POPEYE THE SAILOR MEETS SINDBAD THE SAILOR (1936)
Animated short
Article 2694 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 9-12-2008
Posting Date: 12-28-2008
Directed by Dave Fleischer
Featuring the voices of Jack Mercer, Lou Fleischer, Mae Questel
Country: USA

When his ship is wrecked and Olive Oyl is kidnapped by Sindbad the Sailor, Popeye must face Sindbad’s legion of monsters to reclaim her.

For me, the Popeye cartoons were at their best when they were being made by Dave Fleischer in the thirties. They reached an ambitious peak with three lengthy Arabian-Nights inspired shorts; this was the first one of them, the first Popeye cartoon in color, and arguably the best. It effectively combined humor, action, and scares. At fifteen minutes, it’s just getting started about the time most cartoons end, but it’s never dull and there’s always something fun going on. The animation is excellent, with special praise going to the breathtaking three-dimensional backgrounds. Jack Mercer’s hilarious muttering as Popeye is always a treat. A couple of monsters add to the fantastic content, with Popeye taking on a giant bird (a battle that ends with a great scene that I still remember from seeing the cartoon as a child) and a two-headed giant. This is one of the classic cartoons, and it’s wonderful to be able to cover some classic short cartoon animation for this series.