86 years ago today in the Thimble Theater comic strip a famous sailor man introduced himself to the American public. This sailor was of course Popeye the Sailor Man. So from January 17, 1929, here is Popeye's first appearance in comics.
http://cdn3.whatculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Popeye_in_Thimble_Theatre.jpg
Of course what many of us know Popeye for today is the classic animated cartoons from the Fleshier Brothers. Popeye made his film debut on July 14, 1933. There was not a Popeye film series at this time. When the rights to use the character were purchased, the contract asked for a trail film before a series could begin. So this cartoon is actually a Betty Boop Cartoon. Betty Boop an original character created by animator Grim Natwick for the Fleshier Studio, was the studio's claim to fame at this time, and had been put in some of the funniest cartoons of the 1930's. Betty however only makes a quick cameo appearance in this film though, so it is much like the Popeye series had already begun. The animation of Betty Boop in this cartoon is reused from her previous film Bamboo Isle from 1932. Popeye's voice at this time was done by a radio comedian named William Costello. This would soon change as I will talk about in my introduction to the next cartoon. As was typical of Fleshier films from this era much of the supporting cast are animals. This is of course something that would change in later Popeye cartoons (Yeah this is a Betty Boop, but Popeye played the main role). So from 1933 and directed by Dave Fleshier, here is Popeye The Sailor Man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QURINUKpWKM
William Costello let fame get to his head. Therefore he became a pain to work with by always showing up late for recording, and other unprofessional things. Therefore he was replaced by Jack Mercer, who had done voices for the studio before. Luckily he could do a perfect Popeye impression. Jack Mercer was also a very funny person, he would often times adlib much of Popeye's dialog. Many times these adlibs would be among the funniest parts of the film. Mercer would later write some Popeye cartoons himself. Popeye was such a popular character that the Fleisher's felt his films could sustain an audience's interest for a longer length. Therefore 3 films were made that were 2 reels in length instead of the usual 1 reel. It was even thought about having him play the title role in the feature film Gulliver's Travels. This however never happened but we do have 3 great 2 reel Popeye films. From 1939 and directed by Dave Fleshier, here is Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtoKDEufmw8
Although character's from the comics other than Popeye, Bluto, Olive Oil, or Wimpy rarely appeared in these cartoons (Even rarer when Famous Studios did the series), their were occasions when these characters were used. Such an occasion was 1938's Goonland, a wonderful cartoon that makes me wish they would have used these characters more. So from 1938 and directed by Dave Fleshier, here is Goonland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Geealnaew5Q
-Michael J. Ruhland
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