Popeye (1980)

The sailor man travels to a seaside town called Sweethaven, falls in love with Olive Oyl, adopts Swee'pea, and makes an enemy of Bluto.

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Jules Feiffer (screenplay), E.C. Segar (based on characters by)

Stars:

Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Ray Walston

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robin Williams	...	Popeye
Shelley Duvall	...	Olive Oyl
Ray Walston	...	Poopdeck Pappy
Paul Dooley	...	Wimpy
Paul L. Smith	...	Bluto
Richard Libertini	...	Geezil
Donald Moffat	...	The Taxman
MacIntyre Dixon	...	Cole Oyl
Roberta Maxwell	...	Nana Oyl
Donovan Scott	...	Castor Oyl
Allan F. Nicholls	...	Rough House (as Allan Nicholls)
Wesley Ivan Hurt	...	Swee'pea
Bill Irwin	...	Ham Gravy - the Old Boyfriend
Robert Fortier	...	Bill Barnacle - the Town Drunk
David McCharen	...	Harry Hotcash - the Gambler

Storyline

Buff sailor-man Popeye arrives in an awkward seaside town called Sweethaven. There he meets Wimpy, a hamburger-loving man; Olive Oyl, the soon-to-be love of his life; and Bluto, a huge, mean pirate who's out to make Sweethaven pay for no good reason. Popeye also discovers his long-lost Pappy in the middle of it all, so with a band of his new friends, Popeye heads off to stop Bluto, and he's got the power of spinach, which Popeye detests, to butt Bluto right in the mush. Watch as Popeye mops the floor with punks in a burger joint, stops a greedy tax man, takes down a champion boxer, and even finds abandoned baby Swee'pea. He's strong to the finish 'cause he eats his spinach!

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Plot Keywords:

popeye | spinach | abandoned baby | tax | sailor | 

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Taglines:

Haves a happy holiday wit me an' Olive!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Karl-Alfred

Filming Locations:

Anchor Bay, Malta

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$50,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Vistasonic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jules Feiffer's script originally included Popeye's magical pet Eugene the Jeep. Though the Jeep was ultimately left out, Feiffer gave some of its magical characteristics to Swee' Pea, hence the baby's apparent clairvoyance.

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Goofs

In the climax, when the octopus is pulling down the boat with Sweet Pea inside, Olive's dress can be seen in the right-hand corner of the screen in the underwater shot (widescreen version).

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Quotes

Popeye: [to a photo of his Pappy] Poppa. Pretty soon, you and me are going to be together again, huh? Yeah. Thirty years ain't that long. Besides, next Wednesday's our annual-versity. Yeah? Yeah. Stay alive. That's all I'm axskin' you. Good night, Poppa.

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Crazy Credits

Our gratitude to an international crew whose artistry helped to bring Sweethaven and the world of Popeye to life.

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Connections

Featured in Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country (1993)

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Soundtracks

"He Needs Me"
(uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Harry Nilsson
Performed by Shelley Duvall

User Reviews

A fascinating plunge into an the imaginary universe of "Popeye"

Robert Altman's "Popeye" is a film to be lauded for its production design and performances. Altman took obvious care in bringing the town of Sweethaven and its residents to life . . . notice the bustling activity, the individual characterizations, and even the big, cartoony special effects (e.g. - Bluto blowing smoke from his ears) that both pay homage to the original "Popeye" and separate it as a new direction for the story.

This well-known story is brought to life by the actors in it, most notably Robin Williams as Popeye and Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl. Robin Williams, complete with immense forearms and squinting eyes, gruffly plows through his adventures with the same tough sensitivity we've come to love from the character over the years. And Shelley Duvall . . . is simply astounding. She BECOMES Olive Oyl. Her gestures, her speech patterns, her gliding walk . . . it has to be seen! Duvall literally transforms herself into a living cartoon, one we care about more and more as the picture runs its course.

"Popeye" is a great conversion, from the comic strip to cartoon to film. With added depth and atmosphere, it remains an underrated classic appropriate for those willing to be transported by art to a fantasy land far , far away.