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Popeye Sightings Popeye and company are neither gone nor forgotten, but pop up when you least expect them! |
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Last updated
10-24-08. |
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Here's
my response to a USA Today question: "What cartoon
character did you relate to as you were growing up?" I always related
to Popeye. I, too, only had one good eye and was picked on by
bullies. But Popeye came through with the help of his spinach and I
came through with the help of my "spinach" - my family, my friends,
and my religion. I also loved
the Famous Studios version of Olive Oyl. She was drawn to be
attractive, given a winning personality, and had a cute voice. Plus,
the writers of the cartoons placed her in romantic (sometimes even sexy)
storylines. More than one Popeye fan has shared with me that these
cartoons helped jump start their puberty! I also liked
the Famous Studios versions of Bluto and Popeye's other rivals. They
were handsome body builders, sly, subtle, and smooth. Therefore they
were more of a temptation for Olive and more of a challenge for Popeye. My answer was published on their web page and maybe even in the print edition for all I know. - Steve |
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When I first
saw the Popeye Minute Maid ad, I was delighted that Popeye, Bluto, Wimpy (2 of
them!) and Olive Oyl were back in new animation. I also thought it was
significant that the bigwigs obviously believed that most people would know
who these characters were and what their backstory
was. That says something about Popeye's popularity and that he and his
cast are a definite part of American culture. I thought the commercial
gave a quick nod to the Famous Studios' cartoons because for a fleeting
second or two Olive's face is pretty. As for the
meaning of the commercial, to me it seemed to be saying that Minute Maid
Orange Juice makes you feel so good about life that you'll patch up old feuds
and get along with everybody. As for the boys ignoring Olive Oyl, I
felt that they realized that she would bring trouble and break up their friendship.
Maybe they were in a mood to do "guy things" and hang out with
buddies and Olive would have stood in the way of that. I didn't think
that Popeye and Bluto were supposed to be gay in the ad. We're in a
sorry state when two guys can't be pals without being labeled as
"gay." In college, my male, decidedly heterosexual, friends
and I would sometimes swear off dating for a while and just go places as a
group. This was usually due to relationships breaking up with members
of the opposite sex. Why can't Popeye and Bluto swear off Olive for
awhile? Later, when I
heard that different groups with political agendas were either claiming the
commercial as a validation of their beliefs or attacking it as subversive
material, I was saddened. The classic cartoon characters should be for
everybody, should remain apolitical, and shouldn't have their basic natures
changed. So, the bottom line is that I'm glad Popeye got a chance to be on the national stage again, but I'm sorry to see all the controversy that his appearance caused. |
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Have you ever
run across Popeye or his friends and enemies in a place where you didn't
expect to see them? Want to tell us about it? EMAIL ME and I'll put some of your
sightings here (Most recent first).
John
from Tennessee -
A few years back there was a Burger King commercial featuring Wimpy.
I'm not sure if it was Wimpy from Famous Studios or KFS, but it was for the
Burger King's Kid's Meal. It showed Wimpy putting mustard, then ketchup
on the burger. Then it shows Wimpy hopping up and down saying, "Oh
happy day! Oh Happy Hamburger Day!!" I hope this helps. Ken
C. -
Have
you ever heard of the live act that King Features produced back in '61 or
early '62 to play at amusement parks and fairs during the summers? Some
time ago, I came across promotionals that were
destined for the trash can and saved them from being lost. All on
paper, it included a first press release, radio or TV announcements, 10 and
20 second spots, and On-The-Lot Announcements that were read over the Public
Address systems. This packet also included an original "King's
Features Tale Of A Sailor," being notes on the first 35 years of
Popeye. A brief history of the actor, Herb Messinger
as Popeye. It had some flyers and a bunch of pictures all lost but one
in bad condition. John
W. -
Are you familiar with the Popeye dance craze of the early '60s? (I remember
that Chubby Checker had a dance hit, "Popeye The Hitchhiker," but I
don't know what the dance movements were. - Steve) There was a
Popeye dance craze, but it was mainly in New Orleans. I don't even know
if it spread elsewhere in the Gulf South. There were actually Popeye
dance movements. A number of New Orleans recording acts cut Pop Eye
themed records. There's a compilation disc - on Night Train records, I
believe - with these Pop Eye and Popeye-related songs. This came to my
mind because I saw a wire story about 2004 being the 75th anniversary of
Popeye. Down
in New Orleans, Put
your hands on your hip, From
"Pop Eye," Huey Smith & The Clowns, It got in the
national charts as high as about 52. I don't remember all the
words. It's certainly a high-spirited number. Rockin' Ed - I wanted to comment on
something that I didn't see in either your Popeye page or the Oldies page on
your site - maybe because you're not aware of it. But, there was a
dance that originated out of New Orleans called "The Popeye" -
supposedly because it was created by Ernie "Mother-In-Law" K-Doe
after his son said that he walked like Popeye. Several records about
Popeye came out around this time:
Josh
B. - 5-27-2003 I'm not sure if
this was a regional thing, but we had a
Kevin
B. - 5-27-2003 I've seen
Popeye make a cameo appearance in a Paramount/Famous Movie cartoon entitled, Toys
Will Be Toys! In this film, the toyshop is closed for the night,
but it doesn't stop the toys from coming to life and having their own fun.
The toys parade down and around the toyshop to the strains of "The
Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers" (not to be confused with "The March
Of The Wooden Soldiers," the L&H Film Operetta Spoof). A
Popeye pull toy comes along. He's trying to water his spinach plants,
but a boxing glove comes from out of the workings of this toy and pops him
(pardon the pun) in the face. Another
sighting is our super-strong hero in an earlier orange drink commercial for
"Vitamin-Fortified Start." The commercial aired back
in the 1970's. It was interesting to see Popeye encourage the kids at
home to drink "Start." The voice to a degree sounded
like Mercer's, but most of it sounded more like Allen Swift's interpretation
of Popeye. So, it's anybody's guess as to who did the voice. 12-02-2002
- JED passes along this info:
7-10-02 -- Tonya let me know that there are now Popeye and Olive
checks from Liberty Check printers only available through credit unions.
Thanks, Tonya! 7-10-02 -- An Italian restaurant in Sioux Falls, South
Dakota, has a billboard ad which makes use of a clever pun. It bills
itself as "Where Popeye Met Olive Oil." - Steve -
- From: Sparki - Florida
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- From - Sabra (Mother of Taylor, 1st grader)
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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. 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, and 2008 by Steve R. Bierly. |