llltdesq Review of I Yam What I Yam

I Yam What I Yam (1933)

Early Popeye with a most unusual caricature (Spoiler Alert!)

[24 August 2002]

This is the second Popeye Fleischer Studios made and the characters are still being developed and aren't totally the characters most would think of as Popeye, Olive and Wimpy. Most notably different are their voice characterizations. Wimpy is actually the most starkly different, without the cultured tonal quality. The most memorable scene deals with a somewhat atypical caricature. Like the other studios, Fleischer used caricatures of the famous in their cartoons as a way of creating a hook for audience attention. More often than not, these were movie and/or radio stars, although the occasional politician showed up from time to time. Here, though, the Fleischers used Gandhi, familiar to Americans from newsreels. I suspect that the contrast from the violence in the cartoon to the most decidedly non-violent Gandhi was a large factor in the gag (an American Indian changed to an Indian from India probably factors in as well). This cartoon is probably dated by the joke and half the audience today probably doesn't get it anyway. Which is sad, because it is a fun little cartoon. Well worth watching. Recommended.