Popeye (1980)

An under-rated classic.

Yep. This is a hot mess. 3 songs dont work... at all.
Its slow, as 1980 films were.
And the plot is paper thin.

But it is glorious.
This movie feels like a cartoon!
The casting is perfect. Williams did his own stunts in his debut, Duval is a whine-y beauty and hell; you couldnt find a cuter baby for the role of Sweat Pea.
The set design is incredible - it took 7 months to build.
The jokes are memorable - both spoken and visual (and there is so much happening that you only see them on repeat viewings).
And the songs (except for those 3 travesties) are catchy.
Finally, this has the best use of an Octopus aside from Lord of the Rings.

This was the perfect way to forget about Hamilton from this weekend trilogy.
Watch this - it is cheesy messy fun.

Very poor.

Safe to say, I didn't enjoy <em>'Popeye'</em> one bit - despite the presence of one Robin Williams. He is pretty alright in the role of Popeye, but I personally didn't like the uneven/whacky nature of the film. I see - and appreciate - what they were going for, it just doesn't come off in my opinion. It's all very pedestrian.

The characters around Popeye are annoying, as are the very forgettable musical numbers which don't fit in. I had high hopes for this, given I had heard good things of the titular character (not necessarily from this, just overall) as well as the fact of Mr. Williams appears. For me, in terms of his films that I've currently seen, this is closer to <em>'Hook'</em> than (the awesome) <em>'Bicentennial Man'</em>.

I'm sure many out there would disagree on that latter point, as well as my view of this film itself. That's fine, each to their own of course. I, though, couldn't wait for it to finish.

Popeye (1980): A Nostalgic Cartoon Come to Life

Robert Altman's Popeye isn't going to change anyone's weltanschauung. But good grief, is it delightful. A loving, slightly mad translation of the comic strip to screen, the film is a triumph of pure, unapologetic whimsy.

Harry Nilsson's musical numbers are wonderfully bizarre - strange, singable tunes that capture the film's cartoonish spirit. Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall don't just play Popeye and Olive Oyl; they become living, breathing cartoon characters. Their physical comedy is so precise, so exaggerated, that each movement feels like a panel from E.C. Segar's original comic strip.

The visual style is extraordinary. Sweethaven, built entirely on location in Malta, looks like a three-dimensional cartoon - all tilted angles, saturated colors, and impossible architectural perspectives. It's a world that exists somewhere between reality and illustration.

For those of us who grew up with these people - Williams, Duvall, Ray Walston, and Jules Feiffer (screenplay) - the film is pure nostalgic joy. A reminder of a simpler, more sane period in our lives.

Not every film needs to be serious. Sometimes, it just needs to be fun.