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{{quote|''[[Title Drop|I'm Popeye the Sailor Man!]] (TOOT!)''
''I'm Popeye the Sailor Man!''
''[[Super Strength|I'm strong to the finich,]]''
''[[Power-Up Food|Cause I eats me spinach,]]''
''[[I Am What I Am|I'm Popeye the Sailor Man]]''!|Part of the iconic Popeye theme song.}}
Originally a minor character in [https://web.archive.org/web/20130601114547/http://home.earthlink.net/~thimbletheatre/ Elzie Segar's newspaper comic strip ''Thimble Theater''], '''Popeye''' the Sailor quickly took over the series, edging out [[The Slacker|Ham Gravy]] as the principal suitor of Olive Oyl. He made his animation debut in a 1933 [[Betty Boop]] short produced by [[Fleischer Studios]], and continued appearing in cartoons throughout the 1940s and 1950s, when [[Famous Studios]] produced the series, and even continued on into several made-for-tv cartoons. Despite his sailor moniker, Popeye rarely ventured out to sea, instead spending his days romancing Olive Oyl and competed with Bluto for her affections.
He starred in an impressive 231 theatrical cartoons during [[The Golden Age of Animation]], lasting from [[Long Runner|1933 to 1957]], his most noteworthy short being the first of the three two-reeler, 20 minute long, full-color Technicolor specials: specifically, "[[Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor]]". This iconic short, being a precursor even to [[Disney]]'s ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)|Snow White]]'', was extremely popular and was even billed along with the feature of the theater, above the main feature of the theater that played it, or ''even billed as the main feature of the theater itself.'' While it failed to win an Oscar (losing to the now obscure [[Walt Disney]] [[Silly Symphonies]] short "The Country Cousin"), it is still considered to this day to be one of [[The 50 Greatest Cartoons]] ever made, influencing even filmmakers like [[Ray Harryhausen]], especially on his film ''[[The 7th Voyage of Sinbad]]''.
Television syndication packages of Popeye cartoons tend toward a mixture of theatrical shorts and the 1960s shorts produced by Al Brodax. In the late 1970s, [[Hanna-Barbera]] produced a new series of Popeye cartoons for [[CBS]]. This was followed by ''Popeye and Son'' in 1987.
[[Popeye (film)|The Movie]], released in 1980 and starring a young [[Robin Williams]] in one of his first film roles, is a [[Cult Classic]]. Sony Pictures has made a deal to develop an [[All CGI Cartoon]] ''Popeye'' feature film.
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== Theatrical Cartoon Filmography ==
=== 1933 ===▼
▲== 1933 ==
* Popeye the Sailor: Billed as a [[Betty Boop]] cartoon, but is really a [[Poorly-Disguised Pilot]] for the Popeye cartoons. Betty herself recieves barely a minute of screentime, with almost all of her animation recycled from "Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle". The series formula is established right out of the starting gate with this cartoon, with Bluto kidnapping Olive and Popeye having to chase him down and beat him into submission before Olive gets run over by a train.
* I Yam What I Yam: The first solo Popeye short. Renamed "The Indian Fighter" in reissued prints. Wimpy makes his debut here.
* Blow Me Down!
* I Eats My Spinach
* Seasin's Greetinks!
* Wild Elephinks: First Bluto-less short.
=== 1934 ===
* Sock-a-Bye Baby: First Popeye short with neither Olive Oyl nor Bluto. Features Popeye caring for Betty Boop's baby brother.
▲* Sock-a-Bye Baby: First Popeye short with neither Olive Oyl nor Bluto. Features Popeye caring for Betty Boop's baby brother.
▲* Let's You and Him Fight
* The Man on the Flying Trapeze: Sole animated appearance of Olive Oyl's mother, in the opening. Bluto does not appear here, although the eponymous man on the flying trapeze is an obvious stand-in for him.
* Can You Take It?: A short that bears some similarities to ''[[Bimbo's Initiation]]''.
* Shoein' Hosses
* Strong to the Finich
* Shiver Me Timbers
* Axe Me Another
* A Dream Walking: Features the [[Bing Crosby]] song "Did You Ever See A Dream Walking?", [[Mickey Mousing|flawlessly synchronized with the animation.]]
* The Two Alarm Fire
* The Dance Contest
* We Aim To Please
* Let's Sing With Popeye: A [[Screen Song]] short featuring a sing-along version of the Popeye song. Recycles footage from the very first Popeye short.
=== 1935 ===
* Beward of Barnacle Bill
* Be Kind to Aminals: A bizarre short, if just because the Fleischers opted for a completely unsolicited change in voice, with Popeye's radio voice playing the role here (who sounds absolutely nothing like Popeye).
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* The Spinach Overture
=== 1936 ===
* Vim, Vigor and Vitaliky
* A Clean Shaven Man
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* I'm in the Army Now
=== 1937 ===
* The Paneless Window Washer
* Organ Grinder's Swing
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* Fowl Play
=== 1938 ===
* Let's Celebrake
* Learn Polikeness
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* Cops Is Always Right
=== 1939 ===
* Customers Wanted
* Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp: The third
* Leave Well Enough [[A Lone]]
* Wotta Nitemare: This short is a nightmarish throwback to the early days of [[Fleischer Studios]], which is especially odd considering that
* Ghosks is the Bunk
* Hellow-How Am I?
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* Never Sock a Baby
=== 1940 ===
* Shakespearean Spinach
* Females is Fickle
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* Wimmin Hadn't Oughta Drive
* Puttin' On the Act
* Popeye Meets William Tell: The sole Popeye cartoon directed by [[Shamus Culhane]].
* My Pop, My Pop
* Popeye the Sailor with Poopdeck Pappy
* Popeye Presents Eugene the Jeep
=== 1941 ===
* Problem Pappy
* Quiet! Pleeze
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* Nix on Hypnotricks
=== 1942 ===
* Kickin' the Conga 'Round (there's a title that [[Opium Den|gets 'crap' past the radar]]..)
* Blunder Below
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* Me Musical Nephews
=== 1943 ===
* Spinach fer Britain
* Seein' Red, White n' Blue
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* The Merry-Go-Round
=== 1944 ===
* Were on the way to Rio
* The Anvil Chorus Girl: Remake of Shoein' Hooses
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* She-Sick Sailors
=== 1945 ===
* Pop-Pie a La Mode
* Tops in the Big Top
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* Mess Production
=== 1946 ===
* House Tricks?
* Service with a Guile
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* The Island Fling
=== 1947 ===
* Abusement Park
* I'll Be Skiing Ya
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* All's Fair at the Fair: No relation to the [[Color Classics]] short of the same name.
=== 1948 ===
* Olive Oyl For President
* Wigwam Whoopee
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* Symphony in Spinach
=== 1949 ===
* Popeye's Premiere
* Lumberjack and Jill
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* The Fly's Last Flight
=== 1950 ===
* How Green is My Spinach
* Gym Jam
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* The Farmer and the Belle
=== 1951 ===
* Vacation with Play
* Thrill of Fair
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* Punch and Judo
=== 1952 ===
* Popeye's Pappy
* Lunch with a Punch
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* Big Bad Sindbad: Another stock footage episode, reusing animation from "Popeye Meets Sindbad" with a new [[Framing Device]] added.
=== 1953 ===
* Ancient Fistory
* Child Sockology
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* Shaving Muggs: Remake of A Clean Shaven Man.
=== 1954 ===
* Floor Flusher
* Popeye's 20th Anniversary
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* Gopher Spinach
=== 1955 ===
* Cookin' with Gags
* Nurse to Meet Ya
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* A Job for a Gob
=== 1956 ===
* Hill-billing and Cooing
* Popeye for President
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* A Haul in One
=== 1957 ===
* Nearlyweds
* The Crystal Brawl
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* Spooky Swabs: The last of the theatrical Popeye cartoons.
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{{tropelist}}
* [[Adaptation Distillation]]: The Fleischer Popeye's played up Popeye's strength much more, gave him his [[Reality Warping]] powers, his love of spinach, and made Bluto and his rivalry with Popeye much more prominent.
* [[Adult Fear]]: "Lost and Foundry" had Swee'Pea wandering off into a dangerous factory. Although {{spoiler|he ends up having to rescue Popeye and Olive Oyl instead of the other way around.}}
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** On the other hand, Popeye has been credited for saving the spinach industry in the 1930's by convincing more kids to eat it, invoking this trope without it being an official advertisement.
*** [[wikipedia:Crystal City, Texas|Crystal City, Texas]], an agricultural town that was based around spinach growing, actually erected a statue of Popeye in the town square.
* [[Cerebus Syndrome]]: In what is sure to surprise many people, ''Thimble Theater'' went from gag strip [https://web.archive.org/web/20130623012646/http://www.ncs-glc.com/GLC/ed_black/segar/segar2.html parodying vaudeville and overwrought film serials], to an adventure/comedy strip in the tradition of Roy Crane's ''[[Wash Tubbs]]'', and was quite popular. Created in 1919, it had been running (mostly in Hearst papers) for ''ten years'' when Popeye showed up. His appearance only served to make it more successful.
* [[Chaste Toons]]: Swee'Pea, who just appeared on a doorstep one day, and Pipeye, Peepeye, Pupeye and Poopeye, Popeye's quadruplet nephews, who dressed just like him and got into various misadventures alongside him.
** It's not like Popeye had a choice. Just look at his girlfriend; Olive Oyl would have ''exploded'' if she tried to make a baby!
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* [[Christmas Episode]]: "Seasin's Greetinks!"
* [[Clip Show]]: "Adventures of Popeye", "I'm In The Army Now" and "Customers Wanted"
* [[Cock Fight]]: Whenever Olive Oyl shows up, Bluto and Popeye immediately start a competition to win her affections.
* [[Commedia Dell Arte Troupe]]: The characters' roles never changed, but the shorts would shoehorn them into a wide variety of settings and personalities
* [[Comedic Hero]]
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* [[Cross-Dressing Voices]]: Popeye's voice actor Jack Mercer had to briefly leave the studio to serve a tour of duty during WWII. In his absence, Mae Questel voiced Olive Oyl ''and'' Popeye, and nobody could tell the difference. Incredible.
* [[Damsel in Distress]]: Olive Oyl
* [[Dangerous Forbidden Technique]]: The first time Popeye and Bluto met (in the comics), Popeye floored him with [https://popeye.fandom.com/wiki/Twisker_Sock "me special Twisker Sock"], which he also used in a few cartoon shorts. Popeye himself claims this move is potentially lethal and only uses it when he has no choice, notably doing so in ''[[Popeye Meets Sindbad the Sailor]]''.
* [[A Day
** The short ''Wotta Nitemare'' might also count, although the bulk of that short was one big [[Dream Sequence]]. [[
** There's also "Popeye meets William Tell", which for [[Something Completely Different|no discernable reason]] decides to throw our hero into [[The Middle Ages|medieval europe]] and have him encounter William Tell. And it only gets stranger from there.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: In the 1930s shorts, this was Popeye to a tee. It mostly came about due to his voice actor having to ad-lib many quips ''after'' the animation was done.
* [[Depending on the Writer]]:
** Bluto's personality and character varies depending on who the lead animator was for the cartoon. He's ruthless, mean, and sadistic in Willard Bowsky, but much sillier and bumbling in Seymour Kneitel's. Dave Tendlar had him somewhere between the two.
** Also, Myron Waldman's cartoons tended to be both [[Denser and Wackier]] plus [[Lighter and Softer]] than the others.
** There's also a lot of disagreement as to how strong and tough Bluto is compared to Popeye. Sometimes, Popeye is no match for him without spinach, while other times, Popeye can put up a good fight against him even without it. Still other times, Bluto has a terrible glass jaw, and even Olive Oyl can knock him out. This of course fuels the common fan theory that Popeye is [[Willfully Weak]].
* [[Deranged Animation]]: "Wotta Nite-Mare", which almost feels like a throwback to the earliest Fleischer cartoons like "Swing You Sinners" in terms of content.
* [[Did You Die?]]: One old cartoon features Popeye telling his nephews about one of his adventures. At one point they ask, "Did you get killed?"
* [[Diner Brawl]]: ''We Aim To Please'' and ''What - No Spinach?''
* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: "Sock-A-Bye Baby" has Popeye beating up a bunch of people because they're making noise and he's afraid they'll wake a baby he's taking care of.
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* [[Executive Meddling]]: At the height of his popularity, Popeye developed a strong following among children. King Features Syndicate, as a result, force the character to be a better role model for kids. Poopdeck Pappy was soon created as an outlet for some of Popeye's old vices.
* [[Expy]]: Brutus replacing Bluto (or Sindbad or whoever)
* [[Extreme Omni Goat]]: The goat in question was an oddly [[Tex Avery|Avery-esque]] [[Screwy Squirrel]] character who ended up eating the entire ship Popeye was on. A [[
* [[Finishing Move]]: The twister sock/punch.
* [[Flexing Those Non-Biceps]]. Curiously averted, in that when Popeye has his spinach, they become huge, with objects inside like a battleship firing to show how powerful they are.
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* [[Image Song]]: Sort of. At the end of every short, Popeye sings some variation of the "Popeye the Sailor Man" song, depending on the situation or setting of that particular short, and always ending with the trademark "Toot, Toot!" whistle. For instance, in a short where Popeye is a sculptor and Bluto is a painter and the two fight over who gets to use Olive as a model, he sings, "A painting won't match you / it must be a statue / I'm Popeye the Sailor Man / Toot, toot!"
* [[Informed Attractiveness]]: Olive Oyl is apparently ravishingly beautiful.
** It's [https://web.archive.org/web/20141213100748/http://www.mtcnet.net/~bierly/olivefab.htm more apparent] in the Famous Studios shorts, however.
** As mentioned [[wikipedia:Olive oyl|elsewhere]], Olive was originally conceived as a flapper, which, in 2010, is a fashion now almost a century out of date, but in general the flapper ideal was, indeed, something like Olive Oyl: skinny as a rail, with as little of a figure as a girl can possibly manage, and sort of tomboyish of attitude. They tended to be party people.
* [[It Runs in The Family]]: Poopdeck Pappy, Popeye's nephews, and Swee' Pea all behave just like Popeye, more or less.
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** The Sea Hag often calls him Wellington.
* [[Let's Get Dangerous]]: Popeye's trademark line, ''"That's all I can stands, and I can't stands no more!"''
* [[Let's You and Him Fight]]: [[Trope Namer]]; one of Wimpy's early [[Catch Phrase
* [[Live Action Adaptation]]: Released in 1980, with [[Robin Williams]] and Shelley Duvall
* [[Love At First Punch]]: Played straight with Popeye and Olive in the original comics.
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** In the comics, this verges on [[Nigh Invulnerability]] — Mafia bosses will invite Popeye to sit at the table with them in a restaurant, because he makes for such a good bulletproof shield.
** In the early Fleischer cartoons, too. He's thrown into an iron maiden ("Can You Take It?"), walks into a buzzsaw (ditto), is pounded by a pile-driver ("I Eats Me Spinach"), and is even shot in the back of the head ("Blow Me Down"), and he doesn't even flinch. And this is ''without'' spinach.
** In fact, Popeye's indestructibility was his main "superpower" in the original comic strip, and spinach had nothing to do with it. In his initial adventure he was shot several times, and survived by repeatedly rubbing the head of an African whiffle
* [[Mad Libs Catchphrase|Mad Libs Theme Song]]: When singing his iconic tune at the end of an episode, Popeye frequently inserts episode-specific references in lines three and four.
* [[Magical Native American]]: If one's definition of this trope is broad enough, the indians from the very early short "I Yam What I Yam" (AKA "The Indian Fighter") feature a tribe of hostile indians who are capable of ''shapeshifting'' into nearby foliage ([[Rule of Funny|and in one's case]], [[Easter Egg|a miniature house]]) in order to sneak up on Olive and Wimpy's cabin.
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** The 1972 TV special ''[[The Man Who Hated Laughter]]'', which teamed up virtually every popular King Features Syndicate character, even those from strips of completely different genres and art styles.
** He was also part of the Imaginationland defense force on that episode of [[South Park]]. ("More spinach for Popeye!" <poof!>)
* [[Megaton Punch]]: Usually how he ends his spinach-boosted beatdown combos. Maybe the [[F-Zero|Falcon]] [[Memetic Mutation|PAWNCH]] from [[Super Smash Bros.]] was based on this ultimate finisher?
* [[Never Wake Up a Sleepwalker]]: Bluto and Popeye have to join forces to save Olive Oyl from herself in the short "A Dream Walking", especially once she wanders into a construction site.
* [[No OSHA Compliance]]: True, Popeye predates OSHA by a long shot, and started back when A-list stars in the movies still did stunts without the benefit of a [[Stunt Double]] or safety nets, but you still wouldn't want to work in, say, a factory with [[Everything Trying to Kill You]], right? Well, it's clearly nothing for the world's strongest sailor to worry about.
** Or his nephews.
* [[Not-So-Safe Harbor]]: Sweethaven, especially in the [[Live Action Adaptation]].
* [[Once an Episode]]: Popeye gets in a life-threatening situation, pulls out a can of spinach, and summons the strength necessary to save
* [[Only Known by Their Nickname]]: Scooner, generally called Swee'pea
** In the live action movie, Swee'pea ''was'' the baby's name. This led to the following exchange:
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* [[Pettanko]]: Olive Oyl
** She did have noticeable breasts in two shorts (''Can You Take It?'' and ''Shoein' Hosses'', never mind the ''[[Robot Chicken]]'' parody); however she was [[Off-Model]] in them, so they don't count.
* [[Picky Eater]]: Eugene the Jeep only eats one thing - orchids.
* [[Pirate Girl]]: The Sea Hag (although she is definitely not a [[Buccaneer Babe]]).
* [[Pocket Protector]]: In one episode, at the losing end of a fencing duel against Bluto, Popeye is saved from a finishing thrust by none other than a can of spinach hidden in his shirt.
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* [[Punny Name]]: Olive Oyl, and everyone from the original comic's cast
* [[Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs]]: ''[[Popeye]]'' may well be the [[Trope Maker]] in this case, as his cartoons are the earliest example of [[Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs]] anyone can find.
* [[Reality Warper]]: Big time. Popeye has altered the forms of the things he's punched, punching tigers into leopard skin
** Not to mention punching a big Native American chief and turning him into GANDHI!
** In one short, Popeye punched ''The Sun'' and changed day into night. Or killed the sun, depending who you ask.
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* [[Retool]]: The original comic strip changed drastically after Popeye's breakout popularity, dropping many regular characters.
* [[Retraux]]: The [[Famous Studios]] short "Cartoons Ain't Human".
* [[Scenery Porn]]: Had some very elaborate architecture backgrounds, all done in perfect perspective.
* [[Sealed Good in a Can]]: Spinach grants super strength to ''any'' character who consumes it, not just Popeye.
* [[Series Continuity Error]]: In ''Baby Wants a Battle'' (1953), we see Popeye as a baby living in a contemporary town in [[The Gay Nineties]] with his formally dressed Pappy, via photographs. Even though Popeye was an orphan who was separated from his father for so many years that his own father didn't recognize him. Also, where did they get those photos in the first place?
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* [[Standard Snippet]]: Whenever "The Stars and Stripes Forever" cues up, it means Bluto's about to take a beating.
* [[Story Arc]]: As mentioned above, the original comic strip began to use these.
* [[Strawman Political]]: The short ''Olive Oyl for President'' presents Congress as a room full of arguing donkeys and elephants (Democrats and Republicans, respectively) — for every proposal that Olive presents, the donkeys say, "We accept it!" in unison, and the elephants scream, "We reject it!" in response. Olive has to call her Secretary of Love - ie, Cupid - to resolve the issue, and ''even he'' has to swap his love-inducing bow and arrows for ''a machine gun version'' to quell the argument. Political polarization is [[Older Than They Think]].
** It was a remake of ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022667/ Betty Boop for President]'' (1932), complete with the "We accept it! We reject it!" from elephants and donkeys, and Oyl imitating politicians of the day.
*** ''I'm strong to the finish/ 'Cause I vote Kucinich!''
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Print Long Runners]]
[[Category:The Golden Age of Animation]]
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[[Category:The Great Depression]]
[[Category:Western Animation]]
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:Western Animation of the 1950s]]
[[Category:Newspaper Comics]]
[[Category:Newspaper Comics of the 1920s]]
[[Category:Newspaper Comics of the 1930s]]
[[Category:Newspaper Comics of the 1940s]]
[[Category:Newspaper Comics of the 1950s]]
[[Category:Newspaper Comics of the 1960s]]
[[Category:Newspaper Comics of the 1970s]]
[[Category:Newspaper Comics of the 1980s]]
[[Category:Newspaper Comics of the 1990s]]
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