I wonder how many times Popeye flexed his biceps over the years? I wouldn't know, probably 100 or so, but each time it's humorous because you never know what shape you're going to see - or what you are going to see inside his biceps! In this one, we see an upper body the proportions of a pro bodybuilding come stretching out of Popeye's biceps, doing their own posing routine - all inside Popeye's upper arm! I'm telling you: the imagination these writers had on these mid-to-late 1930s Popeye efforts was terrific.
That show of brawn in here was for Swee Pea's benefit as the tyke doesn't want to eat his spinach. Popeye winds up telling him a story about how he was a weak little kid playing football with the neighborhood kids.
What's really funny is to see what Popeye and Olive Oyl looked like when they were about 10 years old. You almost laugh out loud looking at them. They didn't change the voice, though. That's still Jack Mercer's weird Popeye adult voice and it's still Mae Questel's "Olive." Soon, we see a young Bluto and Wimpy. Only the latter sounds like a little kid.
The funniest part of this football farce, to me, was the signal-calling. Both Popye and Bluto had some humorous clever ways to calling out to have the ball hiked. A couple of times I stopped and put on the English subtitles to make sure what I heard. It's good stuff, believe me. (Watch these on the recent Popeye The Sailor Man 1933-38 Volume One" DVD, if you can.)
The signals, and the innovative ways Bluto propels himself to the end zone each time make this a very enjoyable cartoon. Bluto and his team came up with crazy formations and plays that even make the Marx Brothers look tame! This is outstanding material!
That show of brawn in here was for Swee Pea's benefit as the tyke doesn't want to eat his spinach. Popeye winds up telling him a story about how he was a weak little kid playing football with the neighborhood kids.
What's really funny is to see what Popeye and Olive Oyl looked like when they were about 10 years old. You almost laugh out loud looking at them. They didn't change the voice, though. That's still Jack Mercer's weird Popeye adult voice and it's still Mae Questel's "Olive." Soon, we see a young Bluto and Wimpy. Only the latter sounds like a little kid.
The funniest part of this football farce, to me, was the signal-calling. Both Popye and Bluto had some humorous clever ways to calling out to have the ball hiked. A couple of times I stopped and put on the English subtitles to make sure what I heard. It's good stuff, believe me. (Watch these on the recent Popeye The Sailor Man 1933-38 Volume One" DVD, if you can.)
The signals, and the innovative ways Bluto propels himself to the end zone each time make this a very enjoyable cartoon. Bluto and his team came up with crazy formations and plays that even make the Marx Brothers look tame! This is outstanding material!
