Moving Aweigh was the third and last Popeye cartoon featuring his pesky little sidekick Shorty. Some serious animation buffs find Shorty's annoying routine unbearable, but this isn't bad; Jim Tyer's animation is quick and dynamic and the overall pacing is right on the money. In other ways, it is highly unusual -- Olive Oyl never speaks in the cartoon although she appears, possibly as this was made during a period when no voice actress for Olive was available, and Popeye's trusty can of spinach is not a factor this time. One of the three uncredited directors on this project was Dan Gordon, whose slim catalog of Popeye cartoons are among the most deviant from the usual model. The other comment indicating that the credit for direction was withheld as this was a late Fleischer effort from which the brothers' usual credits were removed is incorrect; while Moving Aweigh may have been made a little earlier than its release date would suggest, it certainly would not have been made before 1942 and only Popeye "Specials" were made in color at the Fleischer studio. Three directors worked on this project, and perhaps Famous felt it was easier to credit it to no one than to list all three names, or there was some kind of internal dispute about direction credits. The character of the Irish cop -- and some of the situations involving him -- is recycled from "Cops Is Always Right" (1938), but the character design of the officer is a little improved this time; he is not so much a Mussolini-like thug as in the earlier title and is more like a "typical" Irish cop.
