I haven’t picked my next project to review, no. And it’s convenient — for me at least — to have an index page linking to all the essays of a big group project. On the other hand, there were like four hundred thousand King Features Popeye cartoons of the early 60s. So I’m going to part out these index pages. The studio of origin is the natural dividing line there. Yes, I am keenly aware that Jack Kinney Productions made eight hundred thousand of these shorts. I’ll deal with that later.
Here, then, are the Gerald Ray-produced Popeye cartoons, with whatever thoughts I had about them:
- Where There’s A Will — I can’t find that I did see this! If I’ve missed it on King Features’s YouTube page please let me find it, I can still fit a couple more reviews in.
- Take It Easel — this is the remake of that one Woody Woodpecker cartoon and where I wonder if Milt Schaffer was using a pseudonym to work for Walter Lantz some.
- I Bin Sculpted which is another but much looser remake of older Popeye shorts.
- Fleas a Crowd which is a flea circus cartoon that got released on vinyl for some reason.
- Popeye’s Junior Headache with Olive Oyl’s niece, not Popeye Junior.
- Egypt Us and I’m sorry about the title and what the cartoon thinks Ancient-flavored Egyptians are.
- The Big Sneeze which is trying to be an Abominable Snowman cartoon but doesn’t manage the trick.
- The Last Resort which I did not review as part of this project, and that King Features doesn’t seem to have on its page, which is a shame because it’s one of the few appearances of Toar. Again it might be hidden on King Features’s YouTube page somewhere.
- Jeopardy Sheriff which is another title I don’t understand but moves well enough as a cartoon.
- Baby Phase the juggling dream story.
Coming up next: oh, I don’t know. Maybe Gene Deitch? Maybe Larry Harmon?
It’s a shame Gerald Ray didn’t do more Popeyes. They were quirky as far as the animation but the stories were fun. I also enjoyed the songs at the conclusion of each cartoon.
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I agree that it’s a shame Ray didn’t produce more. I think his team had the best handle on how to do Popeye cartoons on a tiny budget; there’s a strong Rocky-and-Bullwinkle vibe to the editing and to how small funny bits of business get slipped in.
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