Popeye Presents Eugene, the Jeep

Eugene, The Jeep (1940)

*** (out of 4)

There's a gift at the door and Popeye opens it to see a cute little puppy. There's a note attached from Olive Oyl asking that the dog be loved but at night he be put outside. Night comes and the dogs doesn't want to agree to that.

EUGENE, THE JEEP is a pretty funny and clever short from the Popeye series that manages to once again feature some terrific animation as well as some nice laughs along the way. The film manages to have a lot of fast action and especially once the finale comes and the dog just refuses to go outside. The grumpy Popeye is certainly the highlight as he grows more frustrated as the dog continues to not do what he's told.

Popeye receives a package from Olive. It's a puppy, Eugene the Jeep, for his birthday. Her only instruction is that Eugene has to sleep outside which Popeye finds difficult since Eugene keeps showing up in his bed. There is no spinach in this one. Eugene squeaks a lot. It's fun. It's easy. It's good.

I enjoy this 1940 Popeye short featuring Eugene the Jeep, a character from the E. C. Segar comic strip with unique powers. The Jeep made his first appearance in the cartoons in a 1938 short, where Popeye asks him to track Swee'Pea. He also made a cameo appearance in the short "Wotta Nightmare." I love the Jeep. He's cute, and I wonder how Fleischer Studio made the Jeep's sounds.

In this short, Olive gives Eugene as a birthday present for Popeye. He looks after Eugene, feeds him, and builds him an outside bed, following Olive's directions. However, when it was bedtime, Eugene ended up in Popeye's bed. So whenever Popeye tries to put him outside, there he is-Eugene. I guess Popeye didn't know about his phasing powers, which made him disappear in one place and reappear in another.

My admiration for this cartoon extends from its inception to its conclusion, leaving me unable to pinpoint a favorite scene.

'Popeye Presents Eugene the Jeep' is not Eugene the Jeep's first appearance. He also appeared in 1938's 'The Jeep', to me despite not caring all that much for him as a character that cartoon was still quite good. This is another cartoon to not feature Olive Oyl physically (only mentioned when setting up the scenario) and have the conflict between Popeye and Bluto, instead it is another cartoon that has Popeye interact with another character and one of those that has an animal for the other character).

On the whole, 'Popeye Presents Eugene the Jeep' is a very enjoyable cartoon and compares favourably as far as early 40s Fleischer Studios cartoons go (have said more than once about this period on the most part not being a good one overall for them other than the Popeye series). It is a better and funnier outing than 'The Jeep', and Eugene works much better as a character this time round as well in my view. Not one of the series' best, but very impressive for this period.

Sure, 'Popeye Presents Eugene the Jeep' is formulaic and slight story-wise and could have done with more variety later on, always a danger with the cartoon being essentially one joke or revolving around one plot point.

It is also a little bit of a slow starter.

Actually though there is very little to dislike. Regarding the animation, it is very good as always from this period. It's beautifully drawn and with immaculate visual detail, that doesn't ever feel cluttered or static, and lively and smooth movement. The music likewise, lots of merry energy and lush orchestration, adding a lot to the action and making the impact even better without being too cartoonish. Jack Mercer's voice work for Popeye is terrific as always, with him enjoying his lines so much one enjoys them too.

Lines that are very snappy and amusing. There are plenty of laughs here in 'Popeye Presents Eugene the Jeep', both laugh out loud and gentle. The pace is not dull or too rushed, while having a good deal of energy in the final third where the cartoon becomes particularly fun. Popeye has great comic timing and is likeable, his frustration very relatable in a situation that would frustrate anybody (even those not easily so). Eugene is cute without being overly so and he is a nice match humour-wise, the noises he makes don't get too annoying despite there being a lot.

Overall, very well done. 8/10.