Popeye--- A Man's Guide to Life

Are you one of those poor unfortunate souls who has just been scolded by a female boss and sent back to your cubicle? Are you home ironing your wife's clothes while she is out with the girls drinking?

Have you been sent for racial sensitivity training at work for a crude joke you let slip with the boys?

If any of the above sound familiar you may be tempted to find your nuts again by watching a movie like "Rambo", a good choice. My choice would be "Red River" with John Wayne, an EXCELLENT choice! But recently I have found the ULTIMATE choice for a man who needs guidance in a politically correct infested world. The Ultimate choice is "POPEYE"

Now when I say "Popeye" I am referring to the old Popeye's from the 30's by Max Fleisher. I just recently got the DVD set and watching them was like a breath of fresh air. They have always been a favorite of mine and I had always wondered why they were so hard to find. You NEVER see them on TV. But then I put in the DVD and saw this warning before the cartoons started rolling.

"The animated shorts you are about to see are a product of their time. They may depict some of the ethnic, sexist and racial prejudices that were commonplace in American society. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. While the following shorts do not represent the Warner Bros. view of today's society, these animated shorts are being presented as they were originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed."

I started watching these cartoons and I did not see what the hell that warning was talking about!

I mean one of the funniest moments was when Popeye punches a Big American Indian so hard that he turns into Gandhi! Surely no American Indian would find that offensive!
Would they? If I was an American Indian I would be laughing my ass off!

Maybe PETA would be offended at Popeye swinging an elephant around by his trunk and then pounding all the wild animals so hard they turned into fur coats? Maybe?

But then I saw the episode that must have inspired the warning. An episode where Popeye is living in a bachelor apartment and when I mean bachelor I mean bachelor a real dive, not some apartment Fraser would live in while drinking a Latte a real messy place with a rowboat and anchor inside. Popeye is trying to cook but making a mess of everything and when he burns up his dinner he says that is it! He needs to get a wife!

So Popeye heads down to a Wedding agency which looks like a brothel. A detail I love is that in the window they are selling "2nd hand wedding rings" Popeye is not about to lay out 2 months salary on a wedding ring. Who came up with that rule anyway? What about 2 weeks salary???

Anyway Popeye goes in and is instructed to pick out his wife by looking at the pictures on the wall. He looks at a woman with too many kids and says NO WAY!

He looks at a woman that is too fat and says NO WAY! He then looks at a picture of Olive Oyle (which only shows her from the rear ,you don't see her face) and the sign below her picture says she is a good cook, so he decides on her!

Well Bluto decides he wants her too and a fight breaks out but Popeye finally gets Olive down the aisle and Olive says "I do" and then raises her veil and she is wearing too much makeup so Popeye refuses to marry her and goes back to being a bachelor!

A classic episode and what is really funny is the commentary on this episode by some guy. He calls the episode "grotesque" and he can't believe the cartoon is being so blatant in these roles for men and women!

I rarely listen to commentary on DVD sets but I recommend you listen to these because they are so funny! You also learn a lot of stuff like the guy who did the voice of "Bluto" was in real life a tough guy and unfortunately lost his life in the Battle of the Bulge.

It is important to point out that Popeye doesn't treat women badly. he brings them flowers, candy, tips his hat and acts like a gentleman despite Olive being a fickle, whining, rail of a woman that pouts and has a temper. We don't know any women like that do we?

Popeye has a lot of confidence, he sings his own praises fights for what is right doesn't take crap, he smokes a pipe and drinks tequila with Bluto and is a hell of a dancer.

Overall, these cartoons are true classics. The animation is great, the music is fantastic, ( I love the way the characters bob to the music) they are funny and in my opinion not offensive at all esecially compared with today's anime and other cartoons like the Family Guy.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!