Classic Cartoons - Popeye The Sailor Man

One thing i always used to look forward to after school finished was to go home and watch Popeye The Sailor Man on television. Never mind changing my clothes, or eating; i would be straight in to the lounge with my bag and shoes plonked in the hallway.

Popeye was one of my cartoon heroes when i was young. I used to love his style, his laugh, his walk and him tooting his tobacco pipe! Toot! Toot!

Before we find out more about who he is or was (nobody talks about him anymore!), i am so excited, so let's watch one of his cartoons!

Enjoy!

Popeye is a hero who appeared in comics strips, animated cartoons and television shows. Elzie Crisler Segar was his creator, and in 1929 Popeye first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip called Thimble Theatre. Popeye was the name of the fictional hero, so afterwards Popeye became the series title.

Popeye the sailor man was first created in the year 1919, but did not make his debut for nearly 10 years. After he first appeared in the daily comic strip, King Features, he became an instant hit and was very popular near the 1930s.

Elzie Crisler Segar, Popeye's creator, died in 1938 but his work continued through several writers and artists, most notably by Segar's assistant, Bud Sagendorf.

The Thimble Theatre characters were adapted into a series of Popeye The Sailor theatrical cartoon shorts  by Max and dave Fleischer's Fleischer Studios for Paramount Pictures from 1933 through to 1957.

Since that time, Popeye became so famous that he appeared in comic books, television cartoons, arcade and video games and hundreds of advertisements.

 Popeye is such a unique character, that is probably why he has stuck in my memories for so long (i'm not that old you know!).

He has very disproportionate forearms with tattoos of an anchor on each arm. He is missing one eye, but doesn't wear an eye patch. Or maybe he doesn't bother using the other eye because he doesn't need to? Who knows!

He is a middle aged sailor with a very unique way of speaking:

"A wumming cop?!"

"Oh my gosh! A little spinach will take care of thisk!"

His laughter isn't bad either:

"Akak akak akak akak akak!"

He has an ever-present corncob pipe, which he toots like a steamship's whistle at times.

Popeye's love for Olive Oyl is visible in every series she is in, and his enemy, Bluto, is also always after her. But Popeye always wins in the end, because of his special tins of spinach!

 Spinach is good for you, everyone knows that, but Segar, Popeye's creator, probably knew that before everyone else!

Every time Popeye gets into trouble, he has his secret super powered spinach. It doesn't matter where he his, whether he is buried in the ground with only his head outside, he still manages to suck out all the spinach from the tin that comes out of his hat.

His tins of spinach are hidden in different parts of his body, appropriate for times when he needs them.

Popeye is depicted as ridicously strong, but when pummeled by Bluto, his enemy, but after he has his spinach, there is no one stronger. The spinach makes Popeye invincible to bullets, being crushed, hammered and anything else you can think of. It's like a cheat in a video game, where you get unlimited ammo, life and nothing can destroy you! He can even fly or swim like a torpedo and lift anything no matter how heavy they are. Popeye is probably one of the best and the most versatile (after Superman of course!).

 I hope you enjoyed viewing this hub on one of my favourite classic cartoon characters ever. There are more Classic Cartoons coming your way soon, and i think you won't be able to guess what they are!

Keep your eyes peeled, and come back soon to see if the next instalment is available!