Popeye and Son

Popeye and Son revived our favorite spinach-loving sailor, but this time he's not just getting into mischief-he's also a dad! The show introduced us to Popeye's son, too, who definitely embodies some of his old man's characteristics with a youthful flair. The animation feels a bit dated by today's standards, but it has that classic charm that fans of the original Popeye shorts might appreciate. The episodes are filled with goofy adventures, typical of the Popeye universe, and they feature the same beloved cast of characters, including Olive Oyl, Bluto, and others. The humor is pretty slapstick and innocent, which makes it a nice show for all ages. While it didn't quite capture the magic of the original Popeye cartoons, it's a fun watch for those who grew up with these characters and want a little nostalgia fix! Plus, any cartoon that encourages kids to eat their spinach gets a thumbs up from me!

Popeye and Son is an okay cartoon that is another short-lived series of the 1980's. Basically another one of those attempts at the trope of a hero having a son (in the vein of The Flintstone Kids' Captain Caveman and Son shorts), Popeye and Olive Oyl are married and have settled down in the beachside town of Sweet Haven, where they have a son named Popeye Junior (Junior for short). However, Bluto is also married and has a son named Tank, and unfortunately, the married life has not stopped him from being a bully to the sailor man, as their feud is still on, with even Junior and Tank having a rivalry.

A follow-up to The All-New Popeye Hour, this is an okay show, which only lasted thirteen episodes (each with two adventures). As Jack Mercer died in 1984 (one year after All-New Popeye Hour ended and three years before this premiered), Maurice LaMarche. Who is best known at the time as the voice of Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, took over the role of the sailor man (who traded his sailor uniform for a captain's hat and a Hawaiian shirt). However, just like The All-New Popeye Hour, those meddling big wigs at standards and practices have made sure that Popeye is a good example for his son and is not punching Bluto or anyone.

However, the series is far from perfect. Missing are characters like Swee'pea and even Popeye's nephews, who appeared in the All-New Popeye Hour, Also, the show basically tries to put Popeye into the 1980's with stuff like surfing and skateboarding, which while nice at first, eventually becomes a cliché.

I thought it was great that Hanna-Barbera brought Popeye back with this brand new story line! It's about time Popeye and Bluto settle down then start their own families in Sweat Haven.

What really made it better was that they didn't make Popeye's son look exactly like him or even wear the same cloths like they did in past cartoons.

Also they made him like any other kid who lives near the beach that want's to surf, skateboard and just hang out with his friends.

Back by popular demand, it is time for "Matthew Rants!" Popeye the Sailor. He is one of the most celebrated icons of the 20th century. Now we all know that Popeye has to be modern. He sang the song "Man on the Flying Trapeze" in the 1930's. He fought in World War II in the 1940's. He fought aliens in the 1950's. He went into a Beatnik's club in the 1960's. He danced in a disco with Olive Oyle in the 1970's. So what is he going to happen for the 1980's? Make them yuppies. Have them settle down and have families. Let Popeye and Olive get married and have a son. Have Bluto get a wife and have a son who is a bully for Popeye's son. Now the tradition continues. This has to be the dumbest idea ever made since THE ALL NEW POPEYE SHOW added in two stories where Popeye is living the life of a caveman and Olive Oyle is in the army (!) THE ALL-NEW POPEYE SHOW (which was made by Hanna-Barbera), was known for replacing the violence (which the theatrical cartoons were known for) with the deus-ex-machina. Now this new cartoon has the two rival becoming a family and having kids and put in a few characters here and there such as Professor O.G. Whatasnozzle, Eugene the Jeep, Nana Oyle, Poopdeck Pappy, and the goons. What happened to Sweet-Pea and Popeye's nephews? Anyway, this bobera from Hanna-Barbera aired on CBS (the same channel that aired the 1978 reboot). The stories in the episodes are dumb to begin with. On the plus side the only good thing apart from the music, is when Popeye Jr. takes his spinach he gets disgusted first but through time has to accept it. This teaches kids how to accept food like spinach. All in all, this iteration of the beloved cartoon can make the 1980 movie look like an epic. As a kid, I loved it, so did my mother, but with age comes a new pair of eyes. Looking back, this is stupid with a capital S! When I told about it to my mother, she felt disgusted, or as Popeye would say, "disgustipated". She said that the show is stupid. Somethings work well on paper. No wonder the cartoon had a short run. Around that time the show was on the air, there were Quaker Oatmeal commercials with the beloved hero. This show like those commercials are on YouTube, you have been warned! Poor Popeye, he has gone through the mud just like other great heroes like Batman with his campy show during the sixties, Spider-Man with his skits on the original ELECTRIC COMPANY, The Teen Titans with their jokey cartoon on Cartoon Network (which gets too much air time), and speaking of which, The Powerpuff Girls and their jokey reboot where everything we knew and loved about it, is thrown out the window (because they want make money out of it). Bottom line: Avoid it at all costs. Rated TV-Y, but it contains some cartoon violence that happen to be downplayed.

Popeye and Son was a show I actually found rather enjoyable. I don't think it is as good as the original cartoons, which are classics, but I wasn't expecting it to be. The animation is not bad I feel, one or two character designs are not as strong as others perhaps, but overall the colours are not too flat and the backgrounds at least have life to them.

The music is also memorable, especially the theme tune. Likewise with the amusing writing, clever story-lines and the wonderful characters(apart from Swee'Pea all the original characters are here and every bit as fun as before). The voice acting is solid with Maurice LeMarche and Allan Melvin the notable standouts.

Overall, enjoyable series. 8/10 Bethany Cox