Dave Fleischer was responsible for many gems. Ones that were amusing and charming, though over-cuteness did come through in some efforts and the stories were always pretty thin, with appealing characters, outstanding music and visuals that were inventive and with innovative animation techniques.
'I Wanna Be a Life Guard' for me is among my favourites from this particular period of the Fleischer output. Despite liking many of Popeye's cartoons almost all the best came from the Fleischer era, Fleischer's efforts were always well animated and scored with lots of entertainment value and great chemistry between Popeye, Olive Oyl and Bluto. 'I Wanna Be a Life Guard' has everything that makes the Popeye series so appealing in its prime era and does nothing to waste the three main characters or make them less interesting.
The story is an interesting and beautifully paced one, never being dull, if formulaic (not uncommon with the Popeye cartoons). Sense is not a strong suit but in all honesty nobody looks for that and it is so easy to overlook. The humour and gags make it even more entertaining, avoiding the trap of repetition and actually being quite creative in the competition of who's the better swimmer (especially Popeye). The mumbling is oddly not too hard to understand and is very funny.
All the characters are great. Although Olive Oyl is a little underused as she did tend to be around this point she is fun to watch and one can see what Popeye and Bluto see in her. Popeye and Bluto are superbly characterised and their chemistry drives 'I Wanna Be a Life Guard' and has so much energy. Popeye is always amusing and likeable and his role here is imaginatively handled and Bluto is even funnier and more interesting.
Furthermore, the animation is beautifully drawn and with enough visual detail to not make it cluttered or static and lively and smooth movement. The music is also outstanding, lots of merry energy and lush orchestration, adding a lot to the action and making the impact even better without being too cartoonish. Fleischer's direction is always accomplished and his style is all over it.
Voice acting is dynamic and of very good quality. Jack Mercer gives Popeye so much character and my favourite of the Popeye voice actors (the longest serving one too for a reason). It is hard to imagine anybody else as Olive Oyl other than Mae Questel while Gus Wickie brings a lot of amusing and imposing character to Bluto.
Overall, a terrific Popeye cartoon as one can hope. 9/10 Bethany Cox
'I Wanna Be a Life Guard' for me is among my favourites from this particular period of the Fleischer output. Despite liking many of Popeye's cartoons almost all the best came from the Fleischer era, Fleischer's efforts were always well animated and scored with lots of entertainment value and great chemistry between Popeye, Olive Oyl and Bluto. 'I Wanna Be a Life Guard' has everything that makes the Popeye series so appealing in its prime era and does nothing to waste the three main characters or make them less interesting.
The story is an interesting and beautifully paced one, never being dull, if formulaic (not uncommon with the Popeye cartoons). Sense is not a strong suit but in all honesty nobody looks for that and it is so easy to overlook. The humour and gags make it even more entertaining, avoiding the trap of repetition and actually being quite creative in the competition of who's the better swimmer (especially Popeye). The mumbling is oddly not too hard to understand and is very funny.
All the characters are great. Although Olive Oyl is a little underused as she did tend to be around this point she is fun to watch and one can see what Popeye and Bluto see in her. Popeye and Bluto are superbly characterised and their chemistry drives 'I Wanna Be a Life Guard' and has so much energy. Popeye is always amusing and likeable and his role here is imaginatively handled and Bluto is even funnier and more interesting.
Furthermore, the animation is beautifully drawn and with enough visual detail to not make it cluttered or static and lively and smooth movement. The music is also outstanding, lots of merry energy and lush orchestration, adding a lot to the action and making the impact even better without being too cartoonish. Fleischer's direction is always accomplished and his style is all over it.
Voice acting is dynamic and of very good quality. Jack Mercer gives Popeye so much character and my favourite of the Popeye voice actors (the longest serving one too for a reason). It is hard to imagine anybody else as Olive Oyl other than Mae Questel while Gus Wickie brings a lot of amusing and imposing character to Bluto.
Overall, a terrific Popeye cartoon as one can hope. 9/10 Bethany Cox