at times screechingly) by Shelley Duvall (who also fits her role perfectly). This film is also a musical, and there several catchy numbers which have the capacity to stick in your head if you aren't careful. If I have any complaints, it's that Shelley Duvall isn't as good a singer as she is an actress, but nothing she does really ruins the picture. The biggest flaw in the film is direction the narrative takes about two thirds of the way through. I also thought that Bluto wasn't really given his due as a character. Still, for Robin Williams fans this will be essential viewing. It's a wacky, manic experience that demands to be seen.

This movie marked the debut of Williams, in a role suited to his skills at the time as an actor. He looks the part and has fun with the silliness, making the title character likable. Shelley Duvall matches his ability to make her role as Olive Oil likable and she gets some well-deserved laughs in some scenes. It's just good, clean fun.