Spinach Fer Britain

Popeye is sailing out for Britain to provide the people there with well needed spinach to fight of the Germans. While sailing there, he has an encounter with a German U-boot which destroys his ship. Popeye takes his revenge, wiping out the nazi's and taking the spinach in the U-boot to Downing Street ten.

Reasonable propaganda piece from the World War II age, with stereotypical dumb and cruel Germans beaten heavily by our spinach loving sailor. The animation is black and white, but well done, as there isn't much to complain about in this short cartoon. Though there isn't much to enjoy either, I must admit.

So and so on the whole, but check it out if you're interested in cartoons from that era. 6/10.

This short, one of a handful done by Paramount Famous Studios in black and white, is fairly effective propaganda and uses the black and white to best advantage with shadows and shadings. While the overall value of even a rowboat full of spinach versus, say, munitions, to Britain at that time and place is an open question, Popeye's patriotic fervor is not. An excellent use of Popeye for the war effort. Well worth tracking down. Recommended.

Popeye was given a mission in delivering a shipment of spinach to Great Britain. The only problem is that there's a Nazi sub roaming around destroying everything in sight.

And they've set their targets on Popeye's boat of spinach. He'll need to get past them and a field of mines in order to succeed in his mission.

Will our American sailor be able to save the spinach. And what with England do without the spinach? It's a common WW2 cartoon. With a use of entertainment, but it's no where near being a classic like other Popeye and WW2 cartoons.

And like other average WW2 cartoons, it coexists due to it having Nazis in it.

I have never been a particular fan of Popeye. As a kid, I hated when the cartoons came on because they were so darn predictable--you know, Bluto kidnaps Olive Oyl and beats up Popeye, then Popeye eats the spinach and saves the day. However, despite the predictable plots, I always admired the excellent details and Fleischer Studios animation--even though most of them were made in black and white.

This time, however, the plot is very unique. Popeye is helping the war effort by taking a shipment of spinach to Britain all by himself when a German submarine attacks. The Germans were parodied in a pretty funny way, saying "Snoo, Snoo,..Heil Hitler" all the time. My bet is that most Germans today would not feel offended by the silly characterizations and understand the context for the cartoon.

Although the Nazis get the upper hand initially, our spinach-eating hero eventually kicks butt and saves the day. While this is hardly a surprise, it was sure nice NOT seeing Olive and Bluto and seeing Popeye in this film meant to bolster the war effort at home. Sure, the film is very dated since the war has been over for more than 60 years, but it's a shame this toon isn't generally shown any more on regular TV, as it is funny and well-made.

Have a general preference for, as far as Popeye cartoons go, Fleischer Studios' output. A vast majority of them are better made, more inventive and funnier, they tended to be formulaic in terms of story but when they did their changes of pace (and they had a number of those) they were generally better than those of Famous Studios.

Not implying here that Famous Studios' output isn't good. Much of it is, the later years did see evidence of tight budgets and hasty deadlines which accounted for the inferior animation quality (a general issue with later Famous Studios actually), the stories being more formulaic and the humour not as plentiful or imaginative, also more amusing than hilarious. With that being said, most of them were among the studio's better efforts in an increasingly inconsistent output, better than the late Herman and Katnip and late Casper cartoons, being still funny and with great character interaction and even better music.

Although one of the better World War II Popeye cartoons, 'Spinach for Britain' is still not one of the best representations of Popeye. The best Popeye cartoons are great to classic, this fits under the good distinction.

'Spinach for Britain' is not perfect although there is not an awful lot wrong with it. It is occasionally a little on the heavy-handed side and It is not hard to figure out what happens next and how the cartoon is going to end.

Inevitably there are stereotypes, but luckily while unsubtle it is not in an offensive way.

The conflict is stronger here though than in the two previous world war cartoons with Popeye fighting the Japanese because the personalities are more interesting. Popeye is likeable and amusing as well as resourceful and brave, he seems comfortable and fits well here.

Writing-wise, there is very funny material in 'Spinach for Britain' and it does boast some inventive moments visually and in the well-timed gags. As said, the characterisation is strong, meaning that there is tense and humorous interaction.

On top of all this, the animation and music are without complaint. The animation is fluid and beautifully detailed, everything looks meticulous and like a lot of effort and care went into it clearly. The music is outstanding as always, lushly and cleverly orchestrated with lots of energy, it adds to the action and enhances it even. Jack Mercer does a great job as Popeye and makes the most out of his material.

Altogether, good. 7/10 Bethany Cox