Popeye the Sailor (1933)

Yes folks, the most anticipated cartoon box set since the introduction of DVD technology is finally out, and I hope most of you have already bought it last week. The expectations were really high, and this set fulfills nearly all of them. Cartoons are of course fantastic, and it's a real treat to watch them in chronological order and witness all the changes in Popeye's character, and in Fleischer studio animation style. Video transfer is really nice (though not flawless... more about it in another article), the cover art is probably the best ever on a classic animation DVD set (courtesy of superb artist Stephen DeStefano), bonus material is generous and fascinating. This is a great example of classic cartoons getting the highly respectful treatment similar to the greatest live-action classics. It's something that unfortunately doesn't happen too often.

I'm going to dedicate a number of posts in the next two weeks to Popeye
and is there any better starting point than this:




The very first theatrical Popeye cartoon, released on 7/14/1933. A great date in animation history. Enjoy!










































































As usual, I'm presenting few excellent links related to Popeye:

Fleischer Popeye Tribute
For many years, this web site has been the main stop for all the fans of one-eyed sailor, and I'm sure it will keep that status in the future. It's a wonderful work of love and enthusiasm from Gordan and Nenad Calma. Thank you guys!

Stephen DeStefano
A great artist known for many years for his work in comics and animation. He's the best modern-day artist of Popeye, and the author of the wonderful artwork on the DVD package. Don't miss his blog!

Understanding Animation
Our regular visitor, Bruce (hey, what's your second name?) recently started his own animation blog, and it's going to be a really great one, folks! His impressive multi-part article on history of Popeye is well researched and amazingly informative.
Part 1
Part 2

Made of Pen and Ink: The Fleischer Cartoons
An extraordinary blog by film and animation historian Mike Dobbs, who extensively researched the history of Fleischer studio for several decades.

And finally, a little bit of shameless self-promotion. Here's a Popeye drawing I did last September. Take a look HERE (click on the picture to see the large version)

The Looney Tunes Golden Collection vol.5

The complete content for Looney Tunes Golden Collection vol.5 has just been announced. Take a look HERE for the list of all included cartoons and bonus material.
Also, take a look at Jaime J. Weinman's excellent blog Something Old, Nothing New for his post about this DVD set, with brief comment and description of each cartoon.

Well, it's a very interesting and surprising selection. People who expected a disc dedicated to Foghorn Leghorn or Pepe LePew will have to wait for at least one more year. I'm really happy to say that this set is very much in the sign of Bob Clampett: disc 3 is completely dedicated to him, and disc 4 contains six more Clampett cartoons. While the omission of Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs and Tin Pan Alley Cats is unfortunate but completely expected, it's unbelievable that "Horton Hatches the Egg" hasn't been included, either on Clampett disc or "Fairy-Tales" disc, especially since this cartoon was fully restored several years ago. Bonus material is generous as usual - the particular highlights are Private Snafu and Hook cartoons, a full length Chuck Jones documentary, and a 15-minute documentary dedicated to Robert McKimson.

Here's some of the stuff you can expect on LTGC vol.5: