Mutiny Ain't Nice

Mutiny Ain't' Nice (1938)

*** (out of 4)

Popeye is getting ready to head out to sea and Olive is crying. Popeye educates her that women are bad luck at sea but sure enough she sneaks on board. As soon as they're out to sea and the crew find out, a mutiny breaks out to get Olive off the ship.

If you're looking for a great entry in the Popeye series then this here certainly isn't that but at the same time fans of the series should enjoy this one as we're treated with the typical wonderful animation as well as some nice violence. The film's highlight happens at the end when the men go crazy and all of the fighting breaks out. Again, this is far from a classic but it's certainly entertaining.

Women are bad luck on a boat, it was often said way back when, so they aren't invited on this big vessel, even if Popeye is the captain and Olive Oyl is the girl who wants to get aboard. She accepts it, too.

Through a weird circumstance, however, Olive gets locked into a big trunk and is taken unknowingly taken aboard. Soon, she's crying from inside the trunk and Popeye finds out his bad-luck female friend is on board. Oh, boy...what to do? If the crew finds out, there will be mutiny. You know how superstitious sailors are! That kind of thing goes way back in time. Just ask Jonah, who was tossed overboard and wound up in big trouble.

Guess what? Mutiny is exactly what happens. How Popeye gets out of this mess is funny, with a number of good sight gags. A few of the best were early on when she pretends to be a photograph on the wall.

The ending won't please feminists, but then again they wouldn't be watching Popeye to begin with as his cartoons were definitely a product of the times, gender-wise. That's what I like about these cartoons. Olive Oyl, for all the fickleness and grief she causes Popeye, once in a while takes her lumps, too!

Olive Oyl is accidentally laded onto Popeye's cargo ship. When the superstitious crew finds out there's a woman on board, they commit mutiny.

It's always good to see a Popeye cartoon without Bluto to fight; that's so common that it becomes boring. On the other hand, there is an assortment of rather generic sailors to take his place, as well as a beautifully rendered three-masted ship as part of the background art. As usual during the Fleischer era, the gags, big and little, abound, and a good capper joke winds up the entire thing satisfactorily.

Animation director Dave Tendlar apprenticed on the Krazy Kat shorts produced by Harrison and Gould, then settled into the Fleischer Studio, nd stayed at its successor until about 1950, when he went over to Terrytoons. He continued working at various animation studios until the early 1970s. He died in 1993 at the age of 84.

Popeye loads up his ship for departure. Olive Oyl is crying to join him, but it's bad luck for a woman on a ship. He forbids her. Unbeknownst to him, she gets trapped in a truck and carried onboard. When he finds her, he must hide her or the crew would mutiny. That's exactly what they do and Popeye has to fight back with his spinach.

It is interesting that this is a sail ship. I do wonder where Bluto is. One would think that he could lead the mutiny and be a great opponent. I would like the crew to be more specific. It is still a fun little short. Maybe change the ending by strapping Olive to the front of the boat. That would be a better visual.

Very good cartoons from Fleischer Studios were many, some gems even, and have always much preferred their output as far as Popeye cartoons go over that for Famous Studios, though the latter's output was far from bad at all (just not as funny or as consistent). The stories were very thin and samey, but the cartoons, and the series in general actually, were mostly very charming and funny, well animated, scored and voiced.

'Mutiny Ain't Nice' is not one of the best Popeye cartoons to me. It is regardless very enjoyable and never less than very funny, its best parts being hilarious. Speaking as someone who has always enjoyed many of the Popeye cartoons a good deal and liked Popeye very much, Fleischer's efforts were always well animated and scored with lots of entertainment value and great chemistry between the characters.

There is not an awful lot wrong, though it is formulaic and it is a cartoon that gets better when things get going. The first half was a touch bland but the second was great fun.

Did appreciate though that Olive is not underused this time and her role here was interesting and quite different for Olive. Popeye has always been the more interesting and funnier character and his comic timing and likeability has not been lost. Loved Jack Mercer's, relishing as ever the asides and Popeye's mumbling, and Mae Questel's (the only voice for Olive to do anything for me and there is a reason as to why she is the most prolific one) voice acting.

Have never had an issue with the animation in the Fleischer period (it was more variable with Famous Studios), 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. It's a very funny cartoon too, gags are plenty and all of them hit the mark, some of the funniest material actually comes from Olive. Some may find that the ending leaves an unpleasant aftertaste, for me it was quite interesting to see one that was different and that it happened to the person you would not expect it to happen to.

On the whole, very enjoyable. 8/10