Popeye for President

The Popeye/Paramount cartoons were winding down--1957's CRYSTAL BRAWL being the last one. And like The Three Stooges;half of them were using stock footage.

So this is one of the better ones---the Popeye/Bluto rivalry taken t he highest stakes of all--The White House. Hey,this looks downright ssane compared to the state of USA politics today and the Trumpchimpanzees ruining America bit by bit. Well,at least we kept a boor from The White House for a 60-year reprieve.

Popeye and Bluto are running for the same office. Everyone has voted save Olive Oyl, and her vote will decide the election. So they head over to her farm and compete by doing chores.

While I can forgive the folks at Famous Studios their failure to explain the Electoral College in six minutes, I find it harder to ignore the utterly hackneyed way in which they present this cartoon. Popeye and Bluto fight. Bluto cheats. Finally Bluto clouts Popeye and leaves him in a situation from which he cannot escape, but there's some spinach to hand, which he eats, escapes, and clobbers Bluto. Just like all the other times.

Popeye is running for the Spinach Party. Bluto is running for the rival Blutocratic Party. They end up tied with only Olive Oyl yet to vote. They both rush out to the country for her vote, but she has chores to do.

This premise makes no sense. I make a lot of leeway for a cartoon, but this really makes no sense. I'm not sure where to begin. If this is a local election, all the quirks can be excused. This apparently is a big city election or maybe the Presidency. Let's hope that the kids didn't watch this to learn about the democratic process. Schoolhouse Rock wouldn't need spinach to beat this.

Popeye for President (1956)

*** (out of 4)

Popeye and Bluto are running for President and they soon realize that the election is tied with only one person in the country who hasn't voted yet and that's Olive Oyl. Both men rush to her farm to win her vote by doing the various chores.

POPEYE FOR PRESIDENT is certainly one of the better shorts from this era of the series. There's a lot of great action throughout the film as well as some nice laughs. The highlights certainly begin once we're on the farm and we get some creative scenes of Popeye helping out on the farm including a very funny bit dealing with some wood that needs chopped. Fans of the series will certainly enjoy this film as the action is non-stop.

For so many reasons, a more actual short animation today than in 1956. Because the political frame becomes , in our society, the most important part. The victory of Spinach Party versus Blutocratic Party remains the axis of contemporary elections and the vote of Olive Oyl remains the best part.