1930 Cartoon Review - Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (1936)

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This is another cartoon review for my research, this time Popeye the Sailor Man. It's much better than the Betty Boops. Let's talk about it. 

Courtesy of theretroset.com

The plot of this couldn't be simpler. Popeye accidentally interrupts Sindbad the Sailor singing about his greatness, Sindbad reacts by destroying the boat and taking Olive, and Popeye triumphs by eating spinach. It's fun, easy to follow, and doesn't make me question if my coffee was drugged. I loved it. I have nothing bad to say about it. Let's go into why. 

The review

We have Sindbad at the start of the cartoon, singing “who’s the most remarkable, extraordinary fellow” to his animals (and monsters) who are chained up. This includes dragons, a two-headed man, a big vulture, and lions chained at his door. He decides to punch the lions because he feels like it. Popeye boats by innocently minding his business, singing his theme, which just happens to fall right after the phrase I quoted. The vulture is sent to sink the boat and take Olive, who cries out for help, but does far more to defend herself than Betty Boop ever did. Popeye and his "hamburger fiend" friend go on the island to get to her. Hamburger Fiend chases a duck with a meat grinder (hilarious, for real) and Popeye challenges Sindbad, ultimately winning because he ate his spinach. He then sings "who's the most remarkable, extraordinary fellow" and the animals and Olive cheer that he is. The end. 

Sindbad singing about his exploits, how creatures fear him, women love him (no evidence of that in this cartoon, so probably not true), and how he's the greatest is quite funny. What's even funnier is Olive kicking him in the face. Women love you? Sure, they do, Sindbad...




Let's discuss the Hamburger Fiend in the room. He only chases a duck with a grinder, fails, and resorts to his last hamburger - which the duck steals. He interrupts Popeye trash-talking Sindbad, and Popeye is like "how did you get in here?". The power of stupid, that's how! He's a fun detail. Poor guy, beaten by a duck. To be fair, I think the duck had more intellect. 

Olive was fun to watch, cheering on Popeye and kicking Sindbad in the face. She couldn't save herself (given the size of the man, I wouldn't have been able to, either), but Popeye was more than able to step in and challenge Sindbad. Popeye was small, but mighty. Even without the spinach he had a solid chance of outwitting Sindbad. My favorite punch was him punching Sindbad out of a tree hole saying "peek a boo". Once the spinach was swallowed, Sindbad was toast. 

Conclusion

This was delightful. I had so much fun watching it. It did not make me question my sanity. It made me laugh out of genuine entertainment. 10 out of 10. No notes. Loved it. Popeye was a fun adventure with a fun protagonist. This is why we remember Popeye the Sailor Man - because it was a good cartoon. 

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Morrow is coming out before Christmas 2025. This novella is the story of two women writing a family history for the Morrow family. They find a nasty secret while researching. Will they survive their internship? Find out when the book releases this year. 

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