| Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Dave Fleischer |
| Story by | Joe Stultz (uncredited) Bill Turner (uncredited) Jack Ward (uncredited) Izzy Sparber (uncredited) |
| Based on | Sinbad the Sailor |
| Produced by | Max Fleischer Adolph Zukor |
| Starring | Jack Mercer Mae Questel Gus Wickie Lou Fleischer[1] Bradley Barker[2] |
| Music by | Sammy Timberg Bob Rothberg Sammy Lerner |
| Animation by | Willard Bowsky Lillian Friedman George Germanetti Edward Nolan Orestes Calpini |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 16:33 (two reels) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor is a 1936 two-reelanimated cartoonshort subject in thePopeye Color Specials series, produced inTechnicolor and released to theatres on November 27, 1936, byParamount Pictures.[3] It was produced byMax Fleischer forFleischer Studios and directed byDave Fleischer, with the title song's music composed bySammy Timberg and lyrics written byBob Rothberg. The voice cast includesJack Mercer as Popeye,Gus Wickie asSindbad the Sailor,Mae Questel asOlive Oyl andLou Fleischer asJ. Wellington Wimpy.[1]
In 2004, the film was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry by theLibrary of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Sindbad the Sailor (intended to be an alternate version of Popeye's old nemesisBluto) lives on an island where he keeps loads of creatures that he had captured during his adventures, where he proclaims himself, in song, to be the greatest sailor, adventurer, and lover in the world and "the most remarkable, extraordinary fellow," a claim that is inadvertently challenged by Popeye as he innocently sings his usual song while sailing by within earshot of Sindbad's island with his girlfriendOlive Oyl and friendJ. Wellington Wimpy on board.
Sindbad orders his hugeroc to kidnap Olive Oyl, and wreck Popeye's ship, forcing him and Wimpy to swim to shore. Sindbad relishes making Olive his trophy wife, which is interrupted by Popeye's arrival. Sindbad then challenges the one-eyed sailor to a series of obstacles to prove his greatness, including fighting the roc, a two-headed giant named Boola (an apparent parody reference tothe Three Stooges), and Sindbad himself. Popeye makes short work of the bird and the giant, but Sindbad almost gets the best of him until Popeye produces his can ofspinach, which gives him the power to soundly defeat Sindbad and proclaim himself "the most remarkable, extraordinary fella."
A subtly dark running gag features the hamburger-loving Wimpy chasing after a duck on the island with a meat grinder, with the intention of grinding it up so that he can fry it into his favorite dish, but the duck not only escapes, but also snatches away Wimpy's last burger in retaliation when he gives up.
This is the first of threePopeye Color Specials, the others being includingPopeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves, andAladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (all adapted fromOne Thousand and One Nights). Many of the scenes in this short feature make use of the Fleischer'smultiplane camera "Stereoptical Process", or "Setback Tabletop" process, which used modeled sets to create 3D backgrounds for the cartoon.[4]
This short was the first of the threePopeye Color Specials, which, at over sixteen minutes each, were billed as "A Popeye Feature." It was also the first Popeye color cartoon in general.Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor was nominated for the 1936Academy Award forBest Short Subject: Cartoons, but lost toWalt Disney'sSilly Symphony shortThe Country Cousin. Footage from this short was later used in the 1952Famous StudiosPopeye cartoonBig Bad Sindbad, in which Popeye relates the story of his encounter with Sindbad to his 3 nephews.
ThePopeye Color Specials are in thepublic domain and are widely available onhome video andDVD, often transferred from prints of poorer quality. A fully restored version with the original opening and closing titles is available on thePopeye the Sailor: 1933–1938, Volume 1 DVD set from Warner Bros.
Producer and special effects artistRay Harryhausen stated in hisFantasy Film Scrapbook thatPopeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor was a major influence on his production ofThe 7th Voyage of Sinbad.
In 1994, the film was voted #17 ofThe 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members in the animation field, and is the highest ranked Fleischer cartoon in the book.[5] In 2004,Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor was deemed "culturally significant" by the United StatesLibrary of Congress and selected for preservation in theNational Film Registry.[6]
Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor was the first Popeye cartoon made in Technicolor as well as the first American animated film to be billed as a feature (running over 16 minutes, it took up two reels), and it is where the Fleischer brothers' "setback process" was showcased to its full potential. [...] First used in the 1936Popeye shortFor Better or Worser, the process gave off the illusion that two-dimensional characters were able to maneuver in a three-dimensional space.
Media related toPopeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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