Shiver Me Timbers!

You already know that I am a huge Popeye fan, and I am also a fan of the Fleischer Studio's work. This is a favorite Popeye cartoon, perfect for Halloween. It has a little bit of the spooky surrealism that was used in "Minnie the Moocher" and "Betty's Hallowe'en Party," both starring Betty Boop.

In this short, Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Wimpy are out for a picnic on the beach when they come upon a ghost ship. Of course, they climb aboard the ship where the ghosts attack them. But thankfully, Popeye brought his can of spinach along.

Like I said, I didn't have any particular scenes I liked because I loved the whole cartoon. There is another good Popeye short for Halloween called "Ghosks Is the Bunk" from 1939, where Popeye and Olive used invisible paint to pretend to be ghosts to get even with Bluto, who had played a scary trick on the pair in an old, deserted hotel. Anyway, this cartoon is a great, spooky cartoon for Halloween or any other time of year.

The Fleischer Studios pioneered modern animation; notice how some of them feature a three-dimentional background using glass plates or even miniature sets on which the cartoon characters were added optically. That is not the case with this particular cartoon though but it does show certain familiar characters in a stage of development. Popeye, for example, finally finds a situation he is not in complete control of and reacts the way a regular person would: with fear and hesitance. Popeye, Olive and Wimpy find a ghostship and, against the better judgement of Olive and Wimpy, go aboard. Quicker than you can say "weigh anchor" the ship sets sail all by itself. When Popeye declares "There ain't no ghosts!" suddenly they are surrounded by them and Popeye's strength, which is great even without spinach, is suddenly useless. For an 8 minute cartoon we take a strange psychological turn as the ghosts turn each persons fear against them. Popeye is tied high on a mast swinging like a human penduum contantly hitting iron rings with his head and. . .um . . .lower regions. Wimpy's torture is worse when you consider his appetite. He is chained to a mast beside a table loaded with food. When he tries to grab a snack the table not only runs away but hits him hard in the stomach as well. Olive's ordeal is the worst, well to me anyway because that is my fear as well. Tied to the deck milk is dripped on the bottoms of her bare feet and licked off by cats. Oh yeah Popeye saves everyone but I think they have all learned a lesson by the end of the cartoon. The supernatural is ain't nothin' to be made fun off.

This is a "ghost ship" story and not really anything that funny, at least nowhere as good as the normal Popeye cartoon by this time. It might be even a little bit too scary for small kids.

Popeye, Olive and Wimpy come across this ghostly ship one day. (The three of them seem to go out boating a lot, and wind up on desert islands.)

The boat has some humorous features, such as neon-type signs that change and floorboards which move up and down making music, but then its a mite sadistic as ghosts tie up our three pals and torture them, although not in any gruesome way. Yet still, as mentioned, it's a little dark for small kids to be watching. I sometimes think these early Popeye cartoons were made more for adults. Popeye then finally figures a way to fight these sadistic spirits, but isn't done in his normally-humorous fashion.

Popeye, Olive, and Wimpy come across a ghost ship. Of course, despite concerns by the other two, Popeye insists on injecting his macho self onto the ship. What follows is lot of ghost cartoon action. Eventually spinach rears its head (excuse the absurd image) and Popeye faces the spirits.

Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Wimpy encounter a ghost ship. Olive is scared and wants to leave. Popeye isn't concerned at all. They board the ship and it sails into the open seas. The ghosts start problems for the group.

I like the various ghost pranks. I especially like their pranks on Wimpy. Of course, Popeye eats his spinach and punches out the ghosts. It's fine but I wanted something more imaginative. The ghosts should be pirates. Maybe punching ghosts doesn't work and they need a smarter plan. They draw a fake treasure map which lures the ghosts off the ship. That would be different and more fun.