Little Swee'pea

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!

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.

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.

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.

Little Swee'pea (1936)

*** (out of 4)

Popeye asks Olive Oyl to go to the zoo with him but she's busy so she says he can take Little Swee'pea. Popeye does so and quickly regrets it as the kid keeps wondering off and getting involved with various animals.

LITTLE SWEE'PEA is another winning short from Fleischer's series where there's once again some good laughs and plenty of nice action. The real highlight here is a sequence where the baby is walking underneath the elephant, which keeps coming close to stepping on him. There's also another funny sequence where the baby keeps walking into the mouth of an alligator. The animation itself is of high quality as you'd expect and the action helps keep the film moving.