Little Swee'pea

Many fine cartoons were seen with Dave Fleischer. Ones that were amusing and charming, though over-cuteness did come through in some efforts and the stories were always pretty thin, with appealing characters, outstanding music and visuals that were inventive and with innovative animation techniques.

While not quite one of my favourite Popeye cartoons, 'Little Swee Pea' is still very well made and great fun, with plenty of amusement and managing to not be too cute. This is not a Popeye versus Bluto cartoon, and another change of pace for Popeye, which are every bit as enjoyable and in a good deal of them even more so than the Popeye versus Bluto efforts. The premise is not an original one, so the cartoon is on the formulaic side, but 'Little Swee Pea' has enough invention to stop it from becoming predictable and repetitive, or too much so at least. It is a fine example of why Popeye and his cartoon appeal a lot to me and what makes them work so well is all evident here.

Olive Oyl is on the bland and underused side, but Popeye and debuting Swee Pea are dead on. Popeye is very easy to like and is is amusing yet easy to feel sympathy for, but despite being a baby Swee Pea manages to be an even more interesting character, avoiding being obnoxious or too cute and is both adorable and funny. Their chemistry/interaction was essential for 'Little Swee Pea' to work and sparkles.

There are many clever and very amusing to hilarious gags, the cartoon is hardly short-changed in this regard. A highlight is the sequence with the hippo. The asides and mumblings are even funnier and helped by Jack Mercer's ever genius vocal delivery, just wish there was more.

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. Fleischer's direction is always accomplished and his style is all over it.

Jack Mercer easily steals the show when it comes to the voice acting, for all the above reasons.

In conclusion, very nicely done Popeye cartoon and a worthy introduction to Swee Pea. 8/10

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.

I never did understand in what relation was this baby to Popeye. Was he (it is a boy, is it not?), Olive Oyl's illegitimate kid? She seemed to hang around the docks a lot, she dated both Bluto and Popeye, heck, she could have dated (wink, wink) the whole 7th fleet for all we know!! But, I digress. This cartoon is a cute one about Popeye taking Swee Pea to the zoo. Swee Pea decides to climb out of his stroller and get inside various animal cages. Swee Pea gets inside the elephant, alligator, hippo cages and is seen riding the leopard out of the zoo before being caught by Popeye and delivered back to Olive Oyl.

But, this is a funny little cartoon from the Fleischer Studios.

in this animated short,Popeye takes Swee' Pea to the zoo,and of course chaos and hi jinx ensue,with Popeye being pretty much oblivious.this is the 1st Popeye short i have seen,and i thought it was quite funny,and of course absurd.this is one of the short films from the Fleisher studio,who also did a number of Superman animated shorts,17 in all,i think.one of the funniest things about Popeye is his strange way of speaking,or mumbling rather.that and the fact that he always has a can of spinach on him no matter where he goes.of course,as soon as the can of spinach is drained,Popeye becomes super strong.in just over 7 minutes,there is a lot packed into this short.i really enjoyed it.for me,Popeye:Little Swee'Pea is an 8/10

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.