Shiver Me Timbers!

This is a "ghost ship" story and not really anything that funny, at least nowhere as good as the normal Popeye cartoon by this time. It might be even a little bit too scary for small kids.

Popeye, Olive and Wimpy come across this ghostly ship one day. (The three of them seem to go out boating a lot, and wind up on desert islands.)

The boat has some humorous features, such as neon-type signs that change and floorboards which move up and down making music, but then its a mite sadistic as ghosts tie up our three pals and torture them, although not in any gruesome way. Yet still, as mentioned, it's a little dark for small kids to be watching. I sometimes think these early Popeye cartoons were made more for adults. Popeye then finally figures a way to fight these sadistic spirits, but isn't done in his normally-humorous fashion.

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.

'Shiver Me Timbers' is not quite one of the best Popeye cartoons to me. It is extremely well done though and has a lot going for it. 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 the characters. 'Shiver Me Timbers' has much of what makes the Popeye series so appealing in its prime era and does nothing to waste the three main characters or make them less interesting. Bluto is missed but Wimpy works well here.

The story is an interesting and beautifully paced one, never being dull, if formulaic (not uncommon with the Popeye cartoons). The material make it even more entertaining, 'Shiver Me Timbers' is non-stop fast-paced fun though very creepy, avoiding the trap of repetition. It has to be said though that there are parts that may be too frightening for youngsters and some of the torture and psychological elements have a lot of impact.

All the characters are great, though Olive Oyl is a bit underused and her material not as great as the rest. There is a lot of energy here and a spookiness that is suitably unsettling. Popeye is always amusing and likeable and Wimpy is good support but it's the truly spooky ghosts that steal the show. The ghost ship is like its own character too.

Furthermore, the animation is beautifully drawn and with enough visual detail to not make it cluttered or static and lively and smooth movement. Sammy Timberg's 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, Mae Questel is a good fit for Olive Oyl, the voice that most sticks in my mind for the character and who voiced her the best, but William Costello is even better.

Overall, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

The Fleischer Studios pioneered modern animation; notice how some of them feature a three-dimentional background using glass plates or even miniature sets on which the cartoon characters were added optically. That is not the case with this particular cartoon though but it does show certain familiar characters in a stage of development. Popeye, for example, finally finds a situation he is not in complete control of and reacts the way a regular person would: with fear and hesitance. Popeye, Olive and Wimpy find a ghostship and, against the better judgement of Olive and Wimpy, go aboard. Quicker than you can say "weigh anchor" the ship sets sail all by itself. When Popeye declares "There ain't no ghosts!" suddenly they are surrounded by them and Popeye's strength, which is great even without spinach, is suddenly useless. For an 8 minute cartoon we take a strange psychological turn as the ghosts turn each persons fear against them. Popeye is tied high on a mast swinging like a human penduum contantly hitting iron rings with his head and. . .um . . .lower regions. Wimpy's torture is worse when you consider his appetite. He is chained to a mast beside a table loaded with food. When he tries to grab a snack the table not only runs away but hits him hard in the stomach as well. Olive's ordeal is the worst, well to me anyway because that is my fear as well. Tied to the deck milk is dripped on the bottoms of her bare feet and licked off by cats. Oh yeah Popeye saves everyone but I think they have all learned a lesson by the end of the cartoon. The supernatural is ain't nothin' to be made fun off.

Shiver Me Timbers! (1934)

*** (out of 4)

Popeye, Olive Oyl and Wimpy are out sailing when they come across a ghost ship. Of course, they enter the ship when ghosts attack them but thankfully Popeye brought his spinach along. This is a pretty good entry in the series that manages to be fairly funny, although I'm pretty sure the ghosts in the film would scare most younger kids. The animation is very good throughout with a lot of thought going into the ghost ship as well as a storm that pops up towards the end. Wimpy gets some dialogue in this short and also manges to have some of the best scenes including one where he stumbles upon some haunted hamburgers. It's also interesting to see Popeye being more human here because at first he's scared of the ghosts. In previous films, the word fear never came into play.

Popeye, Olive, and Wimpy come across a ghost ship. Of course, despite concerns by the other two, Popeye insists on injecting his macho self onto the ship. What follows is lot of ghost cartoon action. Eventually spinach rears its head (excuse the absurd image) and Popeye faces the spirits.