Popeye (1980)

The adventures of the sailor man and his friends in the seaside town of Sweethaven.

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

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

Stars:

Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Ray Walston

3 wins & 4 nominations.

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:

troubled production | disney | popeye | sailor | spinach | 

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Taglines:

The sailor man with the spinach can!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Popeye - Der Seemann mit dem harten Schlag

Filming Locations:

Anchor Bay, Malta

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$49,823,057

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$60,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Productions, Robert Evans Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Vistasonic

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film ended Paramount's involvement in the "Popeye" franchise, having released the 1933-57 animated cartoons, and outsourced production on some of the 1960s TV cartoons from King Features. In 2012, Paramount licensed US/Canadian home video rights to much of its catalog to Warner Bros., and this film was among the titles that were licensed to them. Warner Bros. has owned the Fleischer/Famous "Popeye" cartoons outright since 1996.

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Goofs

Just before Pappy starts singing "It's Not Easy Bein' Me" his pipe is in his mouth, then after he starts singing the pipe disappears, then near the end of the song when he's tied up it's in his hand.

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Quotes

The Tax Man: You moved out of the Oyl?
Popeye: None of your business!
The Tax Man: Four dollars twenty-five cents, movin' out tax.
Popeye: Nuts to you and nuts to your taxes!
The Tax Man: You moved in here?
Popeye: What's it look like?
The Tax Man: Five dollars twenty-five cents, movin' in tax.
Popeye: Don't forget: double nuts!

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits scroll over a scene of Bluto swimming across the ocean.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

I Yam What I Yam
(uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Harry Nilsson
Performed by Robin Williams

User Reviews

A tragically underrated film, Popeye is actually quite brilliant!

I remember when Altman released Popeye and it was slammed by most critics and ignored by the public. It deserves much better than that though!

Fantastic set design, great acting, high production values, strangely off kilter tunes, and just general all around weirdness make Popeye one of my favorites. Brilliantly twisted and twistedly brilliant.

Disagree? Oh well, whatever....."I yam what I yam and I likes what I likes!"