Baby Wants a Bottleship

Baby Wants a Bottleship was really superb for the final Popeye produced by Max and Dave Fleischer. The word play Baby Wants a Bottleship was fitting for the title, as Swee'Pea wanted nothing more than to roam aboard the battleship U.S.S. Pennsyltucky (cross between Pennsylvania and Kentucky) to which Popeye had been assigned. On shore leave, Popeye was asked by Olive Oyl to baby sit Swee'Pea while she went shopping. He gave Swee'Pea a tiny boat that he had whittled, which the babe threw away, and, when Olive was out of sight, crawled onto the Pennsyltucky, squalled when Popeye put him back in the carriage, then when put to sleep, crawled back onto the ship. Popeye pursued the baby until he was fired by a gun that Swee'Pea had activated, was buffeted about (and perhaps bowled over ten pins), then knocked out. Olive, returning from shopping, got Popeye to eat his spinach and save Swee'Pea. Popeye gave him another tiny boat; Swee'Pea squalled. He gave Swee'pea a bigger boat. No go. A BIGGER BIGGER boat. Didn't like that either. A BIGGEST BIGGEST BOAT. Swee'Pea squalled yet again So, with Olive, he steered the Pennsyltucky-- DOWN MAIN STREET-- to "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man", then "Volga Boatmen". This is somewhat suggestive of Swee'Pea's cartoon debut in Little Swee'Pea, when after his trip to the zoo, Popeye gave him a wooden monkey(which made the babe squall, but that time, he went no further (did not offer teddy bear, stuffed dog, stuffed elephant, etc. instead). All in all, a fitting way of illustrating Swee'Pea, just as J.Wellingron Wimpy's passion for hamburgers, agreeing to pay for them Tuesday, showed HIS nat