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sex, popeyes, and
video tape:
THE
CURIOUS EFFECTS OF GROWING UP WITH THE PARAMOUNT/FAMOUS STUDIOS'
CARTOONS
(A Five
Part Article-Originally published in the
Official Popeye Fanclub News-magazine.)
Introduction
When people reflect on old cartoons, strange
things can happen. For instance, I heard a radio talk-show host confess
on the air, "Whenever I watched a Popeye cartoon, I used to root for
Bluto. Does that mean I'm weird? Do I need therapy?"
I
could relate. As a baby boomer, I grew up with a daily dose of Popeye
cartoons. The Sailor Man was my hero. I pretended to be Popeye, even
attempting in vain to choke down the spinach my grandmother prepared at my
request. Yet, in my playtime adventures, stories, and daydreams, Bluto
would sometimes win. Then he started to win more and more. What
was wrong with me? I didn't want to see my hero beaten - yet, somehow,
maybe I did, too! I loved Popeye, wanted to be just like him, yet at
the same time I often couldn't stand him!! Was I nuts, or giving
into a hidden mean streak, or was there some other explanation?
A friend of mine in college (where late night talk turns
easily to such matters) once got red in the face and, stammering as though he
was revealing a deep, dark, shameful secret, said, "I know you're going
to think this is really strange, but I used to lust after Olive Oyl."
Equally embarrassed, I confessed that I did, too. (Others have told me
the same thing down through the years.) Even before we were
interested in girls, we were interested in Olive. And when we did get
interested in girls, we fantasized about hugging and kissing her. And
despite evidence that might initially suggest that she was a shameless flirt,
we just knew her heart was pure. When we watched a cartoon, we could
relate to Bluto, because we wanted to get Olive away from Popeye, too.
Each one of us knew that she really should have been our girlfriend.
Each of us had a secret desire to bump Popeye off and take his place.
Why? Were we villains deep down in our hearts? And why were
two healthy young males on a campus where the ratio was three girls to every
one guy spending time talking and thinking about a cartoon character,
anyway?
I
read an article on the INTERNET the other day which complained about today's
animated cartoons. One problem, it said, was that today's cartoons
aren't "sexy enough, like the old Popeyes."
Sexy? Old Popeye cartoons? Why would anyone think that? Yet maybe
that would explain why, even at a young age, I would feel slightly
embarrassed if anyone came into the room while I was watching Popeye. I
never got that feeling in connection with Huckleberry Hound or Daffy
Duck. It was the same feeling I got whenever the "mushy
parts" came on during the war and cowboy movies: the feeling that I
didn't want to admit I was watching, while at some level being proud of the
fact that I was; the feeling that I was being exposed to things I wasn't
quite ready for yet, but somehow wanted to be; the feeling that my thoughts
were heading toward hidden, mysterious, and delightful areas; and the feeling
that whatever was happening in me was intensely private and that no one
should know about it or intrude.
And
as I matured and got knocked around by life and love, the things happening to
me would all seem so strangely familiar somehow. I met more "Popeyes", Olives", and "Blutos" than I could count. I would often find
my mind wandering back to my favorite cartoons. Unlike the author of a
popular book, I may not have learned everything I needed to know in
kindergarten, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I learned it after
kindergarten ended for the day, watching the Sailor Man on channels 8 &
3. Why has Popeye stuck with me all these years while the glitter on
some of the other golden programs of my youth has definitely faded?
The
answers to all the above questions and the explanation for all those
feelings, desires, and confessions can be found in the fact that many of us
baby boomers grew up watching the Famous Studios' Popeye cartoons over and
over again on TV. In the area where I lived, they were on every weekday
afternoon and Saturday and Sunday mornings. And, while the cartoons
have much to commend them, repeated viewing of many of them can lead you to
feel ambivalent about, if not downright annoyed with, Popeye. Bluto and
Olive, not The Sailor Man, can easily capture your attention, imagination and
loyalty. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. As you
examine your feelings toward Popeye, Olive, and Bluto, and reflect on their
actions and consequences, you can learn indispensable lessons about life.
I
don't believe that the creators of the films intended any of this.
After all, they probably never dreamed their work would be viewed as an
entire body, nor ever imagined that the films would be rerun endlessly.
The creators just set out to make individual, entertaining, theatrical Popeye
cartoons that would appeal to adult moviegoers. Nonetheless, with
the advent of television and syndication, their work had an unintended,
cumulative effect on children. Certain repetitive themes became
ingrained in our subconscious minds. And after dozens of viewings, we
suddenly began to notice that sometimes Popeye acted really strangely.
We also realized that Olive often looked happy as Bluto was about to kiss
her. We began to question plot devices and twists that we had previously
taken for granted. Certain frames we hadn't noticed before jumped out
at us. Our minds tried to harmonize every cartoon with all the others
and form some sort of canonical "true history" of Popeye The Sailor
Man. And so, the films over time began to make some of us feel
anti-Popeye, pro- Bluto, "Hubba, Hubba"-Olive and "I
better take notes because I'm learning something important
here!" Let's examine each of these feelings in turn.
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PART
ONE: Popeye - Hero Or Zero?
Popeye does some incredibly
heroic deeds in the Paramount/Famous Studios' cartoons. He saves the
Earth from alien invasion, not once, but twice (Rocket To Mars,
Popeye The Ace Of Space)! He single-handedly cleans up an old
west town (Tar With A Star). He watches out for the safety of
infant Swee'pea, risking his life to do so (Baby
Wants Spinach, Thrill Of Fair, Child Sockology).
The Sailor Man does his part against our nation's enemies in World War II (You're
A Sap, Mr. Jap, Scrap The Japs, Spinach
For Britain). Popeye uses his superhuman strength to help the
populace of ancient Greece (Greek Mirthology). He buys orphans
a brand new television set (Punch And Judo".
And yet for all of that, in other films,
Popeye is simply not that dynamic a protagonist, nor even, at times, a very
sympathetic character!!
Although Popeye professes to love Olive, in
some cartoons, he has strange ways of showing it. Popeye has a
tendency to throw Olive to the (human) wolves. The Island Fling
has Popeye running off to pursue his hobbies of big game and treasure
hunting, while leaving Olive alone all day with an obviously girl-hungry
Robinson Crusoe. What did he think they'd be doing all day while he
was gone, playing tiddledywinks? Or did he
bother to think at all? In Pre-Hysterical Man, it takes
Popeye an awfully long time to notice that Olive has fallen off the cliff
into the hidden valley and is in the clutches of the cave man. After
Popeye beats the wild animals in Safari So Good, he takes time to
congratulate himself and celebrate, even though Olive is locked in the tree
house with the lascivious jungle man and has been screaming for
help. At the beginning of The Royal Four-Flusher, Popeye
apologizes to the Count about getting upset over the Count's passionate
kissing of Olive. If it were me, I wouldn't have cared that the cad
was "nobility". I would have decked him!
But I suppose someone's got to woo
Olive. And that someone obviously can't be Popeye! In The
Fistic Mystic, Olive puckers up to give Popeye a kiss, but he would
rather plant one on the Statue Of Liberty instead!! Maybe this went
over big in the W.W.II era, but viewed later, it makes Popeye look
like a nerd who doesn't know what to do with a real, live girl. In A
Wolf In Sheik's Clothing, Olive lets Popeye know she's feeling romantic
and what is his response? He makes a joke and then hurries off
without a word or a backward glance to have a soak in a
bathtub!!! In Lumberjack And Jill, Popeye is
more interested in food than in girls. A square, old-fashioned
Popeye, spoils Olive's hip party in Jitterbug Jive. Then he
has to down spinach in order to be as cool as Olive and Bluto. Using
only his own strength and normal personality, he can't be compatible with
her at all. When Popeye and Olive go on a Vacation With Play,
all Popeye wants to do is nap all day and he's perfectly content to let
Olive go off by herself even though she's asking him to join her in
sports. When she decides to spend the day with Bluto, we can't
feel too upset for Popeye. After all, he had his chance. (And
don't tell me he was just too tired from carrying the car. We see
Popeye perform superhuman feats of strength all the time without having to
head for a hammock afterward. And in the rest of the cartoon, he
seems to have energy aplenty. At the end, during a scene meant to
convey the feeling that, Bluto being vanquished, the vacation is
continuing, Popeye still wants to lay around and do nothing!!! It
seems he really doesn't want to spend any quality time with Olive unless
another guy expresses interest in her first!!) When Olive dreams of
their wedding in Bride And Gloom, she envisions Popeye having to eat
spinach in order to get through his vows and knowing the Famous Studios'
Popeye, she's probably right!! Parlez- Vous Woo demonstrates
that Popeye needs to eat spinach even just to be able to turn Olive
on. Without it, he leaves her cold. And at the end of both Nearly
Weds and Bride And Gloom, although Olive has broken off their
engagement to be married, Popeye enjoys a good hearty laugh.
When a girl returned my diamond, I can assure you that laughing was the
farthest thing from my mind.
Popeye also shows little regard for Olive's
physical safety. When Olive is encased in a block of ice in Snow
Place Like Home, Popeye makes a wisecrack about her
situation. A Balmy Swami finds Popeye endangering
Olive's life when he interferes with a hypnosis trick. In Alpine
For You, Popeye refuses to get Olive a guide for dangerous
mountain terrain. Private Eye Popeye leaves Olive tied up
while he chases a suspect around the world.
Popeye also seems to care little for her
emotional and mental well-being. In A Balmy Swami, he doesn't
seem to care that Olive is totally bored. He's more interested in the
performing seals than in her. In Gym Jam, Popeye ignores
Olive when another "woman" shows up. In Car-azy drivers, Popeye mocks Olive as a woman
driver. In Olive Oyl For President and Cops Is Tops, he
laughs at her big dreams, acting as though he thinks that Olive,
being a woman, is totally incompetent to do important jobs. Maybe
back in the 40s and 50s these attitudes were common, but viewed later, they
make Popeye look like a male chauvinist of the worst kind.
Does this guy want a relationship with
Olive or not? At least Bluto always knows exactly what he
wants!! Does Popeye even know how to have a relationship?
Isn't the hero of a movie supposed to be the best guy for the girl, the one
"made for her"? Yet the Famous Studios' Popeye is pretty
incompatible with the Famous Studios' Olive. There are
legitimate reasons why Olive always jilts him.
And speaking of Olive jilting him, how many
times does it have to happen before he gets the message that she doesn't
really like him, she's just using him to get out of uncomfortable
situations? Even if Popeye and Olive wind up together at the end of
one cartoon, at the start of the next one, she'll jilt him again.
Here's just a sample of the times she's done it: Pitchin' Woo At The Zoo,
Tops In The Big Top; Klondike Casanova; Abusement Park;
I'll Be Skiing You; The Royal Four-Flusher; All's Fair At
The Fair; Symphony In Spinach; A Balmy Swami, Quick On
The Vigor; Alpine For You. How can you respect and root
for a guy who's such a glutton for punishment?
And he receives plenty of it, sometimes
because he's too stupid to see the obvious - not a very heroic trait.
For example, even though Mr. Crusoe is practically drooling over Olive in The
Island Fling, Popeye can't see that his host is trying to get him out
of the way in order to put the moves on her. Ditto in Snow Place
Like Home. I would think that if someone smashed my face into a
counter in order to lean over top of me to ogle my girlfriend in her
bikini, fed me to a bear, punched me into next week and left me outside in
the arctic cold, I might suspect he couldn't be trusted. I certainly
wouldn't climb into any "sleigh" he showed me. I'd say,
"You first, Pierre." In Mister And Mistletoe, Popeye
not only believes that Bluto is Santa Claus, but he seems to be oblivious
to (or easily distracted from) the fact that Bluto's making a big play for
Olive (and succeeding). Again, if someone threw me into the cellar
and went running to kiss my girl under the mistletoe, then stuffed me into
a bag and used super strength to heave it and me as far away as possible so
he could start spending time cuddling with my girlfriend on the couch, then
electrocuted me with a toy train to get me out of the way so he could put
his arms around my girl, I think I'd be a little suspicious when he handed
me a "Christmas candle" that looked exactly like a stick of
dynamite!!!
Popeye plays the part of the patsy and fall
guy in many of his pictures. In The Royal Four-Flusher, even
after the Count's first trick gets him effectively out of the way and the
second almost kills him, Popeye falls for two more!! Popeye is a
sucker for the "free sample" gag in All's Fair At The Fair,
even though it's the oldest trick in the book. In Symphony In
Spinach, Popeye can't figure out how bad things continue to happen even
though Bluto is in the room and Bluto has already crashed a piano lid down
on top of the sailor. Popeye can't tell that Bluto is disguised as a
woman in Gym Jam. He even throws away his spinach at
Bluto's request in Friend Or Phony! He trusts a Bluto handling
sharp objects to give him a shave and haircut in "Shaving Mugs"!
In Fright To The Finish, Popeye believes Bluto is giving up on a
date with Olive and going away quietly. (How many years has he known
this guy?) Cooking With Gags finds Popeye the brunt of Bluto's
April Fool jokes. Bluto goads Popeye into breaking his promise to
Olive repeatedly in Beaus Will Be Beaus. And in Out To
Punch and Nearly Weds, Popeye falls for rather obvious tricks
designed to incapacitate and humiliate him. Every time I watch Out
To Punch, I want to yell, "Hey, Popeye, look down! The
reason you can't run is that your feet are still encased in
cement." Sheesh! This is our
idol? Can you imagine Bugs Bunny falling for any of these gags?
He'd be pulling the pranks, not falling victim to them.
And if Popeye is so smart, why does he wait
until the end of every cartoon to down his spinach? Popeye Battle
Strategy Number One: " I'll let myself get bruised, humiliated, and placed
into a deathtrap, and wait until my girl's lips are less than a millimeter
away from the playboy's before I'll do anything about it." Or
why does he rush into life-threatening situations without first opening a
can? Isn't this like a policeman chasing a suspect into a dark alley
without drawing his gun, or a scuba diver forgetting to wear his tanks?
It's bad enough that Popeye is such a sap,
but in some cartoons, he's actually cast as a villain of sorts. When
he's in a picture with his nephews or an animal, he plays the kind of role
usually assigned to Sylvester The Cat, Tom of "Tom And Jerry"
fame, Yosemite Sam, or Elmer Fudd. He's
cast as the one who spoils the fun of little children or the one who tries
to kill, or harass, or starve, or relocate cute animals and insects.
When he loses, we applaud. See: Me Musical Nephews, Woodpeckin', Her Honor The Mare, Spinach Vs.
Hamburgers, The Fly's Last Flight, Riot In Rhythm, Tots Of
Fun, Shuteye Popeye, Popeye's Mirthday,
and Gopher Spinach.
In the cartoons centering around a love
triangle, Popeye is often another sort of villain, or, more accurately, a
spoiler. Many Famous Studio cartoons depict locales, situations, and
couples which are straight out of America's collective romantic fantasies.
Consider: the ringmaster and the female acrobat (Tops In The Big Top);
the fur trapper and the cabaret singer (Klondike Casanova); the
rodeo star and the cowgirl (Rodeo Romeo); the electrifying magician
and the pretty volunteer from the audience (The Fistic Mystic, A
Balmy Swami); two castaways alone on a tropical island (The Island
Fling); the sailor on shore leave and the girl at the amusement park (Abusement
Park); the ski instructor and the student (I'll Be Skiing You);
the pirate and his willing captive (Popeye And The Pirates);
the wealthy playboy nobleman and the comely commoner (The Royal
Four-Flusher); the jungle man and the girl lost on safari (Safari
So Good); the strongman and the carnival-goer
(All's Fair At The Fair, Quick On The Vigor); the
caveman taking a mate (Pre-Hysterical Man); Hercules and the Greek
lass (Popeye meets Hercules); the sheik acquiring a desert
beauty for his harem (A Wolf In Sheik's Clothing); the arctic french fur trader warming up the girl he saved from
freezing to death (Snow Place Like Home); the Sheriff Of Nottingham
and the wench who owes back taxes (Robin Hood-Winked); the
virtuoso and the swooning music lover (Symphony In Spinach);
the lumberjack and the new cook (Lumberjack And Jill); the
outlaw and the saloon singer (Tar With a Star); the libidinous
lifeguard and the beach bunny (Beach Peach); the coolest guy
in town and his hip chick (Jitterbug Jive); the resort's athletic
director getting real physical with the attractive vacationer (Vacation
With Play); the guide and the mountain climber (Alpine For You);
the bullfighter and the senorita (Toreadorable); a handsome Santa
paying a Christmas Eve visit to a merry miss (Mister And Mistletoe);
the dashing, sophisticated television star romancing his biggest fan
(Parlez-Vous Woo). In many of these cartoons, the music, the
dialogue, the looks the characters give each other and their tones of
voice, the settings, the double entendres, the number of times we've seen
similar situations in the movies, TV, or books, (or even acted out similar
situations with our spouses - c'mon, admit it!!), and the fact that
the entire plot revolves around a man and woman wooing, teasing, winning,
and, even seducing each other, makes us naturally expect, long for, and root
for the couple to get together. The only problem is that the couple
in question are Bluto (or another guy) and Olive - NOT Popeye and
Olive!!! Popeye's role in these cartoons seems to be only as the one
who prevents the romance from occurring, the one who squelches love.
Popeye reminds one of the annoying little brother who keeps barging in on
sis and her date as they try to have a goodnight kiss on the couch.
You want to give him a quarter so he'll go away!! Little brother does
help build up the sexual tension in the cartoons, but it never gets
resolved, because at the end of the picture, the girl goes off into the
sunset, arm and arm, not with her virile lover, but with little brother!!!
In the cartoons it sometimes seems that
Fate, or some higher power, wants Bluto and Olive together. Popeye is
spoiling the plans of the gods, what was truly meant to be. (Of
course I know the writers contrive these situations, but the characters in
the stories don't know that and as you watch fiction, you are supposed to
believe it's "really" happening.) How else do you explain
that as Olive is fantasizing about pirates - poof - a ship magically
appears (Popeye And The Pirates)? Or that as she's longing to
be ravished by a sheik, one is close by who hears her wishes and is
extremely willing to comply? Or the freak storm that blows a
bikini-clad Olive from the tropics into the arctic back yard of Pierre (Snow
Place Like Home)? In The Island Fling and Pre-Hysterical
Man, sympathy is intentionally built up at the beginning of the
cartoons for Mr. Crusoe and the caveman who desperately need a woman or
they'll go insane. Suddenly, Olive appears through unusual
circumstances, almost as an answer to their prayers. In Klondike
Casanova, the god Cupid actually makes an appearance to infuse Bluto
and Olive with passion for each other. And in Mister And Mistletoe
and Parlez-Vous Woo Bluto "just happens" to be outside
Olive's window when she makes the comments that reveal to him the key to
her heart. Finally, the Title Card for The Royal Four-Flusher
depicts Bluto as the king, Olive as the queen, and Popeye as the jack on
the cards in a poker hand. Is this sending a message about what the
true natural order of things is really supposed to be? And in that
cartoon, the eligible millionaire "just happens" to be riding in
the park at the exact moment Olive is in an attention-getting pose and
engaged in an activity which makes it extremely easy for the smooth
operator to move in and give her a long, hard, passionate kiss. It's kismet!!
As (supposedly) the leading man, Popeye is
not even the character who saves Olive's life in some of the
cartoons. Bluto fishes Olive out of the water in Abusement Park.
The Pre-Hysterical Man saves Olive from being devoured by a hungry
dinosaur. "Tarzan" Bluto saves her from an alligator in Safari
So Good. In Snow Place Like Home, hot-blooded Pierre's
giving Olive the steamy once over melts the block of ice around her, thus
saving her from freezing to death. A Balmy Swami saves Olive
from plunging many stories to her death at a construction site, after
Popeye had earlier unthinkingly steered her towards danger. (Watch the
cartoon carefully again. It's all Popeye's fault!! No wonder
the audience cheers when Bluto pins him with the daggers!!) In Beach
Peach, after Popeye and Olive's inflatable mount starts leaking air and
Olive, who can't swim, falls into the water, Popeye doesn't even let go of
his toy to drop off and save her. It's the lifeguard who rescues her
from drowning.
At this point, you might be saying,
"Yes, but Popeye is still the good guy because he's a better person
than Bluto." But in the Paramount/Famous Studio cartoons, is he
really? Doesn't he share the some of the same characteristics that
make the other guy in the cartoon "evil"?
"Well, Bluto (or the other guy) can't
ever take ‘No' for an answer."
But neither can Popeye. After Olive has pretty clearly given him the
brush-off and is enjoying the company of (and/or getting affectionate with)
her new beau, Popeye keeps trying to rudely horn in where he's not
wanted. See: She-Sick Sailors; The Fistic Mystic; Popeye
And The Pirates; Pre-Hysterical Man; A Wolf In Sheik's
Clothing; Beach Peach; Jitterbug Jive; Vacation With
Play; Parlez-Vous Woo.
"But the other guy is always trying to
steal Popeye's girl." First of all, it's debatable whether Olive
is really "Popeye's girl". She always seems pretty much up for
grabs to me. She usually treats Popeye as though he's just a
friend she has no real romantic interest in, or as though he is merely one
potential lover out of many, or as though he actually is her little
brother. She certainly doesn't act like she considers him her steady
beau. (See section #2. ) Secondly, Popeye himself makes plays
for another guy's girl in Wigwam Whoopee and Silly Hillbilly.
If it's okay for Popeye to do this, why is it wrong for Bluto?
"The other guy cheats, lies, deceives,
and plays dirty tricks to get his way." But so does
Popeye!! See: Puppet Love; Shape Ahoy; For Better Or
Nurse; Popeye And The Pirates; Taxi Turvey;
Fright To The Finish; Cookin'
With Gags; Penny Antics; Beaus Will Be Beaus; Cops Is
Tops; I Don't Scare; Nearly Weds; The Crystal Brawl;
Spree Lunch. It seems that The Truth and Fair Play are not always
Popeye's weapons of choice. Maybe all really is fair in love and
war. If so, then how can we blame Bluto? Or maybe playing dirty
tricks on one another is just a "guy thing" and Popeye and Bluto
go out for beers and pizza at the end of each cartoon for some male
bonding.
"But Bluto (or the other guy) always
resorts to violence and practically murders Popeye." Oh, and
what happens at the end of almost every cartoon? Does Popeye settle
for getting Bluto to desist or for restraining him? Does he turn him
over to the law? No, he usually demolishes him, sometimes placing him
(and leaving him!!) in life-threatening or torturous
situations. Some examples : Popeye repeatedly tickles the immobile
count's foot, adding to his humiliation, as Popeye and Olive laugh at him
in The Royal Four-Flusher; Popeye imbeds the sheik into
the pyramid wall in A Wolf In Sheik's Clothing; he uses Bluto as a
sled dog in Klondike Casanova and allows him to be jabbed in the
rear with a long, sharp pin; in Symphony In Spinach, Popeye uses
Bluto for a drum set; Lumberjack And Jill ends with Bluto being
chased over hill and dale by a giant buzz saw; Quick On The Vigor
ends with Popeye repeatedly using a dazed, trapped Bluto's head to ring a
bell; in Vacation With Play, Bluto winds up going round and round on
a mill's water wheel; Popeye leaves Bluto trapped in a flooded lighthouse
with a hungry shark in Swimmer Take All; in Mister And Mistletoe,
the cartoon symbols for Bluto's pain and unconsciousness decorate Popeye
and Olive's Christmas tree; at the end of The Crystal Brawl, Popeye
leaves Bluto roasting over a fire pit. And as Beaus Will Be Beaus
points out, Popeye's first resort in a challenge is not his brains, but his
fists.
I realize that in cartoon universes
this all conforms to the accepted way of handling problems - you beat up,
drop anvils on, blow up, and find as many ways as possible to do bodily
harm to the other guy. And after all, in cartoons one can fall off
the Empire State Building in one scene and be walking around as if nothing
happened in the next. No one is ever permanently hurt. So, it's
not as if Popeye is really killing Bluto. But, conversely, then, what
does it matter what Bluto doers to try to get rid of Popeye?
"Yes", you might say, "but
Bluto uses violence for evil, Popeye for good. Popeye merely
administers poetic justice!" True, but sometimes Bluto, or the
other guy, seems to be in the right, administering frontier justice to
Popeye. Consider that in The Fistic Mystic, Popeye And The
Pirates, Pre-Hysterical Man and A Wolf In Sheik's Clothing,
Olive has verbally and/or by consenting actions accepted a proposal to be
the mate of another man. It's Popeye who's doing wrong by horning
in. In Vacation With Play and Parlez-Vous Woo, Olive
wants to spend her time with Bluto as her date. Popeye keeps trying
to disrupt things. In Jitterbug Jive, a stubborn Popeye
refuses to change even when he sees his ideas are not appreciated and acts
instead as a boorish, childish, attention-hungry, party-pooper.
Wouldn't you want a guy like that thrown out of your party?
That's just what Bluto tries to do!
When you take the body of Paramount/Famous
cartoons as a whole, you're left with a Popeye who is a "good
guy" simply because the creators tell us he is. They don't
consistently and convincingly show us he is. We only root for Popeye
because we're supposed to, not because the creators give us good reasons to
do so.
In fact, unlike the Fleischer cartoons, in
which a colorful, quirky, unique Popeye is usually the most interesting and
heroic character in every film, the Paramount/Famous Studios present a
Popeye who, in comparison to his antagonists, is rather bland, boring, and
dull. It's the other guy who has the interesting, exotic occupation.
It's the other guy who passionately pursues Olive, going all out to win
her. It's the other guy that plans the romantic rendezvous, who gives
the extravagant gifts, who makes with the sweet talk and flattery, who
makes Olive feel special. It's the other guy who, in short, moves the
story forward. The plot centers around what he, not Popeye, is
doing. Popeye just reacts. And I should mention that the other
guy can always vanquish Popeye using only his own strength and quick
wits. He doesn't need spinach. Yet, at the end of every
cartoon, Olive ends up with the uninspiring Popeye, who will probably go
back to taking her for granted. And this is supposed to be our happy
ending!!!
To make matters even worse for our sailor,
the other guy is usually (in cartoon universe terms) much better looking
than Popeye. As the years went on, it seemed that Popeye's enemies
were drawn more and more attractively, culminating in the very handsome
Bluto of Shaving Mugs, Mister And Mistletoe, and Parlez-Vous
Woo. He could be a movie star in our universe!! Popeye,
unfortunately, always remained funny looking.
Sure, Popeye has to be the underdog in order
for the cartoons to have any suspense, and to create audience
identification (I don't know about you, but I'm not a rich count or a hunky
lifeguard), but did they have to make him such an unsympathetic
underdog? In the cartoons, we feel sorry for Bluto and Olive- NOT
POPEYE!!!
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PART
TWO: Sympathy For A Devil?
It's true that Bluto is a
reprehensible bully ( see Barking Dogs Don't Fight, Lunch with a
Punch, Baby Wants A Battle, A Job for a Gob, and Out
To Punch among other cartoons) who needs to learn some self-control
before he's brought up on charges of assault and/or sexual
harassment. Yet sometimes his (or another guy's) defeat can be
painful for us to watch. Why?
Consider that the males in the Famous
Studios' cartoons often believe they are getting certain signals from Olive
Oyl as she flirts with them, cuddles, and kisses. We share their
confusion when, later in a tender moment, she suddenly starts yelling,
"Help Popeye!" In some cartoons, it seems as though there
is absolutely no reason for her to reject Bluto other than that the
creators woke up, realized the cartoon was about to end, and so said,
"Oh, yeah, she's supposed to wind up with Popeye." Early in
a cartoon, Olive often acts like she can't stand Popeye and is even
overjoyed when Bluto (or the other guy) repeatedly disposes of him so the
two of them can be alone. Then she inexplicably starts taking Popeye's side
near the end of the cartoon, beating on Bluto saying, "You
fiend! What are you doing to my Popeye?" To make matters
worse for poor Bluto (or another guy), in the Famous Studios' cartoon
universe, Olive is the most sexy, beautiful, desirable woman in the world
(see section #3). No wonder Bluto's mean all the time. He's got
to be unspeakably frustrated!! The poor guy must have to run for the
cold showers after every cartoon has ended!! So Bluto (or another
guy) gets (in his view) teased, led on, used, and then ultimately
dumped. Most of us know, or can imagine, how that feels.
Our hearts can go out to the big, hapless lug. (To answer the
question of whether or not Olive is doing this intentionally, and to get her
perspective, see section #3.)
As we examine some of the cartoons, ask
yourself the question, "If I was Bluto (or another guy) and Olive said
and did these things, wouldn't I naturally assume she was mine and wanted
to make time with me?" I'm not trying to excuse all that Bluto
says and does, by any means, but putting yourself in his shoes makes you
see things a little differently. Here, then, are some blatant
examples of Olive rejecting Popeye and leading Bluto (or another guy) on
(believe me, there are plenty more):
Tops In The Big Top - Olive blames Popeye for everything that happens.
She lets Bluto take her in his arms as he announces that he will save the
show. When he reveals his muscles, Olive puts her head on his chest
and gasps, "Bluto, you're such a handsome monstrosity!"
Then she approves as Bluto throws Popeye to a horrible fate. Yet
moments later, she screams while Bluto kisses her. Granted his method
for doing so is extreme, but the impression is given that she's objecting
to the fact of the kissing, not only to the way it's being done. How
come?
Klondike Casanova - Olive and Bluto share a soda in a scene that's very sexy,
provocative, and romantic, for a cartoon. Cupid appears and bops them
over the head to cement their love, and hearts appear in Olive's eyes when
she gazes longingly at Bluto. But when he wants "a little hug
and squeeze", she suddenly objects!
The Fistic Mystic - Olive leaves Popeye to swoon over the magician's
performance. He uses a magical pipe to start her quivering. He
draws her to him and she literally wraps herself all around his body.
Not that the magician needs the help of a pipe. Olive lets him
magically dress her in a harem girl outfit. He tells Olive to stick
with him and he'll give her riches and love. Olive's response is,
"Well, when do we start?" He lustily replies,
"RIGHT NOW", and gives her one of the most passionate kisses in
Popeye screen history. Olive turns into melted butter and, sure
enough even says, "I'm just butter in his hands!! Hubba, Hubba,
Hubba, Hubba, Hubba, (gasp)!!" Then she laughs when he turns
Popeye into a donkey.
The Island Fling - Olive doesn't seem to notice or care that Popeye's not
around for long stretches in the picture, but lets herself be happily
courted by Mr. Crusoe. She's happy when Mr. Crusoe kisses her hand,
arm, and shoulder on the beach and invites her to a candlelight
dinner. There, she lets him start to kiss her while holding her head
in his hands. When he dispatches an interrupting Popeye at the
dinner, she must approve because immediately she flirts with him on the
couch. After another interruption which neither lover seems to
appreciate and after Popeye has once again been done away with, Crusoe
pronounces the two of them "alone at last". Olive gives him
a flirty, coy, "come hither" look and gladly lets him hold her
VERY close in his arms and once again start to kiss her. And even
when Popeye interrupts and shows them the treasure, Olive puts her hand on
Mr. Crusoe's shoulder and then wraps her arm around his. It's as
though Ms. Oyl knows that Popeye is supposed to be the hero in the cartoon,
but she's reluctant to give up the chance to neck with Mr. Crusoe.
Popeye And The Pirates - Olive tries to attract the pirates' attention because she
wants to be captured! She thoroughly enjoys the pirate's amorous
advances, letting him kiss her repeatedly. She even seemingly accepts
the pirate's proposal to be his mate!! She's dazzled by his
treasures. Olive doesn't object when Popeye is made to walk the plank.
She melts in Pierre's arms immediately afterward in a short scene before a
disguised Popeye reappears.
The Royal Four-Flusher - The count gives Olive such a passionate kiss that it
lifts her right off the ground. She then lets him continuously kiss
her hand and arm. She chastises Popeye when he starts to pick a fight
with him. She's clearly impressed with the count's looks, riches, and
sophisticated bearing. She curtseys before him, almost as if to offer
herself to him. She enjoys lunch with him after he's gotten rid of
Popeye the first time. When Popeye appears on the scene again,
she walks off, totally charmed, with Bluto, not giving Popeye a second
glance or a second thought. She laughs heartily as Bluto humiliates
Popeye during their duel. And then, after Popeye is dispatched, she
mounts the horse with Bluto and accepts his invitation to join him in his
penthouse in the clouds. Once there, she goes into ecstasy over the
mink coat he's giving her. At this point the writers must have said, "Oops!
We better have Bluto blow it and fast because he's got her right in the
palm of his hand!" Indeed, one gets the impression that if Bluto
could have just waited until an hour or two later, Olive would have
willingly given him all the kisses he could handle!!!
Safari So Good - When Olive meets jungle Bluto, she lets out a wolf
whistle and gasps, "So big and strong! And I adore that
sarong!" She feels Bluto's muscles and says, "Mmmmmm. Hubba! Hubba!" After he
dispatches Popeye, she proceeds to take photos of him. Yet
she's soon rooting for Popeye when the sailor fights the jungle man.
Huh? Did I miss something?
All's Fair At The Fair - As Popeye is going on and on about the superb development
of a steer, Olive is busy checking out another body - Bluto's. Her
reaction, "Hubba! Hubba! Woooo!
What a physical phenomenon! Mmmmm, that's
my meat!" She then leaves Popeye in order to catch Bluto's
eye. She happily walks off away from Popeye arm in arm with
Bluto. Later, Bluto hears her tell Popeye off and sees her so mad at
the sailor that eggs fry on her head. Bluto helps her win a diamond
ring and she grabs his arm and says, "Come on, Handsome",
snuggling against him. But, of course, when he takes her up in his
hot air balloon for "a little privacy" and a kiss, she yells for
Popeye.
Pre-Hysterical Man - After the caveman clubs her, claiming her as his mate,
Olive springs up from the ground forming giant hearts with her arms and
legs. She then leans against him and says, "Isn't he
wonderful?" She surrenders herself to be dragged back to his
cave for you-know-what. She ignores Popeye and doesn't mind when she
and her "mate" walk right over top of him.
Popeye Meets Hercules- A swooning, love-struck Olive's heart flies out to
Hercules. It comes to life and gives Hercules a "come up and see
me sometime" wink. A delighted Olive then lets Hercules bop
Popeye out of the way and start to woo her, kissing her hand
repeatedly.
A Wolf In Sheik's Clothing - Olive expresses her desire to have a real live sheik kiss
her "all to pieces" and make her "feel so weak."
The handsome sheik who overhears quickly puts up a kissing booth where
Olive promptly spends what looks like her life savings. After he
kisses her, she leaps in the air, turned on and giddy, saying, "Look
at me, I'm a lovebird! I'm a lovebird!" She then
rides off across the burning desert with the sheik, accepting his proposal
to be his mate, without so much as a thought of Popeye. She says
happily that it's "just like in the movies". She's awed by the
sheik's palatial tent. She puts on a harem girl/belly dancer
costume. She then says in a low, sexy, Mae West Voice, "I feel
so Cleopatric." The sheik moves in for the
kill, kissing her arm passionately and giving her goose bumps all
over. Popeye hurries into the tent when he hears Olive gasp in an
enraptured voice, "OOOHHH, SHEIKY!!!" He finds her the
willing captive of the sheik's arms, getting ready for a kiss on the
lips.
Snow Place Like Home - Olive loves Pierre's fiery gaze when he gives her the
once over. She doesn't seem to notice or mind that Popeye goes
missing for portions of the cartoon. She dreamily primps herself in
anticipation of a date with Pierre. She giggles when he uses bubble
gum to flirt with her and when he maneuvers her into his arms, she doesn't
resist as he goes to kiss her.
Symphony In Spinach - Olive repeatedly lets Bluto charm her, gladly
surrendering to his advances each and every time. In fact, Bluto and
Olive are all over each other in this cartoon. She swoons over his
music, his manner, his looks, and the skillful way he uses the musical
instruments to draw her close and get her in the mood. The cartoon
contains a sexy scene in which Bluto turns Olive on and positions her for a
kiss by ticking her with a violin bow. The impression is given that
the maestro is not only playing music, he's playing Olive!! Olive
utterly and angrily rejects Popeye and approves when Bluto gets rid of him
for good. She seems delighted that they are alone at last. Then
occurs a scene that is tied with one in Vacation With Play as the
most inexplicable reversal in Popeye cartoon history. (Runners Up: A
Balmy Swami, Parlez-Vous Woo). To get its full impact, try
to approach the cartoon fresh for the first time. Stop your tape just
as Bluto starts playing the piano and Olive looks happy. Given all
you've seen and the internal logic of this story, is there any reason
fathomable why Bluto and Olive won't start kissing like there's no tomorrow
when you start the tape up again? NO!! But as Bluto continues
to do the same kinds of things she's been eating up all cartoon long, Olive
suddenly pulls away, slaps him for being fresh, and yells for help from
Popeye.
Lumberjack And Jill - Olive cuddles and walks off arm-in-arm with Bluto when
she first meets him. She then lets him put the moves on her in the
kitchen, even happily submitting as lays her down for a kiss. She
swoons during his crooning as they take a romantic boat ride down the
river. Yet, when he goes to kiss her later, she has a concerned look
on her face.
A Balmy Swami - A thoroughly bored Olive on a date with Popeye comes to
life, cheers, jumps up in the air, whistles, and wolf whistles when Bluto
appears on stage. She says, "Love that man!!" She
gleefully accepts his gift of flowers which he offers as the start of
"a budding romance". She laughs, swoons, and compliments
Bluto when he humiliates Popeye. She's a willing subject for his
hypnotism. Yet, at the end of the picture, when Bluto saves her life
she suddenly screams, "Unhandle
Me!!!"
Beach Peach - Olive enthusiastically compliments the life guard with,
"What a unique physique!" She snuggles with him under the beach
umbrella, giggling coyly and gushing, "Oooo,
Mr. Lifeguard," as he puts the moves on her. She doesn't object
when he blasts Popeye halfway across the beach. Instead, she and the
lifeguard just return to their cuddling. She also doesn't complain
when the lifeguard throws Popeye into the refuse container. After the
lifeguard saves her, she comes on to him big time and calls him her
"great big hunk of hero." She doesn't even give a thought
as to what's become of Popeye after the inflatable mount incident.
She's just enjoying being with her lifeguard, giving him a flirty, "I'm
yours" laugh as she watches him dive.
Jitterbug Jive - Olive hates every idea Popeye comes up with for her
party. She thinks he's too old fashioned. She can't stand his
clunky attempts to dance with her. She leaves Popeye tied up in taffy
in order to run to the door to greet Bluto. She "slips Bluto
some skin". She and Bluto really relate and speak the same hip
language. She acts as if she thinks Bluto is the coolest guy in the
world. Bluto's piano playing causes her to breathlessly swoon, "Huhhh, your technique leaves me weak!" She
doesn't budge as he slowly works his way down the keyboard toward her for a
kiss. She approves of Bluto snapping Popeye into a wall
and turning him into a literal square. She's a co-conspirator when
Bluto sends a blindfolded Popeye out to play in the traffic!! Bluto
and Olive move as one across the floor and when they dance their jivey,
flirty, jitterbug, they seem made for each other.
Quick On The Vigor - Olive maintains, "I just love strongmen."
And when she sees Bluto, she says, "Ba-ruh-ther!!
What a mess of muscle!" Bluto says, "You won me heart,
Babe." Olive replies, "Ooohhh!
Likewise I'm sure!!" She freshens her makeup for a date with him
and the two stroll off arm-in-arm, leaving Popeye behind locked in a
safe. Then she promptly dumps Bluto just because he asks for a kiss
at the top of the Ferris Wheel!?!?
Vacation With Play - Olive wants to "live!" and experience all the
resort has to offer. To that end, she leaves the lethargic Popeye and
purposely tries to get the attention of Bluto, the athletic director.
She succeeds admirably and the two are soon all over each other for the
remainder of most of the cartoon. Bluto keeps using sports equipment
and "lessons" to get Olive right where he wants her. And
she loves it, purring, "Oh, Mr. Instructor! You're so strong and
muscular!" Whenever Popeye tries to cut in, she gets really
angry at him and strides away with Bluto. She watches as Bluto
finally gets rid of Popeye for good at the tennis court and the two of them
stroll past the unconscious sailor on their way to the canoe. During
the canoe ride, Olive acts like a girl at a rock concert and goes into a
total swoon over Bluto's serenading, sinking deeper into the pillow she's
laying on with a look of pure rapturous contentment on her face. To
appreciate the inexplicable reversal and understand Bluto's frustration,
approach this cartoon afresh and stop your tape right after the cabin door
slams shut. Which do you think should logically happen next,
"Help, Popeye", or "Ah, sweet mystery of life at last I've
found you"?
Cookin' With Gas -
Olive takes Bluto's side against Popeye throughout the cartoon. She
laughs uproariously when Bluto plays his cruel, dangerous pranks on the
sailor. She lets Bluto call her, "Lovergirl,"
and goes off with him on a boat ride for two. Olive doesn't really
lead Bluto on in this cartoon. In fact, had Popeye not pulled his
trick, one gets the distinct impression that Olive and Bluto would be
necking as they drifted along with the current. I include this
example to silence those who say Bluto's the villain because he goes after
Popeye's girl. Here, she sure seems like Bluto's girl to me!!!
Beaus Will Be Beaus - Despite Olive's pretense of neutrality, she clearly
favors Bluto in the Popeye vs. Bluto rivalry. She certainly doesn't
seem to mind the fact that Popeye's been left behind when they get to the
beach parking lot, but happily lets Bluto help her out of the car.
Later, the two desert Popeye again, leaving him behind at the lockers, as
they stroll away arm-in-arm. Once on the beach, they feel romantic
and snuggle together before Popeye interrupts. She lets Bluto lead
her away from "that ruffian, Popeye." Bluto gives her swimming
lessons, suspending her in the water by placing his arms around her.
Olive looks real pleased. After Bluto gets Popeye out of the picture,
he proposes, "How about a shore dinner, Gorgeous?" She
accepts and the two change for their date. She emerges from the
locker with a happy expression on her face - at least at first.
Only Popeye tricking Bluto into eating the spinach and uncontrollably
beating The Sailor Man up makes her change her mind. She didn't
really lead Bluto on in this cartoon. Instead, she was perfectly
willing to spend the evening alone with him, knowing he had romance in
mind. Popeye's girl? I think NOT!!
Mister And Mistletoe - Olive doesn't care that Popeye goes missing for periods
of time in the cartoon. She's totally excited by her visitor.
She lets Bluto/Santa woo her on the couch. Later, when the two are
decorating the tree together (with Santa's arm around her of course), Santa
says, "Ah, My Dear, ‘tis a pity that Christmas comes
but once a year." Olive responds
with a coy, seductive laugh and says in one of the sexiest voices she's
ever used, "Drop by anytime at all, Santa." And then she
has a look on her face which says he doesn't have to wonder what present
she's about to give him for Christmas!! Yet, when he's revealed as a
fake, she's all upset. Wouldn't a more realistic response have been,
"Bluto, Honey, make sure you save that Santa suit"?
Parlez-Vous Woo - Bluto shows that he can play the sophisticated European
lover to perfection - looking, acting, and sounding exactly like the
television star that turns Olive on like a light switch. Olive won't
leave the house with Popeye because of the remote possibility that she's
won a date with Bluto/The International. She gets more dolled up than
she's ever been in any cartoon, just for The International. When the
doorbell rings, she gleefully stampedes over Popeye, flattening him into
the carpet, in order to hurry and answer it. When she sees The
International she swoons, her breath is taken away, her hair goes up and
down, her eyes rotate, her jaw drops and her mouth stays open in
rapture. When he kisses her hand, he sends a tremor through her body
up to her head, where her eyes become big hearts, her hair stands straight
up on end, and her heartbeat gets loud and throbbing. When Popeye
kisses her, she turns into an ice cube. She's thrilled every time The
International gets rid of Popeye. She even tells Popeye that he's got
a lot of nerve trying to cut in on The International. She's in heaven
dancing close with Bluto. Popeye's dancing annoys her. Bluto
has her wrapped around his little finger, leading her to the couch for a
kiss and to the door for a moonlight stroll. When Bluto proposes that
he and Popeye fight a duel for the hand of Olive (a duel BLUTO WINS, by the
way!!!), she thinks it's so romantic. Yet, when his true identity is
revealed, Olive says in anger, "He's a fake! It's
Bluto!" But if Bluto can be that charming, attractive, and
imaginative, why not choose him for the new boyfriend? Wouldn't a more
realistic response be for Olive to pat the couch and coyly ask,
"Bluto, could you pretend to be The International again?"
Nearly Weds - Olive ACCEPTS A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL FROM
BLUTO!!! She isn't leading him on. She really will marry
him. In fact, the cartoon ends with her chasing him. I included
this example to put an end to the myth that she doesn't like Bluto.
She wants to marry him!!! (By the way, she accepts dates with Bluto
in I Don't Scare, Fright To The Finish and The Crystal Brawl.)
Yet, even after all of this, we don't really
hate Olive. In fact, we can't even stay mad at her. Why?
|
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PART THREE: Once In
Love With Olive, Always In Love With Olive
Although some have characterized
the Famous Studios' Olive as a fickle, man-crazy flirt, (and there's
certainly some merit to that view) there's another way of looking at Miss
Oyl as well. The impression my friends and I got from watching the
cartoons over and over is that she's meant to be seen as the eternally
desirable, all-American sweetheart.
Like Betty Boop
and Lola Bunny, Olive does flirt, act sexy, and tease men, yet she also
manages to maintain an air of girl-next-door, heart-of-gold
innocence. Partly it's because she seems to love life so much,
throwing herself into it with gleeful singing, contented sighing, joyous
outbursts, and giggling abandon - whether she's climbing the Alps in a
far-off land, or feeding squirrels in the local city park, or bathing her
dog at home. And, as to be expected with such a person, her daydreams
are in wide-screen technicolor. See She-Sick
Sailors, Shape Ahoy, Rodeo Romeo, Popeye And The Pirates, The
Royal Four-Flusher, Olive Oyl for President, Pre-Hysterical Man, A Wolf In
Sheik's Clothing, Symphony In Spinach, Barking Dogs Don't Fight, Beach
Peach, Jitterbug Jive, Vacation With Play, Alpine for You, Popeye's Mirthday, Toreadorable, and Parlez-Vous Woo for
examples of the Olive I'm talking about. Therefore, her coming on to
Bluto or another guy just seems like an attempt to find a mate as vital as
she is, instead of the dull as dishwater Popeye. In her mind, she's
just pursuing her dreams, not purposely trying to walk all over
Popeye. When she swoons and whistles over a guy, it just seems like
the natural way she reacts toward anything that pleases her, not as a conscious
attempt to hurt Popeye or lead anybody on. When she allows herself to
get swept up in the romance and adventure of her setting, giving in to the
fantasy, she's just staying in character, not suddenly becoming a
vixen. When she melts over a guy's gifts to her, she's just being
Olive, not trying to give the guy a sign that they will be sharing
breakfast together tomorrow morning.
This is another reason we love Olive.
Like Betty Boop, even though Olive enjoys
flirting, being courted, attracting guys like flies, smooching, hearing
romantic sweet nothings in her ear, snuggling, telling guys how great she
thinks they are, and being wined and dined, she still won't let just any
guy take her Boop - Oop
-A - Doop away. She seems to be saving
herself for "that special one", who isn't Popeye, by the
way! In the cartoons, Olive is like many moral young women who are
playing the field trying to find "Mr. Right". (Watching the
cartoons again and again, Popeye starts to come across as the guy who sees
commitment when none has been pledged.) And like many healthy,
normal, young women. Olive definitely wants to enjoy romance, while still
drawing the line somewhere. And, let's face it, there's a big
difference between letting a guy nuzzle and serenade you, and letting him
lock you in his cabin (Vacation With Play)!!! You may be
totally infatuated with a count, feeling like a queen when you're with him,
but you still might not be ready for him to slip a straitjacket around you
(The Royal Four-Flusher)!!!! You may even be enjoying some
kissing and wooing, but suddenly need it to stop, lest you go too far too
fast (This may be an explanation for the reversals in cartoons like Symphony
In Spinach. Suddenly Olive is totally alone with Bluto and he's
not the kind of person who is going to quit before he feels finished.
So she believes its better not to let him get started again). From
Olive's perspective, there are good reasons why she yells for help.
Although obviously experienced in affairs of the heart, Olive is not a
tramp. Every time she and a guy flirt, it seems like it's the first
time it's ever happened to her. In her mind, this could be the
prelude to a life-long love affair, not a cheap one night stand. You
always feel that Bluto, or another guy (like the guy with the hots for Betty Boop) is about
to take advantage of a sweet, young thing, not a bimbo. It's what
makes the cartoons work. If Olive wasn't a prize catch, or was just
getting what she deserved, or "was asking for it", there would be
no suspense or danger, no feeling that all was about to be lost. We
wouldn't care what happened to her.
Olive is a totally feminine character.
Not in a "I Am Woman Hear Me Roar" way, but in a "Marilyn
Monroe is my role model" way, or in the way of the self-described
"chicks" of today, or, to a lesser extent, in the Sarah Michelle
Gellar ("Buffy The Vampire Slayer") way of being an individual
but also caring about your appearance and what the opposite sex thinks of
you. And Olive's femininity is exaggerated as everything in the
cartoon universe is. (For a great look inside Olive's mind, watch Olive
Oyl For President where she sings her equivalent of the classic
Broadway tune, "I Enjoy Being A Girl".) Therefore Olive thinks
it is her mission in life to be as alluring as possible. She was put
on earth to attract the attention of males and she loves it. When she
stops traffic, she's fulfilled her manifest destiny. Someday, one of
those males may be "Mr. Right." Is this the one?
"I don't know, but I'm sure going to enjoy myself as I find out",
Olive would say. Like Cindy Lauper, Olive
knows that "Girls Just Want To Have Fun". She looks for the
romance in any and all situations. After all, there's not much in
life that's more fun and makes you feel better about yourself and more
alive than romance. She's also learned that the bat of an eyelash, or
the glimpse of a leg, or a demure giggle can open doors that otherwise
would be closed. She is a total responder. When guys come on to
her or give her presents, she reacts with the pure, heart-felt enthusiasm
of the moment. She would run off to the multiplex to see any and all
love stories, because she would like the way they manipulate her
emotions. And you can picture her getting on the phone with her
friends or meeting them at the mall and talking for hours after every
cartoon. "That lifeguard was a real hunk, but he suddenly turned
into an octopus when he got me alone in his boat!! I don't know.
Do you think I should give him a second chance or not?" Because
Olive thoroughly enjoys the process of being wooed and turned on, and isn't
even thinking about rushing the end result, she will continue to be shocked
when "that nice Pierre suddenly turned into The Big, Bad,
Wolf." All of this just means that Olive is an exaggerated
cartoon woman (and even much like some women in our own universe). It
does not make her evil or "loose". It means that she is
naive, not that she is contemptible.
Olive is extremely effective at her mission
and will, in all probability, go through a lifetime of bringing out the
animal in men, because, in the Famous Studios' cartoon universe, Olive is a
definite "10". If you find that hard to believe, think of
the classic "Twilight Zone" episode set on a world that had
different standards of beauty than our own. There, Donna Douglas (the
original Elly May Clampett),
was considered to be hideously ugly and pig-faced aliens were the
norm. In order to fully enjoy the Paramount/Famous Studios' Cartoons,
you have to accept their basic premise: every male in the world wants Olive
Oyl. She makes their eyes widen (The Royal Four-Flusher), pop
out of their heads ( Pitchin' Woo At The Zoo, "Shape Ahoy, House
Tricks, I'll Be Skiing You, A Balmy Swami, Beach Peach, Vacation With Play),
turn into hearts (Quick On The Vigor), catch fire (Snow Place
Like Home), become ringing fire alarm bells (Toreadorable), turn
into slot machines coming up double peaches (Pre-Hysterical Man),
and transform into binoculars to enable them to get a better look (Popeye
And The Pirates) when they see her. The sight of her even heals
the blind (Popeye And The Pirates)! When men get a load of
her, their jaws drop and their mouths hang open in rapturous amazement (Shape
Ahoy, House Tricks, The Fistic Mystic, Popeye And The Pirates,
Pre-Hysterical Man, Snow Place Like Home, Lumberjack And Jill, Beach Peach,
Quick On The Vigor, Vacation With Play). She makes men's bodies
stiffen and point toward her (Pre-Hysterical Man, Snow Place Like Home,
Gym Jam, Beach Peach), as well as making their mustaches straighten or
twirl around (Popeye And The Pirates, A Wolf In Sheik's Clothing, Snow
Place Like Home), their necks elongate (Pitchin' Woo At The Zoo, The
Royal Four-Flusher, Snow Place Like Home, Gym Jam), their cigarette
holders point straight up (The Royal Four-Flusher), and their hats
stretch and their turbans spring up (House Tricks, A Balmy Swami) -
all in rather blatant, visual double entendres. If any man is quickly
surveying a scene and passes over Olive, his gaze zooms right back,
riveting in on her (The Island Fling, Vacation With Play, Toreadorable,
Cops Is Tops). She not only figuratively knocks men's socks off,
she literally knocks their hats off (Pitchin' Woo At The Zoo, All's Fair
At The Fair, Vacation With Play). Men droolingly
give her the once over (The Island Fling, Tops In The Big Top,
Klondike Casanova, The Fistic Mystic, Beach Peach - in the latter two
examples, the men's eyes trace hour glass figures and beautiful legs).
She draws wolf whistles and hungry howls (Anvil Chorus Girl, Mess
Production, I'll Be Skiing You, Tar With a Star, Gym Jam, Beach Peach).
Men even literally turn into wolfs around her or have very lupine features
on their faces when they make their moves on her (Tops In The Big Top,
Robin Hood-Winked, Symphony In Spinach, Vacation With Play, Mister And
Mistletoe). Expressions like, "What a feminine
female!" "Mmmm, Mmmm!" "Those pins (slang for legs)
bowl me over!" "Oh, Boy!" "This babe is
some angel!" "That she is for me!"
"Hubba, Hubba!" and "What a doll!" are heard around her
(Pitchin' Woo At The Zoo, Tops In The Big Top, Klondike Casanova, The
Island Fling", Symphony In Spinach, Gym Jam, Beach Peach, Cops Is Tops).
Her kisses can turn a man into a skyrocket writing, "WOW," across
the sky (Shape Ahoy). She causes a telegraphic message,
"Wotta Women," to be broadcast out of a man's head (Safari So
Good). She causes men to act like animals, beat their chests, go
into crazy dances, and hug themselves (Shape Ahoy, Safari So Good,
Lumberjack And Jill). Men have fantasies about her (Wigwam
Whoopee, A Balmy Swami, Gym Jam). She makes a guy crash his car
when she strikes a seductive pose by the roadside, showing off her legs (Cops
Is Tops). She even turns on inanimate objects (Shape Ahoy,
Mess Production, Farmer And The Belle)!!!! A rivalry for her
affection can break up a friendship or a partnership (We're On Our Way
To Rio, "Shape Ahoy, Abusement Park, Lumberjack And Jill, Farmer And
The Belle, A Job for A Gob, A Haul In One). For the males in the
Famous Studios' universe, Olive is one hot tamale.
But we don't even have to take the males'
word for it. We can see it for ourselves. The Famous Studios'
creators made a conscious decision to make Olive more attractive than she
had been in the Fleischer cartoons (which had to be the easiest task in the
world!!!). After all, Olive has to be appealing or the plots don't
make sense. Her personality gradually went from grating to ingratiating.
They changed her hairstyle, clothing, and shoes, at times even putting her
in fancy designer evening wear (see Olive Oyl For President, Symphony In
Spinach, and Parlez-Vous Woo). Olive's voice changed as
well. As time went on it became less irritating, whiny, and clucky
and became more appealing, innocent, full of life, and yes, even seductive
and sexy on occasion. Olive's facial features over time went from
those of a pinched old maid to those of a cute young
woman. And her body changed as well. The gangly Olive was
disappearing. In a Famous Studios' cartoon, one would often have
shots of a normal looking Olive combined with scenes, quick cuts, and even
frames of a knock-out Olive (subliminal seduction trying to convince us
that Olive was a prize, or just different artists working on the same
picture?). During moments in some films, she is drawn with a bust
(carefully watch Mess Production, and Popeye And The Pirates,
for examples)! And in Quick On The Vigor, Olive's got
legs! Watch for quick glimpses of her well-turned ankles as she flies
through the air in the plane. She even has a figure in some
scenes. For example, in Tops At The Big Top, whether it's just
the costume or not, she has an hourglass shape when she's up on the
tightrope and in other shots. When Olive's applying her makeup
in Snow Place Like Home, she is most definitely a girl and her fur
coat accentuates her curvy derriere. Her shapely backside also
reappears in some scenes of Symphony In Spinach and A Balmy
Swami. In Jitterbug Jive, she shows off her curves as she
says to Popeye, "Let's do something jivey!" During the song
in Olive Oyl For President, Olive saunters across the set in a
form-fitting evening gown. The gawky Olive who couldn't ever seem to
control her limbs was also on the way out. The new Olive was
confident in her ability to get a man, striking coy or provocative poses
and using feminine mannerisms to get guys hot and bothered (See for
example: the make-up scene in Mess Production; the scene in the
sheik's tent in A Wolf In Sheik's Clothing; the end of the
Bluto/Olive dance sequence as Popeye carries over the tub in Jitterbug
Jive; the pool scene in Vacation With Play; the
"Olive as Claudette Colbert" scene in Cops Is Tops).
When people today complain about Popeye cartoons and say they could never
understand what anybody ever saw in Olive Oyl, they are thinking of the
Fleischer's Olive, or the made-for-TV Olives, or the comic strip Olive, or
Shelley Duvall's Olive. They aren't thinking of the cartoon cutie who
appeared in all or at least certain parts of Popeye Meets
Hercules, Robin Hood-Winked, Symphony In Spinach, A Balmy Swami, Jitterbug
Jive, Vacation With Play, Ancient Fistory,
Private Eye Popeye, Mister And Mistletoe, A Haul In One, The Crystal Brawl,
and other pictures. The Famous Studios' revamp of Olive culminated in
the drop-dead gorgeous, hour-glass figured starlet in Parlez-Vous Woo,
who looks like a cross between the Olive we know, Veronica Lodge, and a
young Mary Tyler Moore. If Paramount/Famous Studios had continuously
made theatrical shorts up until the present day and Olive's evolution had
stayed on course, by now she'd probably look like a cross between the
familiar Olive Oyl and Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, or Catherine
Zeta-Jones!!!!
You can imagine the effect this had on boys
watching Popeye cartoons over and over and over again. Add to this
what I call "the lure of the commercial" on young minds. If
kids repeatedly see actors in exciting, appealing, fun ads on TV raving
over a product, doing all they can to obtain it, and acting as if this is
the toy, or hamburger, or snack, or whatever that's going to at last bring
them unbridled joy and ultimate fulfillment, it won't be long before the
kids will have to have the product, too. Substitute "Bluto and
the other guys" for "actors", "cartoon adventures"
for "ads", and "Olive Oyl" for "a
product" and "it' and "the product", and substitute
"girlfriend" for "toy, or hamburger or snack or
whatever" in the above sentence and you have explained the appeal of
Olive Oyl. Everyday, we watched strong, vital men acting as though
Olive was the center of their universe and desperately needing just one
little kiss from her to validate their existence. So it was only
natural that we would become conditioned to desire her, too. After all, if
Robinson Crusoe, Tarzan, Hercules, The Sheriff Of Nottingham, a pirate
captain, a cave man, an Indian chief, a rich sheik, a playboy count, a
lifeguard, a cowboy, a knight, weight-lifting pro-wrestler types, a bank
robber, Bluto, and our hero Popeye, among others, got turned on by her,
what chance did we average boys have to resist her? And what boy
wouldn't want to be included in such a distinguished company of Olive
lovers??
Just as kids dream about the stuff they see
in commercials all the time, so we dreamed of Olive. Kids will start
to watch certain shows, not because they care about the programs, but only
to catch a glimpse of their beloved holy grail in the commercials. So
we started to watch The Popeye Show (or whatever it was called in your neck
of the woods), not to see the sailor man, but to spend time with our
Olive. We would feel cheated if the cartoons shown on a given day
were all Fleischers or featured adventures with the nephews. Yes,
they were still Popeye cartoons, but where was the Olive we longed
for? We even grew to resent Popeye, because he had what we wanted and
didn't treat her all that well. We knew we could do better.
All this was pretty harmless. Young
boys experiencing special awakenings want a safe girlfriend they can
worship from afar. That's why the posters of recording artists and TV
and movie stars go up on the walls. Boys are too scared to talk to a
real girl!! Olive was the perfect non-existent girlfriend who could
make us feel like men without forcing us to do anything about it.
I don't believe the creators purposely set
out to make a generation of boys get steamed up over Olive Oyl or be
exposed to thoughts, plots, scenes, and images they might not be ready
for. Remember, as I said earlier, the cartoons were meant to be shown
in movie theaters to adults for limited runs. No one ever dreamed
they'd be endlessly beamed into the living rooms of children. When
Popeye cartoons were later made for television, specifically as kiddie fare, by some of the same creators, a lot of the
elements I've been talking about in this article vanished.
In many ways that's a shame. I wish
Popeye cartoons were being made along the lines of the old Paramount/Famous
Studios' shorts for adults in theaters today. Because....
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PART
FOUR: Paramount Famous Studios' Popeye Cartoons Teach Essential Lessons In
Life And Love
Unlike the later Hanna-Barbera Popeyes, the
Paramount/Famous Studios' cartoons taught lessons without having to hit you
over the head with them or sacrificing entertainment value and
excitement. And unlike the politically correct lessons in the Hanna-Barbera's, these had nothing to do with sharing your
toys, eating a balanced diet, appreciating ethnic diversity, or
recycling. No, these were much more important and necessary for
day-to-day living, prosperity, and even survival.
Growing up with the Paramount Popeye, I
learned:
- No matter how strong, talented, or
gifted you believe you are, you will always need help and strength from
outside sources in order to get through life. Even mighty, confident
Bluto could have used spinach because once Popeye ate it, it was all over
for the big ox. Popeye can do some pretty amazing things without his
spinach (for example: wrestling and skinning a polar bear in Snow Place
Like Home; standing up to Hercules in Popeye Meets Hercules;
making eighteen holes-in-one on the golf course in Vacation With Play;
lifting "Tarzan" and two elephants in Safari So Good), yet
he stills needs to down the green stuff in order to have complete triumph
over his adversaries. He gets placed in situations where all his
powers count for naught and where he must rely on spinach to save the
day. In your life, you'll find yourself in those kinds of
situations. Hopefully, you won't be wrapped up as a mummy and buried
inside the Sphinx (A Wolf In Sheik's Clothing), knocked off a
skyscraper (The Royal Four-Flusher), or have your head encased in
cement (Jitterbug Jive). However, you may get laid off from
your job, or go through a messy break up, find yourself in over your head
in a relationship, suffer with a chronic illness, face an uncertain future,
or be forced to make hard decisions, watch a loved one die, or be buried
under piles of bills. You'll definitely need your
"spinach". My "spinach" is: my relationship with
family, friends, and God; studying the Bible; reading books; listening to
music; watching and meditating on thought-provoking movies and television
shows. And I'm not ashamed to admit I need it. Like Popeye,
I'll proudly and gladly "down my spinach" in full view of the
crowds (Rodeo Romeo, Toreadorable). And I'm trying to learn
not to wait until the last minute to "eat my spinach". Why
wait until Bluto has buried you in Boot Hill and is chasing Olive around
the saloon to start looking for your spinach (Tar With A Star)?
Why not cultivate your relationships with others and work on expanding your
mind, heart, and soul now so you'll be strong when the crises come?
Why not act in life instead of always reacting?
- I can't send the world mixed
signals. I don't want people to say of me as I say of Popeye,
"Yeah, he's a hero...sort of...I guess. But he is a jerk at
times. And looking at him, I often can't tell whether he really loves
his wife, family, and God or not." Granted each human being is a
curious mixture of hero and villain, I want to make sure I'm more of the
former than the latter. And I don't want to be an Olive Oyl, hanging
out with the Lord, but becoming easily distracted when something, someone,
or some idea in the world seems momentarily more attractive.
- The media can have its way with me if I'm
not careful. Exposure to certain films and themes over an extended
period led me to root for Bluto and fall for Olive, after all!! I
need to be aware of how what I watch, read, and listen to now may be
effecting me. And I can't fool myself into thinking that it isn't.
- The cartoon ain't over ‘til it's over. Pierre may have clamped a giant bear trap shut around
you, rocketed you into the mouth of a hungry whale, and is about to have
his way with your girlfriend (Snow Place Like Home) - BUT - things
can still turn around. A prayer may be answered. An insight
might suddenly come to you. Others may intervene for you.
Circumstances may change. Someone new may enter your life. You
might acquire more training and new skills. DON'T GIVE UP!!
Even after you've been utterly humiliated (The Royal Four-Flusher, Tops
In The Big Top, A Balmy Swami, Parlez-Vous Woo, etc.), chances are
you'll get plenty of opportunities to prove yourself again. (Even
Michael Jordan was cut from his junior high basketball team!!) You
can shake off guilt and shame, not by winning a smile from Olive (though it
helps), but by accepting that there are such things as forgiveness and
starting over again with a clean slate. If while you're reading this,
you're feeling as if Pierre is making you walk the plank while taking Olive
as his queen (Popeye And The Pirates), remember that your picture
isn't over yet.
- There are attractive, appealing people out
there in the world of both sexes who will only wind up using you if you let
them. Bluto and Olive are users, whether they realize they are or
want to be or not. They say, "I'm here to help you,"
"I'm your pal," "I could stay with you forever," and
even "I love you," but they don't mean them. Not everyone
who says these things to me will mean them either. Some will have
evil intentions, some just are weak-willed or have fickle, wandering
hearts. Some may be cowardly or just not have the maturity,
endurance, and commitment a long-term relationship calls for. Some
won't understand the difference between lust and love. Sure Bluto (or
the other guy) desperately wants to smooch with Olive Oyl, but when: she's
in danger, he bails out on her (All's Fair At The Fair); she rebuffs
his advances, he threatens and endangers her (A Wolf In Sheik's
Clothing, Abusement Park, Beach Peach); someone "prettier"
comes along, he throws her aside (Popeye And The Pirates).
Olive is attracted to Bluto (or the other guy) because of his muscles,
charm, looks, wealth, skills and abilities. Yet, when she finds out
what's beneath the surface, she's horrified. Be careful who you give
your heart to. You may regret it someday.
- Judging other people isn't easy. As
I've shown in this paper, when looked at from certain angles, all the
characters in Popeye cartoons, even Bluto, can garner our understanding and
sympathy. When you must judge, do so cautiously, trying to put
yourself in the other's shoes. Leave the ultimate judgment up to God.
- Not to advertise what you can't
deliver. Olive portrays herself as a flirty, party girl who's ready
for some serious necking (see Klondike Casanova, for
instance). Yet, when the guy tries to take her up on it, she
screams. She doesn't really want to be the femme fatale after
all. Bluto (or the other guy) tries to come across as the strongest,
or coolest guy in the world only to have little Popeye show him up in the
end. Don't try to pretend to be something you're not. Don't try
to impress the world, be yourself. Walk in the way of humility, then
the only way to go is up. If you start "at the top", the
only way to go is down.
- Don't waste your life trying to win over
people who aren't interested in you. Is there any more pathetic
character than Popeye when he goes running back to Olive's aid yet again
after she's completely tossed him over in favor of another guy? I
wish that at least once Popeye would say, "Save yourself! I've
still got Betty Boop's phone number from when we
worked together in our Fleischer days. Think I'll give her a
call." The Bible assures me that God is not mocked. Popeye
may say, "I am what I am", but The One who said it first is no
Popeye and will not keep forgiving and rescuing fickle people of two minds
forever.
- Love takes time, effort, knowledge , and
understanding. Popeye often loses Olive because he pays no attention
to, or even mocks, her moods, hopes, needs, and dreams (see section
#1). You can't ignore or make fun of someone and then say,
"How's about me and you goin' steady?" And Bluto (or
the other guy) loses Olive because he doesn't understand women and tries to
rush things along. When Bluto tries to cut to the chase, he gets into
trouble (see Abusement Park and Quick On the Vigor, for
examples). When he woos, teases, tickles, flatters, hugs, strokes,
spends time with, and creatively seduces Olive, he wins her over.
When he treats Olive as a special person, as a treasure, he's got
her. When she's just a sex object - "Hi, Babe, I'm turned
on. How's about a kiss?" - she rejects him (see Gym Jam,
for example). Olive herself has to give up on the notion of
"love at first sight". She can't walk away with a guy she's
just met and then wonder why he's only interested in her body. He
doesn't know her well enough to be interested in anything else!!
Olive needs to understand men. She gets herself into jams because she
doesn't realize that Bluto, Pierre, the lifeguard, or whoever, aren't
thinking like a woman. Men are different!!! While she can enjoy
a romantic candle-lit dinner simply for it's own sake, most men will see it
as a prelude to sex. Even men with strong moral beliefs about sex
will be fighting to control the urge all night. Olive's not going to
help matters if she drapes herself around the man, gasping, "When I'm
with you, I feel soooo weak."
- Passion, properly understood, fueled by
committed love, in its rightful place, is to be embraced, not feared.
Olive truly loves life and throws herself into it. So should I.
The Bible tells me, "This is the day the Lord has made, we will
rejoice and be glad in it." And Bluto and Olive revel in
romantic passion. So should I. If I can be permitted to
paraphrase the message of another Bible passage, the "Song Of
Solomon", using the language of the Paramount/Famous Studios'
cartoons, it is this: There's a time for you and your spouse to go
completely crazy over and with each other. Let your face turn into a
wolf's. Kiss the other all to pieces. Let yourself melt like
butter. Gasp with pleasure at the end and say, as Olive herself
would, "How utterly utterly!"
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PART
FIVE: In Appreciation: Additional Reasons Why Paramount/Famous
Studios' Popeye Cartoons Are My Favorite Popeyes
- They were the favorites of my youth. When I was
young, the Fleischer cartoons (while I enjoyed them and they certainly
helped cement in my mind the fact that Popeye was a hero) were a little too
bizarre to completely captivate a boy living in an upstate New York, small
town, farming community, taking place as they did in a REALLY ALTERNATE
universe of strange looking (and acting) characters and urban
ghettos. It was later that I came to see their genius. The
made-for-TV-syndication cartoons, while having some good story lines (Barbecue
For Two, Butler Up, and Where There's A Will among them), were
at times poorly animated and edited, so that, as a body, they didn't
supplant the Famous Studios' cartoons in my heart. And forget the
politically correct Hanna-Barbera Popeyes with their dowdy, weird-looking Olive who had a
voice like fingers on a chalkboard, their limited animation, and their
rules against non-violence (Popeye and Bluto couldn't throw
punches!!!! Why not make a western without horses, or a war movie
where nobody's allowed to shoot, or a musical without a score and
absolutely no dancing, or a Star Trek without any space ships while you're
at it!!!!). So, the Famous Studios' Popeye was and is still my
Popeye. Seeing the cartoons is like visiting old friends. The
nostalgia quotient is high!!
- Since Paramount/Famous Studios made Olive and Bluto
desirable, the cartoons made more sense, built up more empathy for
the characters, and increased the suspense. Why should Popeye care
about losing the Fleischer Olive Oyl? Why would she ever in a million
years even consider dating the Fleischer Bluto? How come he wants
her? Are these three people that hard up? Why should we even
care? However, in the Paramount cartoons, Popeye's about to lose a
real prize to a smooth charmer. Popeye, wake up! Every male
around you is after your girl, including many that outclass you!!! If
you don't treat her right, somebody else sure will!! She's really in
danger of giving her heart (and the rest of her) to the "wrong
guy". Olive had better think about what she's doing and the way she
comes across and watch it. Her sex appeal and flirty ways can easily
take her places she doesn't want to go. She's playing with fire
and about to get burned. And because we want Popeye to triumph, but
at some level, at the same time, are rooting for Bluto to win, the endings
of the cartoons keep our rapt attention. Even when we've seen the
films a million times (not much of an exaggera | |
