Symphony in Spinach

1948 was mostly not an impressive year at all for the Popeye series. Actually like many of the Popeye cartoons a good deal (more the Fleischer ones than Famous Studios'), but too many of the 1948 cartoons fell flat. All had their moments but they all also could have been so much more than they turned out and didn't do enough with initially good ideas executed in a run out of ideas sort of way. Hearing that 'Symphony in Spinach' was a remake, if anybody is feeling a bit nervous and questioning the point that is understandable.

'Symphony in Spinach' turned out to be the biggest surprise of that year. Despite loving cartoons centered heavily around music, part of me was nervous hearing that it was a remake of the excellent 'The Spinach Overture' and did question the point. To me remakes can be indicative of running out of ideas. 'Symphony in Spinach' turned out to be by far the best 1948 Popeye cartoon, the only great one, and one of the few attempted remakes of pre-existing Popeye cartoons to be as good as the original.

Olive again is underused and the lack of movement for the mouths was disconcerting, but there is very, very little to dislike here in 'Symphony in Spinach'.

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. Even the running gag with the trombone slide, thanks to some nice variety in how it is used. Some of the dialogue makes one smile and laugh.

Music-themed cartoons is not a novel concept but it feels fresh here (maybe there was some slight bias on my part, seeing as any cartoon centred around music and especially classical immediately has me sold) and it is so exciting and fun to watch, with a snappy pace and beautifully crafted and sometimes creative visuals with the use of instruments. All three characters are great, though Olive Oyl is a little underused. Popeye and Bluto are spot on and their chemistry drives 'Symphony in Spinach' and has so much energy. Popeye is always amusing and likeable but for me Bluto is here the funnier and more interesting character. Love the choice of instruments and who to play them.

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. The musical interpolations are witty and the voice acting is strong. Especially Jack Mercer, considered the definitive voice for Popeye for very good reason (no other Popeye voice actor relished and embodied Popeye's asides as much as Mercer).

Concluding, great. 9/10

Popeye and Bluto are reading the Variety newspaper when they come upon an ad from Miss Olive who is looking for a musician to join her band. They both rush to audition. Bluto stuffs Popeye into the mail. Popeye finds spinach in one of the packages. This is a Famous Studios cartoon. The animation is fine but I still like the classic better. I don't like the Variety newspaper which places the location in Hollywood. The boys are not usually musicians. There are a lot of little things that don't really fit. I also wish that the music is better although of course Popeye does play the theme.

Symphony in Spinach is a fine example of how Famous Studios remade Fleischer-produced episodes of the Thirties. Like Spinach Overture, Symphony In Spinach was about musical rivalry between Popeye and Bluto, and was set in a high-rise building with Rehearsal Hall on top floor. In this case, it was Popeye's and Bluto's answering an ad by Olive Oyl, who wanted a good musician for her band, one with class who doubled in brass; Popeye boasted that he could pay both instruments! He played "Life on the Ocean Wave", Bluto "I'm in the Mood for Love" on various instruments, after Popeye's attempt to blow his own horn by declaring that he had played in the sympathy orchestra. Bluto pushed Popeye down the letter chute, but Popeye ate spinach and soared back up with "a special delivery for that tin horn". One gag in "Spinach Overture" was repeated, namely Popeye's using a trombone slide to punch Bluto, finally winning the audition with his one-man band, playing"I'm Popeye the Sailor Man" (what else?). All in all, a fine remake of a Flesicher episode. This cartoon stood out, as the Famous Studios cartoons of the Fifties mostly lapsed into mediocrity.

This cartoon is unusual because there is almost no attempt to animate the character's mouths. The most likely explanation is that, for whatever reason, much of the dialog was ad-libbed during the recording sessions.

Max Fleischer's cartoon studio was one of the few that recorded the voices after a cartoon was animated, and Famous/Paramount continued this practice after they acquired the studio.

This was a major contribution to the character of Popeye because it allowed Jack Mercer to mutter additional lines that didn't require animation.

In this cartoon, all three actors' parts appear to have been done this way. Their mouths almost never move and the lines that are not synced are the funniest parts of the cartoon. It nearly overflows with musical puns like Bluto's "Don't B flat, babe, be natural!'