Popeye the Sailor

***Popeye the Sailor*** is an American animated television series produced for King Features Syndicate TV that was released between 1960 and 1963 with 220 episodes produced. The episodes are grouped by the production studios of Larry Harmon Pictures, Rembrandt Films, Halas and Batchelor, Gerald Ray Studios, Jack Kinney Productions, Paramount Cartoon Studios, and Italy-based animation company Corona Cinematografica.

## Production

In the late 1950s, the original *Popeye* theatrical shorts released by Paramount Studios from 1933 to 1957 began airing in many television markets and garnered huge ratings. King Features Syndicate, who owned the print rights to the "Popeye" name, did not earn any money from the syndication of the Paramount theatrical *Popeye* films. In order to capitalize on Popeye's television popularity, King Features hastily commissioned a new series of made-for-TV animated *Popeye* shorts. Al Brodax served as executive producer of the cartoons for King Features' then-newly created television production and distribution division (known today as Hearst Entertainment, named after King Features' parent company, the Hearst Corporation). Jack Mercer, Mae Questel and Jackson Beck returned for this series, which was produced by several different animation companies: Gerald Ray Studios, Jack Kinney Productions, Rembrandt Films/Halas and Batchelor, and Larry Harmon Productions).

Famous Studios, which produced the theatrical entries from 1942 to 1957, also returned, although by this point they had been renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios. The series was produced using the limited animation technique, whose production values contrasted sharply to their *Popeye* theatrical counterparts. The artwork was streamlined, simplified for television budgets, and the entries were completed at a breakneck pace. 220 made-for-television cartoons were produced in two years; in contrast, 231 theatrical cartoons were produced over 24 years. Several minor changes were made for the characters. Though World War II had ended 15 years prior, Popeye still retained his white Navy uniform (except in "Barbecue for Two", in which he wears his original black navy garb). Olive Oyl's appearance was a hybrid of different incarnations; while her outfit reverted to the Fleischer years of a red turtleneck, long black dress and huge shoes, her hair retained the mid/late 1940s and 1950s makeover initiated by Famous Studios (except in "Barbecue for Two", in which she is portrayed in her Fleischer/early Famous Studios design, and "Hits and Missiles", in which she wears her later Famous Studios clothes of red shirt with collar, black dress, and black high-heel shoes).

The biggest change was to Bluto, whose name was changed to "Brutus". At the time, King Features believed that Paramount owned the rights to the name "Bluto". King Features actually owned the name, as Bluto had been originally created for the comic strip; however, due to a lack of thorough research, they failed to realize this and reinvented him as Brutus to avoid supposed copyright infringement problems. Realizing their mistake, King Features began to promote Brutus as an entirely new character. His demeanor was altered slightly, and his physical appearance was changed from being muscular to slightly obese. In addition, the sailor/Navy uniform was replaced with an enormous blue shirt and brown pants. Many entries lifted storylines directly from the comic strip, resulting in the inclusion of many characters not seen in the theatrical releases, including the Sea Hag, Toar, Rough House, and King Blozo. Like their theatrical counterparts, the made-for-television series was also a big ratings success. *Popeye the Sailor* aired in syndication in the United States into the 1990s. Notably, the 1960s shorts would mark the final time that Mae Questel would voice Olive Oyl.

A version which includes all 220 shorts, presented in 55 half-hour cartoons, can currently be seen on Prime Video (as "Classic Popeye").

## Voice cast

* Jack Mercer - Popeye, Wimpy, Poopdeck Pappy, King Blozo, Additional voices
* Mae Questel - Olive, Swee'Pea, Sea Hag, Alice the Goon, Diesel Oyl
* Jackson Beck - Brutus, Toar, O. G. Wotasnozzle, King Blozo (Paramount cartoons only), Rough House, Additional voices

## List of episodes

### Larry Harmon Pictures

**Note:** The stories of all episodes are written by Charlie Shows.

* 1. "Muskels Shmuskels" - September 1, 1960 - Popeye runs afoul of circus heavyweight Brutus.
* 2. "Hoppy Jalopy" - September 2, 1960 - Popeye races to save Olive from Brutus, who places death traps around the track.
* 3. "Dead-Eye Popeye" - September 2, 1960
* 4. "Mueller's Mad Monster" - September 2, 1960 - Popeye and Olive tangle with a mad scientist's monster.
* 5. "Caveman Capers" - September 3, 1960 - Popeye remembers his prehistoric ancestor's discovery of spinach.
* 6. "Bullfighter Bully" - September 3, 1960
* 7. "Ace of Space" - September 3, 1960
* 8. "College of Hard Knocks" - September 4, 1960
* 9. "Abdominal Snowman" - September 4, 1960
* 10. "Ski-Jump Chump" - September 4, 1960
* 11. "Irate Pirate" - September 5, 1960
* 12. "Foola-Foola Bird" - September 5, 1960
* 13. "Uranium on the Cranium" - September 5, 1960 - Popeye and Brutus race to an island containing uranium.
* 14. "Two-Faced Paleface" - September 8, 1960
* 15. "Childhood Daze" - September 8, 1960 - Popeye has to protect Olive from Brutus, while he is changed into a baby.
* 16. "Sheepish Sheep-Herder" - September 8, 1960 - Popeye and Poopdeck Pappy clash with rustlers.
* 17. "Track Meet Cheat" - September 9, 1960
* 18. "Crystal Ball Brawl" - September 9, 1960 - Brutus tries to steal a crystal ball in Popeye's possession.

### Rembrandt Films/Halas and Batchelor

* 1. "Interrupted Lullaby" - September 9, 1960 - Brutus learns from a newspaper headline that Swee'Pea has inherited 1 million dollars. Brutus devises a plot to kidnap the baby, but must get past Popeye, who has been left to babysit while Olive shops.
* 2. "Sea No Evil" - September 10, 1960 - Brutus is a marine shopkeeper who is practicing quite a scam.
* 3. "From Way Out" - September 10, 1960 - Popeye, Olive, and the Professor deal with a Martian delinquent.
* 4. "Seeing Double" - September 10, 1960 - Two plot elements: an expensive mink stole and a mechanical doppelganger of Popeye.
* 5. "Swee'pea Soup" - September 11, 1960 - King Blozo's subjects demand that he step down and install Swee'pea as King.
* 6. "Hag-Way Robbery" - September 11, 1960 - Sea Hag steals much spinach.
* 7. "The Lost City of Bubble-lon" - September 11, 1960 - Brutus raids an undersea kingdom.
* 8. "There's No Space Like Home" - September 12, 1960 - Brutus exploits a costume party in an attempt to win Olive.
* 9. "Potent Lotion" - September 12, 1960 - Popeye receives an "aftershave lotion" that induces aggression in anyone who smells him while Brutus and his cronies rob the bank.
* 10. "Astro-Nut" - September 12, 1960 - Popeye volunteers to be the test subject for the space capsule and must remain inside for the next 60 days.
* 11. "Goon with the Wind" - September 18, 1960 - Popeye and Olive enjoy a quiet stroll on the boat, arriving in Goon Island with the whole group of Goons.
* 12. "Insultin' the Sultan" - September 18, 1960 - Popeye and Olive get into a heated argument and break up. However, when a sultan wants Olive to be his bride, Popeye decides to go back to his old lover.
* 13. "Dog-Gone Dog-Catcher" - September 19, 1960 - When Olive's poodle named Zsa-Zsa gets snatched by Brutus, the unruly dog catcher, Popeye is determined to rescue Zsa-Zsa by disguising himself in a dog outfit.
* 14. "Voice from the Deep! or See Here Sea Hag!!" - September 19, 1960 - Popeye is called to Phony Island to help Chief Knucklebone and investigate the "talking volcano". He soon learns that Sea Hag is behind the strange voice.
* 15. "Matinée Idol Popeye" - September 19, 1960 - Director Brutus constantly finds roles for Popeye so deadly that they could kill him.
* 16. "Beaver or Not" - September 22, 1960 - Two beavers build a dam that floods property owned by Popeye.
* 17. "The Billionaire" - September 17, 1961 - Take-off on the television series *The Millionaire*.
* 18. "Model Muddle" - September 18, 1961 - Olive decides that Popeye needs some type of art stuff, so she takes him to the American Museum of Art.
* 19. "Which Is Witch" - September 18, 1961 - The Sea Hag has a late plan. She makes a robot double of Olive to attack Popeye.
* 20. "Disguise the Limit" - September 18, 1961 - The master of disguises, Popeye and Brutus; Today's case is "The Gorilla Escapes from Zoo". It is a disguising case to solve.
* 21. "Spoil Sport" - September 19, 1961 - Olive wants to live the "sports car set" life and is baited by Brutus' expensive convertible.
* 22. "Have Time, Will Travel" - September 19, 1961 - A time machine takes Popeye and Olive back to the prehistoric era, where all kinds of madcap adventures take place.
* 23. "Intellectual Interlude" - May 19, 1962 - Olive Oyl tells Popeye that he needs to be more intellectual, so she enrolls herself and Popeye into adult education classes. While there, he samples a scientist's "Intellectual Spinach" potion which gives him genius-level intelligence.
* 24. "Partial Post" - January 22, 1962 - A spaceship lands on Earth carrying an alien disguised as a mailbox, just when Popeye wants to post a card to Olive.
* 25. "Weight for Me" - September 22, 1961 - Depressed over a lengthy tour by Popeye and Brutus, Olive eats herself into a grotesque shape.
* 26. "Canine Caprice" - March 22, 1962 - A talking dog (Jackson Beck) gets Popeye in repeated bits of trouble.
* 27. "Roger" - February 2, 1963 - Roger the talking dog wins himself back into Popeye and Olive's good graces in time to thwart a jewelry store heist.
* 28. "Tooth Be or Not Tooth Be" - April 23, 1963 - Swee'Pea undergoes an early rite of passage - his first tooth. Poopdeck Pappy tells Swee'Pea the story about how the Sea Hag tried to steal his perfect set of teeth.