The 1950s was not the best decade for the Popeye theatrical series or Famous Studios, the early-50s efforts being better and a little more consistent than those from the late-50s. The less polished animation quality, lower gag count and varying effectiveness of them and less fresh stories being the primary reasons for the inferior quality, compared to several of the 40s Famous Studios Popeye cartoons and Fleischer Studios' output.
1950's 'Gym Jam' is another colour remake from the Popeye theatrical series. This time it is remade from 1936's 'Vim, Vigour and Vitaliky', an excellent cartoon from a great year for the Popeye series in one of its, and of Fleischer Studios', best periods. Was very worried about 'Gym Jam' being pointless and that it would lose everything that made 'Vim, Vigor and Vitaliky' work so well. On the most part though, it's pretty good, not the best of the series' colour remakes and definitely not as good as the cartoon it's remade from but not one of the worst.
'Gym Jam' may not have the same amount of freshness that 'Vim, Vigor and Vitaliky' had, the material is all present and correct, the original gags are well executed and good fun. But the extra vim, vigour and vitality that was there before is not always there here in 'Gym Jam', due to knowing what's going to happen next.
Often there was throughout the series the annoying habit of giving Olive little material or screen time and making what she has forgettable, especially in the Famous Studios efforts. That's the case in 'Gym Jam'.
But actually, there is so much that 'Gym Jam' does incredibly well. It is worth watching for the deliciously bizarre and wildly funny sight of seeing Bluto in drag and the gags revolving around it, it is really quite hilarious. Popeye and especially Bluto are great, compelling characters here with great comic timing and nicely contrasted personalities. Both Jack Mercer and Jackson Beck do fine jobs with the voice work. While not as fresh as before, that doesn't stop 'Gym Jam' from being hardly short changed when it comes to the gags and executing them very well if in need of the extra spark.
Furthermore, the animation is typically vibrant with the background art being especially impressive. The colours are rich and the character designs don't look primitive and are smoother than they would become in later cartoons when the budgets became even lower and time constraints tighter. The music is lush, dynamic and characterful. Lots of merry energy and lush orchestration, adding a lot to the action and making the impact even better without being too cartoonish.
In summary, not great or as good as the cartoon it's made from but a lot of recommendable things and good fun. 7/10.
1950's 'Gym Jam' is another colour remake from the Popeye theatrical series. This time it is remade from 1936's 'Vim, Vigour and Vitaliky', an excellent cartoon from a great year for the Popeye series in one of its, and of Fleischer Studios', best periods. Was very worried about 'Gym Jam' being pointless and that it would lose everything that made 'Vim, Vigor and Vitaliky' work so well. On the most part though, it's pretty good, not the best of the series' colour remakes and definitely not as good as the cartoon it's remade from but not one of the worst.
'Gym Jam' may not have the same amount of freshness that 'Vim, Vigor and Vitaliky' had, the material is all present and correct, the original gags are well executed and good fun. But the extra vim, vigour and vitality that was there before is not always there here in 'Gym Jam', due to knowing what's going to happen next.
Often there was throughout the series the annoying habit of giving Olive little material or screen time and making what she has forgettable, especially in the Famous Studios efforts. That's the case in 'Gym Jam'.
But actually, there is so much that 'Gym Jam' does incredibly well. It is worth watching for the deliciously bizarre and wildly funny sight of seeing Bluto in drag and the gags revolving around it, it is really quite hilarious. Popeye and especially Bluto are great, compelling characters here with great comic timing and nicely contrasted personalities. Both Jack Mercer and Jackson Beck do fine jobs with the voice work. While not as fresh as before, that doesn't stop 'Gym Jam' from being hardly short changed when it comes to the gags and executing them very well if in need of the extra spark.
Furthermore, the animation is typically vibrant with the background art being especially impressive. The colours are rich and the character designs don't look primitive and are smoother than they would become in later cartoons when the budgets became even lower and time constraints tighter. The music is lush, dynamic and characterful. Lots of merry energy and lush orchestration, adding a lot to the action and making the impact even better without being too cartoonish.
In summary, not great or as good as the cartoon it's made from but a lot of recommendable things and good fun. 7/10.
