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STRONGER THAN
SPINACH: THE SECRET APPEAL OF THE FAMOUS
STUDIOS POPEYE CARTOONS By Steve R. Bierly
Until now, the Famous
Studios Popeye cartoons have never really been given a fair treatment by
animation writers and historians. Authors have concentrated on the earliest
Popeye cartoons from Fleischer Studios because those films broke new ground
in technique and humor, and on the made-for-TV cartoons of the 1960s because
many of them are so awful. The Famous Studios cartoons are often just
mentioned in passing. But from 1942-1957,
Famous Studios, a division of Paramount Pictures, produced Popeye cartoons
that have a fan-following to this day. These cartoons were shown on TV during
the Baby Boomers' formative years and continue to be shown on cable and
satellite channels today. In fact, they are the longest running cartoons in
television syndication. Many of the kids through
the years who grew up watching the Famous Studios films have found that the
films grew up with them because these cartoons were originally made to
entertain adult movie-going audiences, before they were sold to TV and
broadcast as kiddie fare. So, they contain adult
themes, humor that uses verbal and visual double entendres, and mature
sensibilities. They also, of course, are full of slapstick and are just plain
fun. So, unlike some childhood joys that are left behind, the pleasure of the
Famous Studios Popeye cartoons gets even stronger the older one gets. The Secret Appeal of the
Famous Studios Popeye Cartoons explores the reasons
for that. It sets Famous Studios in historical context and explains why the
creators working there made the films they did. Then the changes the creators
made to the three main characters - Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Bluto are examined,
along with Famous Studios' emphasis on sex and romance, tension and suspense
and violence, and moral confusion - it's often hard to know who to root for
in the cartoons, Popeye or Bluto! Amid the puns and the slapstick, there was
a lot more going on. And it's the "more" which makes the films
endlessly fascinating. Eleven cartoons are
explained in depth, and then all the Famous Studios cartoons are scanned to
uncover the magic elements they each contain. The The
Secret Appeal of the Famous Studios Popeye Cartoons ends by exploring the
ways the films could have influenced other cartoons, comic books, and even
feature length movies. The Secret Appeal of the
Famous Studios Popeye Cartoons is a must read for anyone
who has ever enjoyed Popeye cartoons and/or is interested in the character's
history. And, perhaps even more importantly, it's a lot of fun, too! Published by: Available at amazon.com Pre-release
comments include: “an interesting read” “lots
of fun” “sexy,
nostalgic, funny, and even shocking at times”
“reminds me of the days when Popeye cartoons were beamed into our living rooms as we were growing up and the
ways they used to make us feel” “great
pictures!” |
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Bluto's Booster Page The Famous Studios' Bluto (and those bad guys who shared his spirit) is the greatest cartoon villain of all time!! What other cartoon villain has played so many different parts (Hercules, Sinbad, Tarzan, etc.)? What other villain could be used as a very serious romantic rival for the hero, and as a bank robber, and as just a plain nasty bully, and as a sci-fi threat? NO OTHER BAD GUY! Bluto is versatile! And he's both a physical threat with his super strength and a cunning schemer. Yes, he can punch out Popeye, but he can also frame the Sailorman and use psychology to trick Popeye and Olive. And with the well-oiled charm of a snake, he can easily work his way into Olive's heart. And, as with all truly great villains, (like the Silver Age Lex Luthor or Marvel's Doctor Doom), you can often see things from his perspective and sympathize with him. In fact, were it not for the character flaws of impatience and a violent temper, Bluto actually could have won in many of the cartoons! It's quite easy to start rooting for him. Click on pictures to learn more about the greatest cartoon villain of all time (and those in the Popeye cartoons that were like him)!!!!
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Updated 11-21-2009. |
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There's lots of other
stuff on my site too, like:
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BOOKMARK ME!!!
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My
home page with links to my Buffy, Popeye, TV/Movies, Beliefs, and
other pages. |
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Return
to top of this page. |
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All
the aspects of Bluto I could think of are discussed on various Bluto
pages. Go here for a complete listing. |
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As
the title says, lots about Olive Oyl. You can choose from a number of
titles to link to many other of my pages about this lovely lady. |
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My
Popeye Page. Lots of links to my pages about the King Of Spinach. |
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Discuss
the Famous Studios and KFS cartoons featuring Olive Oyl with other fans . |
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This page was created using Corel Word Perfect Suite 8 and Netscape Navigator Composer and Microsoft Word. All characters and images are legal properties of their respective companies and are used here without permission for entertainment, review, and informational purposes only. All other material is copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 by Steve R. Bierly. |