The adventures of the famous sailor man and his friends in the seaside town of Sweethaven.The adventures of the famous sailor man and his friends in the seaside town of Sweethaven.The adventures of the famous sailor man and his friends in the seaside town of Sweethaven.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 4 nominations
Allan F. Nicholls
- Rough House
- (as Allan Nicholls)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMost of Popeye's lines were discovered to be inaudible once filming wrapped. Robin Williams had to re-dub much of the dialogue.
- GoofsAs per the info in the trivia section of this film, the makeup and appliances for Popeye's massive forearms were not ready, so in some scenes, especially the boxing match, it's visible that the insides of his forearms are merely flesh-colored pads tied over Robin Williams' arms; the strings are visible.
- Quotes
Popeye: They've got me Olive Oyl and Swee'Pea.
Poopdeck Pappy: Olive Oyl? Swee'Pea? What are you doing, making a salad? I want me treasure. Do you hear me? I want me treasure!
- Crazy creditsThe film begins in black-and-white, showing a vintage Paramount logo and the opening credits for the 1930s Paramount-Fleischer Studios Popeye cartoons. However, an animated Popeye appears and sees this is the wrong opening. The movie then cuts to full color, and the opening credits continue.
- Alternate versionsA recent television version is altered in at least one way. Bluto's song "I'm Mean" is eliminated from the soundtrack as he trashes the Oyls' family home waiting for Olive Oyl.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)
- SoundtracksI'm Popeye The Sailor Man
(1933)
Music and Lyrics by Samuel Lerner (as Sammy Lerner)
Performed by Robin Williams (uncredited) and Chorus
Music often played in the score
Featured review
Newspaper comic strip makes for outdated but charming film.
Highly underrated film version of the original comic strip. That's right, Popeye's purpose was to sell newspapers long before he hit the theaters as an animated short subject star, and this movie brings to life those characters such as Rough House the cook and Bill Barnacle the town drunk that appeared in the Thimble Town Theater strip (and then later, Popeye comic strip). It also brings along some of the subject matter usually handled in daily newspaper comics such as tariffs and land barons. Perhaps this is why Robert Altman, not a director known for family films, was brought onto the project. (Screenwriter Jules Pfeifer incidently started out as a comic strip writer before venturing into adult film projects such as Carnal Knowledge and Oh! Calcutta.) The problem is that the film should have been made, could have been made, in the early forties. The audience would have at least understood the subject matter (For example, the delightful Blondie film series is now great nostalgic slapstick fun but younger audiences don't have enough understanding of WW2 family life to appreciate it fully). Most audiences who watch the live action version of Popeye are expecting the cartoon series of the fifties (or egad, the 70's!). The contemporary newspaper crowd (who is the usual intended target of Altman) grew up with Popeye on TV, not in the comic strip, not on the silver screen sandwiched between newsreels of battleships and the latest W.C. Fields comedy! Would they even understand the appropriateness of sweet sea chanties? Some sort of concession was made by having the actors mimic the characters as portrayed in the film cartoons. They do a really good job with it too. Robin Williams has the under-his-breath mumble, the hick-upy laughter, the stance, walk, bulging arms that do helicopter blade turns in a fight. Shelly Duvall (a former Robert Altman protege) pegs Olive Oyl perfectly, especially with her waving of arms and pretzel twisting of legs as she tries to turn around in confusion. Just watch her walk out of a room and it seems like your watching a cartoon. Together, Williams and Duvall have real chemistry and are a delight. Swee'Pea is one of the most enduring infants ever (and so little is ever said about him). His facial expressions are just magical (and without today's computer generated effects!). Incidently, he's Robert Altman's grandson. I don't know how many takes it took to get some of those reactions, but it was well worth it. Finally, to answer the harshest critics, was the plot slow and unfunny? Yes to both. The production values, sets, actors, and songs were excellent. The script could have worked under the direction of someone more suited to family-style slapstick comedy which was Paramount's (and Disney's) intention. The pratfalls were too pedestrian, seeming like rehearsals (remember the dance scene from Speilberg's own flop 1942?). Though the film really has heart, the pace of all the comedy bits failed. Acrobats were hired to play many of the non-speaking townsfolks and it looks it. This film needed a director who understood the comedy timing of slapstick routines (from Buster Keaton to Jerry Lewis). Then it could have been the laugh fest it's audience wanted instead of a sweet film with heart and charm. It's a time capsule buried in 1930, unearthed in 1980, and misunderstood in the year 2000. Perhaps Popeye's answer to film historians would be this: "I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam."
helpful•137
- SanDiego
- Jan 17, 2000
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Popeye - Der Seemann mit dem harten Schlag
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $20,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $49,823,037
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,310,520
- Dec 14, 1980
- Gross worldwide
- $49,823,037
- Runtime1 hour 54 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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