The Popeye Show
Encyclopedia
The Popeye Show is a Cartoon Network
TV show that premiered on November 11, 2001. Each episode would include three unedited Popeye
theatrical shorts
from Fleischer Studios
and/or Famous Studios
. The show was narrated by Bill Murray (not to be confused with the film actor
), would give the audience short facts about the history of the cartoons as filler material between each short. Animation
historian Jerry Beck
served as a consultant and Barry Mills served as writer and producer. Mills had previously worked on projects such as The Rudy and Gogo World Famous Cartoon Show
for TNT
and The Bob Clampett Show
for Cartoon Network. A total of 45 episodes were produced, consisting of a total of 135 shorts.
, the company that bought the films from Paramount Pictures
for television distribution. This is due to the films having been sold in the 1950s, when most movie studios did not want to be associated with television. As a result, A.A.P. was required to replace the original Paramount logos with their own. For The Popeye Show, efforts were made to present these films as close to their original theatrical form as possible: some of the cartoons shown were copies that actually had their original Paramount titles intact, while others needed to have their original titles simulated through the process of digital video editing
.
The show focused mostly on the Fleischer Popeye shorts and early Famous Studios shorts that were originally filmed in black-and-white
. For all episodes, the first two shorts were from this era. Sometimes the third cartoon would be a color cartoon from Famous Studios, but on many occasions an entire episode would entirely be made of black-and-white cartoons. While selecting the color entries that would air, the only ones that were initially selected were those that were in the Turner
vaults with their original titles. The only color cartoons to have their original titles recreated were those shown in the last episode of Season 3, and all episodes of Season 4.
In season 1, an original copy of Popeye, The Ace of Space (1953) with its original titles was shown for the first time on TV. This particular cartoon was originally shown in 3D
, and therefore had a unique opening sequence. It also had a unique ending sequence that was not shown on syndication prints because it involved the Paramount logo being formed from the smoke
of Popeye's pipe.
The black and white short The Hungry Goat (1943) was kept from being shown in earlier seasons because it required extra attention to recreate the ending as close to original as possible. The original ending involved Popeye's nemesis in the short, a goat, laughing at Popeye while watching the end of the very cartoon they were in, and, like The Ace of Space, involved the Paramount logo.
The 1945 short Tops in the Big Top, which did not open with the standard Popeye theme music, but had a rendition with a circus theme, had its original soundtrack restored for the program. Similarly, a version of W'ere On Our Way to Rio (1944) was prepared with the opening soundtrack restored, but the show was cancelled before it could be included in any episodes.
, which was a Betty Boop
cartoon in which Popeye makes his theatrical debut. This particular cartoon had a scene at the carnival where Popeye and Bluto play a ball-toss game where the target is an African American
stereotype
. Episode #11 had the short Happy Birthdaze, in which Popeye murders his Navy buddy Shorty in a scene that is usually cut from TV broadcasts. When Episode #10 finally aired, I Eats My Spinach replaced Popeye the Sailor, while Episode #11 aired with no changes made, and Happy Birthdaze was shown uncut.
A later episode featured an unedited version of the World War II
themed Spinach fer Britain
(1943), a cartoon in which Popeye battles Nazis. This particular cartoon is rarely shown outside of any scheduled airings of The Popeye Show.
Cartoon Network (United States)
Cartoon Network is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting which primarily airs animated programming. The channel was launched on October 1, 1992 after Turner purchased the animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1991...
TV show that premiered on November 11, 2001. Each episode would include three unedited Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
theatrical shorts
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
from Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...
and/or Famous Studios
Famous Studios
Famous Studios was the animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount acquired the aforementioned studio and ousted its founders, Max and Dave Fleischer, in 1941...
. The show was narrated by Bill Murray (not to be confused with the film actor
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
), would give the audience short facts about the history of the cartoons as filler material between each short. Animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
historian Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck is a well-known animation historian, with ten books and numerous articles to his credit. He is also an animation producer, an industry consultant to Warner Bros., and has been an executive with Nickelodeon and Disney....
served as a consultant and Barry Mills served as writer and producer. Mills had previously worked on projects such as The Rudy and Gogo World Famous Cartoon Show
The Rudy and Gogo World Famous Cartoon Show
The Rudy and GoGo World Famous Cartoon Show was a programming block of cartoons for TNT during the mid 1990s. Hosted by "Rowdy" Rudy R. Moore , and his pet goat Gogo , the show featured a variety of cartoon short subjects from Turner Entertainment's library, including pre-July 1948...
for TNT
Turner Network Television
Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
and The Bob Clampett Show
The Bob Clampett Show
The Bob Clampett Show was an animation anthology television program which ran from 2000 to 2001. Produced by the Cartoon Network, it featured animated theatrical shorts from the Warner Bros. library that were animated or directed by Bob Clampett, as well as a selection of shorts from the Beany and...
for Cartoon Network. A total of 45 episodes were produced, consisting of a total of 135 shorts.
Significance
Prior to the premiere of The Popeye Show, most television airings of theatrical Popeye cartoons bore the logos of Associated Artists ProductionsAssociated Artists Productions
Associated Artists Productions was a distributor of theatrical feature films and short subjects for television. It existed from 1953 to 1958. It was later folded into United Artists. The former a.a.p. library was later owned by MGM/UA Entertainment and then Turner Entertainment. Turner continues...
, the company that bought the films from Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
for television distribution. This is due to the films having been sold in the 1950s, when most movie studios did not want to be associated with television. As a result, A.A.P. was required to replace the original Paramount logos with their own. For The Popeye Show, efforts were made to present these films as close to their original theatrical form as possible: some of the cartoons shown were copies that actually had their original Paramount titles intact, while others needed to have their original titles simulated through the process of digital video editing
Video editing software
Video editing software, is application software which handles the post-production video editing of digital video sequences on a computer non-linear editing systems...
.
The show focused mostly on the Fleischer Popeye shorts and early Famous Studios shorts that were originally filmed in black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
. For all episodes, the first two shorts were from this era. Sometimes the third cartoon would be a color cartoon from Famous Studios, but on many occasions an entire episode would entirely be made of black-and-white cartoons. While selecting the color entries that would air, the only ones that were initially selected were those that were in the Turner
Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. is an American media company founded by Ted Turner. Now owned by Time Warner, the company is largely responsible for overseeing its library for worldwide distribution Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. (commonly known as Turner Entertainment Co.) is an American...
vaults with their original titles. The only color cartoons to have their original titles recreated were those shown in the last episode of Season 3, and all episodes of Season 4.
In season 1, an original copy of Popeye, The Ace of Space (1953) with its original titles was shown for the first time on TV. This particular cartoon was originally shown in 3D
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
, and therefore had a unique opening sequence. It also had a unique ending sequence that was not shown on syndication prints because it involved the Paramount logo being formed from the smoke
Smoke
Smoke is a collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires , but may also be used for pest...
of Popeye's pipe.
The black and white short The Hungry Goat (1943) was kept from being shown in earlier seasons because it required extra attention to recreate the ending as close to original as possible. The original ending involved Popeye's nemesis in the short, a goat, laughing at Popeye while watching the end of the very cartoon they were in, and, like The Ace of Space, involved the Paramount logo.
The 1945 short Tops in the Big Top, which did not open with the standard Popeye theme music, but had a rendition with a circus theme, had its original soundtrack restored for the program. Similarly, a version of W'ere On Our Way to Rio (1944) was prepared with the opening soundtrack restored, but the show was cancelled before it could be included in any episodes.
Controversy
Two episodes from Season 1 were initially skipped, and did not make their TV debut until reruns. The reason was because the two episodes had cartoons that the executives at Cartoon Network would not pass for unedited airings. Episode #10 was originally supposed to have Popeye the SailorPopeye the Sailor (1933 cartoon)
Popeye the Sailor is a 1933 Fleischer Studios animated short, directed by Dave Fleischer. While billed as a Betty Boop cartoon, it actually starred Popeye the Sailor in his first animated appearance.-Summary:...
, which was a Betty Boop
Betty Boop
Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick. She originally appeared in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. She has also been featured in...
cartoon in which Popeye makes his theatrical debut. This particular cartoon had a scene at the carnival where Popeye and Bluto play a ball-toss game where the target is an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
. Episode #11 had the short Happy Birthdaze, in which Popeye murders his Navy buddy Shorty in a scene that is usually cut from TV broadcasts. When Episode #10 finally aired, I Eats My Spinach replaced Popeye the Sailor, while Episode #11 aired with no changes made, and Happy Birthdaze was shown uncut.
A later episode featured an unedited version of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
themed Spinach fer Britain
Spinach Fer Britain
Spinach Fer Britain is a 1943, anti-nazi propaganda cartoon, produced by Famous Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film centers around Popeye the Sailor trying to deliver a shipment of spinach to 10 Downing Street in London, while fighting off Nazi Kriegsmarine soldiers pursuing him...
(1943), a cartoon in which Popeye battles Nazis. This particular cartoon is rarely shown outside of any scheduled airings of The Popeye Show.
Episode guide
Below is an episode guide for The Popeye Show. All episodes are listed in production order. There were a few occasions where episodes were skipped and therefore did not air in their proper order.Season 1
| Episode # | Shorts Featured | Original Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
11/19/2001 |
| 2 |
|
11/12/2001 |
| 3 |
|
11/26/2001 |
| 4 |
|
12/03/2001 |
| 5 |
|
12/03/2001 |
| 6 |
|
12/10/2001 |
| 7 |
|
12/10/2001 |
| 8 |
|
12/17/2001 |
| 9 |
|
12/17/2001 |
| 10 |
|
02/11/2002 |
| 11 |
|
02/18/2002 |
| 12 |
|
12/24/2001 |
| 13 |
|
12/24/2001 |
Season 2
| Episode # | Shorts Featured | Original Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 14 |
|
07/07/2002 |
| 15 |
|
0714/2002 |
| 16 |
|
07/21/2002 |
| 17 |
|
07/28/2002 |
| 18 |
|
08/05/2002 |
| 19 |
|
08/12/2002 |
| 20 |
|
08/18/2002 |
| 21 |
|
08/25/2002 |
| 22 |
|
09/01/2002 |
| 23 |
|
09/08/2002 |
| 24 |
|
09/15/2002 |
| 25 |
|
09/22/2002 |
| 26 |
|
09/29/2002 |
Season 3
| Episode # | Shorts Featured | Original Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 27 |
|
11/17/2002 |
| 28 |
|
11/24/2002 |
| 29 |
|
12/01/2002 |
| 30 |
|
12/08/2002 |
| 31 |
|
12/15/2002 |
| 32 |
|
12/22/2002 |
| 33 |
|
12/29/2002 |
| 34 |
|
12/19/2002 |
| 35 |
|
12/20/2002 |
| 36 |
|
12/24/2002 |
| 37 |
|
12/26/2002 |
| 38 |
|
12/27/2002 |
| 39 |
|
12/31/2002 |
Season 4
| Episode # | Shorts Featured | Original Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 40 |
|
06/15/2003 |
| 41 |
|
06/22/2003 |
| 42 |
|
06/29/2003 |
| 43 |
|
07/06/2003 |
| 44 |
|
07/13/2003 |
| 45 |
|
07/20/2003 |
See also
- List of Popeye the Sailor theatrical cartoons (Fleischer Studios)
- List of Popeye the Sailor theatrical cartoons (Famous Studios)
- The Tex Avery ShowThe Tex Avery ShowThe Tex Avery Show was an animated showcase of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Bros. cartoon shorts prominently by animator Tex Avery . The showcase premiered on the Cartoon Network in 1996 , and was taken off the air in 2002...
- ToonHeadsToonHeadsThe TV series ToonHeads is an animation anthology series consisting of uncut Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer & Warner Bros. cartoon shorts, with interesting background information and trivia, prominently by animators and voice actors like: Mel Blanc, Tex Avery, Hugh Harman, Rudy Ising, David H. DePatie, Friz...
- The Bob Clampett ShowThe Bob Clampett ShowThe Bob Clampett Show was an animation anthology television program which ran from 2000 to 2001. Produced by the Cartoon Network, it featured animated theatrical shorts from the Warner Bros. library that were animated or directed by Bob Clampett, as well as a selection of shorts from the Beany and...
- Cartoon AlleyCartoon AlleyCartoon Alley is an American television program that aired on Turner Classic Movies every Saturday Morning at 11:30 AM ET.Hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, the series featured three classic animated shorts from the 1930-1950's per episode. Most shorts were from The Golden Age of American animation. Each of...