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Little Swee'pea

  • 1936
  • Approved
  • 7m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
480
YOUR RATING
Little Swee'pea (1936)
AnimationComedyFamilyShort

Popeye takes Swee' Pea to the zoo and spends most of his time rescuing the tot from the various animals.Popeye takes Swee' Pea to the zoo and spends most of his time rescuing the tot from the various animals.Popeye takes Swee' Pea to the zoo and spends most of his time rescuing the tot from the various animals.

  • Directors
    • Dave Fleischer
    • Seymour Kneitel
  • Writers
    • Rich Hogan
    • Tedd Pierce
  • Stars
    • Jack Mercer
    • Mae Questel
    • Gus Wicke
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    480
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Dave Fleischer
      • Seymour Kneitel
    • Writers
      • Rich Hogan
      • Tedd Pierce
    • Stars
      • Jack Mercer
      • Mae Questel
      • Gus Wicke
    • 17User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos8

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    Top cast3

    Edit
    Jack Mercer
    Jack Mercer
    • Popeye
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Mae Questel
    Mae Questel
    • Olive Oyl
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    • …
    Gus Wicke
    • Elephant
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    • …
    • Directors
      • Dave Fleischer
      • Seymour Kneitel
    • Writers
      • Rich Hogan
      • Tedd Pierce
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews17

    6.8480
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    10

    Featured reviews

    10RsqMdc

    Hey, it's Popeye. How can I give him less than a 10?

    I grew up watching this Popeye and unlike the heroes the kids have to look up to today he was honest, truthful and always did the right thing even when it meant more trouble for his "predicamink". Granted Popeye never took himself to seriously but that's just another factor that endeared him for me. Just simply a great cartoon as all the old Popeye cartoons are. Oh and for those of you asking about Swee'Pea and where he came from, he was an orphan. One legend has it that Popeye found him in the Swee'Pea vines, thus the name. The other legend says he was left on the Oyle family's' doorstep. According to this version when first introduced to Popeye he "socked" him right in the eye and Popeye said he "layed me in the Swee'Peas!" Thus another origin for the name. Olive seemed to have became his adoptive Mother. So take your pick of origin legends but please allow this to put to rest any notion of Swee'Pea being an illegitimate child once and for all. Let us not tarnish the long standing respect for Popeye and his world.
    10Movie Nuttball

    Good one!

    When this show was on I watched it every time I could! I thought that the characters were really funny and all had great personalities. The animation in My opinion was crisp, clean, and really clear. Not to mention beautiful! Most of the characters in this show are hilarious like the Looney Tunes characters that we all love. in My opinion these characters are the funnies and talented ever seen. In fact, The things that goes on in this series' cartoons are in My opinion nuts which that is what makes them hilarious! There are so many to like and laugh at and the silly things they do! If you like the original Looney Tunes then I strongly recommend that you watch this show!
    8RJV

    Swee'Pea's Animated Debut

    Like cartoon producer Max Fleischer's star character Popeye the Sailor, Swee'Pea first appeared in E.C. Segar's comic strip THIMBLE THEATRE. In the baby's animated debut, LITTLE SWEE'PEA, he is an effective foil for Popeye. Here, the sailor takes the baby to the zoo. However, Swee'pea escapes from his carriage and wanders along the cages of various large and dangerous animals. The bulk of the cartoon concerns Popeye's efforts to rescue Swee'pea from these beasts while trying to avoid being mauled himself.

    As in most of the Max Fleischer Popeye cartoons I have seen, LITTLE SWEE'PEA has a lot of clever and enjoyable gags. One particularly inventive sequence has Popeye searching for Swee'pea in a hippo's cage only to find the baby right inside the hippo when the beast opens its mouth. One wonders why this particular zoo lacks any staff to prevent babies like Swee'pea from entering these cages. Then again, if anybody was around to stop Swee'pea we'd be denied the joy of seeing Popeye struggle with the animals, wouldn't we? For this cartoon, the Fleischer staff used live-action backgrounds. The results are impressive, creation a 3-D illusion. I've never seen the colorized version of LITTLE SWEE'PEA, nor do I desire to. From what I hear, the people who recolored this black-and-white cartoon obliterated these attractive backgrounds.

    And there's always the joy of listening to Jack Mercer as Popeye. He provides an ideal voice characterization, a deep gravelly voice that nevertheless conveys a jovial warmth, revealing the sailor's golden heart beneath his rough exterior. One also gets to hear Mercer's muttered ad-libs, although in my opinion there aren't enough in this particular cartoon.

    LITTLE SWEE'PEA, like most of the Max Fleischer Popeye cartoons I've seen, remains fresh and funny after over sixty years. Like all fine cartoons, this is essential family entertainment, testifying to the greatness of both the Max Fleischer studio and Jack Mercer.
    8SnoopyStyle

    classic

    Popeye is taking Olive Oyl to the zoo. It turns out that she's busy and he takes Swee'Pea instead. Baby's day out becomes one big adventure. This is a classic Popeye. He keeps saving the baby from the animals. Swee'Pea with the crocodile is a classic scene. There are a few other great bits. The only thing that I don't like is Popeye's closing song where he says he'll never have a baby. It's too cynical for Popeye. Overall, this is a great classic.
    10petersgrgm

    Superb Fleischer debut for Swee'Pea

    I remember Little See'pea as the debut cartoon for the Segar-created baby Swee'Pea. (Sock-a-Bye Baby was not Swee'pea's debut, though I at first thought that the babe whom Popeye was baby-sitting WAS Swee'pea.) This cartoon showed what Swee'Pea was like; when Popeye took him to the zoo (because Olive Oyl was too busy with housecleaning to go with Popeye), Swee'Pea crawled in and out of mischief, with Popeye in pursuit. With the aid of spinach, he spanked the hippo and threw him into the ground, then twirled a leopard, which lost its spots. The punching of the crocodile into suitcases, seen in several other Popeyes, was absent. At the end, Popeye gave Swee'pea a toy monkey, which led him to SQUALL! Olive Oyl thought that Popeye had FRIGHTENED Swee'pea, hit him with her broom. The REAL nitty-gritty was that Swee'Pea was squalling because he did not have his way. This was seen in later Popeyes featuring Swee'Pea, like Baby Wants a Bottleship and Thrill of Fair. All in all, a fine cartoon debut for Swee'Pea.

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    Related interests

    Daveigh Chase, Rumi Hiiragi, and Mari Natsuki in Spirited Away (2001)
    Animation
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Drew Barrymore and Pat Welsh in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
    Family
    Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)
    Short

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The short is in the public domain in the United States after its copyright holder neglected to renew the copyright.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Popeye: [singing] There's no ifs or maybes / I'll never have babies / I'm Popeye the Sailor Man!

    • Alternate versions
      Also available in a computer colorized version.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Popeye Show: I Eats My Spinach/Little Swee'Pea/Poopdeck Pappy (2001)
    • Soundtracks
      I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
      (uncredited)

      Written by Samuel Lerner

      Played during the opening credits

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 25, 1936 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Popeye the Sailor with Little Swee' Pea
    • Production companies
      • Paramount Pictures
      • Fleischer Studios
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 7m
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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