Popeye the Sailor (TV series) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Popeye the Sailor
Genre	Animation Comedy
Based on	Popeye, created by E. C. Segar
Directed by	Jack Kinney (for Jack Kinney Productions) Seymour Kneitel (for Paramount Cartoon Studios) Gene Deitch (for Rembrandt Films/Halas and Batchelor) Paul Fennell (for Larry Harmon Pictures)
Voices of	Jack Mercer Mae Questel Jackson Beck
Theme music composer	Sammy Lerner (Original) Winston Sharples (Intro and Outro)
Composer(s)	Ken Lowman (for Jack Kinney Productions) Winston Sharples (for Paramount Cartoon Studios) Steven Konichek (for Rembrandt Films/Halas and Batchelor) Gordon Zahler (for Larry Harmon Pictures)
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of episodes	220
Production
Executive producer(s)	Al Brodax
Producer(s)	Jack Kinney Paramount Cartoon Studios William L. Snyder Larry Harmon Gerald Ray
Editor(s)	Joe Siracusa, Roger Donley, and Cliff Millsap (for Jack Kinney Productions) Dan Milner (for Larry Harmon Pictures) Norm Vizents (for Gerald Ray Studios)
Running time	5–7 minutes
Production company(s)	King Features Syndicate TV Paramount Cartoon Studios
Distributor	King Features Entertainment
Release
Original network	Syndication
Original release	June 10, 1960 (1960-06-10) – April 23, 1963 (1963-04-23)
Chronology
Preceded by	Popeye the Sailor (1933–1957)
Followed by	The All New Popeye Hour (1978–1983)

Popeye the Sailor is an American animated TV show. It was made for King Features Syndicate TV. The show ran from 1960 to 1963. A total of 220 episodes were created. Different animation studios worked on the series. These included Larry Harmon Pictures, Rembrandt Films, and Paramount Cartoon Studios.

Making the Popeye Cartoons

In the late 1950s, older Popeye cartoons became very popular on TV. These were films shown in movie theaters from 1933 to 1957. King Features Syndicate owned the rights to the Popeye name. They wanted to make their own money from Popeye's TV fame. So, they quickly ordered a brand new series of Popeye cartoons just for television.

Al Brodax was the main producer for King Features. Many of the original voice actors returned for this new show. These included Jack Mercer as Popeye, Mae Questel as Olive Oyl, and Jackson Beck as Brutus. Several different animation companies helped make the cartoons.

Animation Style and Changes

The new series used a style called limited animation. This meant the cartoons had simpler drawings and less movement. This helped make them faster and cheaper to produce for TV. In just two years, 220 TV cartoons were made. This is a lot compared to the 231 older cartoons made over 24 years!

Some characters looked a bit different. Popeye usually wore his white Navy uniform. Olive Oyl's look was a mix of her older styles. Her clothes were like her early designs, but her hair was from later cartoons.

Bluto Becomes Brutus

The biggest change was to Popeye's rival, Bluto. His name was changed to "Brutus." King Features thought that another company owned the name "Bluto." But it turned out King Features actually owned the name all along! Bluto was first created for the comic strip. Because of this mistake, they made Brutus a "new" character. He was drawn a bit heavier and wore a blue shirt instead of a sailor uniform.

Many of the new cartoons used stories directly from the original comic strip. This brought in characters not seen in the older films. These included the Sea Hag, Toar, Rough House, and King Blozo. Just like the older cartoons, the new TV series was very popular. Popeye the Sailor was shown on TV in the United States until the 1990s. This series was also the last time Mae Questel voiced Olive Oyl.

You can still watch these cartoons today! All 220 shorts are available on Amazon Prime Video as "Classic Popeye." They also air on MeTV since February 2021.

Voice Cast

Here are the main voices you hear in the show:

• Jack Mercer - Popeye, Wimpy, Poopdeck Pappy, King Blozo, and other voices.
• Mae Questel - Olive, Swee'Pea, Sea Hag, Alice the Goon, Diesel Oyl.
• Jackson Beck - Brutus, Toar, O. G. Wotasnozzle, King Blozo (in Paramount cartoons), Rough House, and other voices.

Episode Highlights

The 220 episodes were made by different studios. Here are a few examples from each to show the types of adventures Popeye had!

Larry Harmon Pictures

• "Muskels Shmuskels" - Popeye faces off against a strong circus performer named Brutus.
• "Hoppy Jalopy" - Popeye races to save Olive from Brutus's dangerous traps.
• "Uranium on the Cranium" - Popeye and Brutus race to an island to find uranium.
• "Childhood Daze" - Popeye must protect Olive from Brutus after she turns into a baby.

Rembrandt Films/Halas and Batchelor

• "Interrupted Lullaby" - Brutus tries to kidnap Swee'Pea for money, but Popeye is babysitting.
• "From Way Out" - Popeye, Olive, and a professor deal with a naughty Martian.
• "Hag-Way Robbery" - The Sea Hag steals a lot of spinach.
• "Dog-Gone Dog-Catcher" - Popeye dresses as a dog to rescue Olive's poodle from Brutus.

Gerald Ray Studios

• "Where There's a Will" - Brutus and Popeye are both in a will. Brutus tries to trick Popeye.
• "Egypt Us" - Popeye, Olive, and Wimpy get lost in Egypt looking for a beach.
• "The Big Sneeze" - Popeye and Olive meet an abominable snowman who steals Olive's coat.
• "Jeopardy Sheriff" - Popeye's dad, Pappy, tries to prove he's still a good sheriff by stopping a bank robbery.

Jack Kinney Productions

• "Battery Up" - Popeye is a pitcher in a crazy baseball game against Brutus's team.
• "Skinned Divers" - Popeye goes skin diving for treasure and saves Mermaid Olive from Brutus.
• "Coffee House" - Popeye tries to win back Olive's attention from a "beatnik" Brutus.
• "Time Marches Backwards" - A time machine sends Popeye back to prehistoric times.
• "Popeye and the Dragon" - Sir Popeye buys armor to rescue Olive from a dragon in the Middle Ages.
• "Popeye the Fireman" - Popeye tries to save Olive from a fire caused by Brutus's smoky cigar.
• "Popeye's Pizza Palace" - Popeye and Brutus have a pizza-making fight.
• "Popeye's Cool Pool" - Brutus tries to trick Popeye into building a swimming pool in his yard.
• "Jeep Jeep" - Swee'Pea finds a magical creature named Jeep. Brutus and Sea Hag try to use Jeep to find gold.
• "Popeye the Ugly Ducklin'" - A funny version of The Ugly Duckling story.
• "Popeye the Lifeguard" - Popeye gets jealous of another lifeguard.
• "Popeye's Car Wash" - Popeye and Brutus open rival car wash businesses.
• "Plumbers Pipe Dream" - Popeye tries to fix Olive's leaky faucet, causing a huge flood!
• "The Super Duper Market" - Popeye, Olive, and Wimpy shop at Brutus's huge supermarket.
• "Popeye the White Collar Man" - Olive convinces Popeye to get an office job.
• "Popeye in Haweye" - Popeye and Brutus compete to be Olive's best tour guide in Hawaii.
• "Popeye de Leon" - Popeye, as Ponce de Leon, guards the Fountain of Youth.
• "Popeye the Piano Mover" - Popeye and Brutus try to move a piano.
• "Bell Hop Popeye" - Popeye and Brutus work as bellhops and compete for Olive's attention.
• "Barbecue for Two" - Popeye has a barbecue, but Brutus, Wimpy, and Swee'Pea crash it.

Paramount Cartoon Studios

• "Hits and Missiles" - Popeye must save the cheese people of the Moon.
• "The Spinach Scholar" - Olive wants Popeye to go to grammar school because he can't read.
• "Psychiatricks" - Brutus tricks Popeye into a therapy session.
• "Poppa Popeye" - Popeye gets sad when Swee'Pea is taken by a circus performer.
• "Valley of the Goons" - Popeye helps the Goons when pirates attack their island.
• "Mirror Magic" - King Brutus's magic mirror tells him Popeye is stronger.
• "Voo-Doo to You Too" - The Sea Hag turns Olive into a zombie and uses a voodoo doll on Popeye.
• "Popeye's Travels" - A funny version of Gulliver's Travels.
• "Incident at Missile City" - King Blozo's kingdom is attacked by missiles.
• "Spinach Greetings" - The Sea Hag kidnaps Santa Claus.
• "Oil's Well That Ends Well" - Brutus tricks Olive into buying a dry oil well.
• "Amusement Park" - Brutus, who runs a freak show, kidnaps Swee'Pea.
• "Duel to the Finish" - Popeye gets jealous when Wimpy flirts with Olive.
• "Gem Jam" - The Sea Hag gives Olive a perfume that makes her steal jewels.
• "The Bathing Beasts" - Olive makes Brutus and Popeye compete in a bathing contest.
• "Love Birds" - Popeye tries to find Olive's pet bird, Romeo, after it flies away.
• "Aladdin's Lamp" - The Sea Hag gets a magic lamp.
• "Butler Up" - Olive wants Popeye to be a butler for her reunion dinner with Brutus.
• "The Leprechaun" - The Sea Hag steals gold from a leprechaun.
• "Hamburgers Aweigh" - The Sea Hag hypnotizes Wimpy to hijack Popeye's ship.
• "Popeye's Double Trouble" - The Sea Hag uses a magic coin and disguises herself as Olive.
• "Kiddie Kapers" - A potion turns Brutus into a handsome young man, and Popeye into a baby!
• "The Mark of Zero" - Popeye tells a story about a brave swordsman.
• "Scairdy Cat" - Brutus creates a perfume that makes Popeye scared and weak.
• "Operation Ice-Tickle" - Popeye and Brutus race to bring Olive the North Pole.
• "William Won't Tell" - A funny version of the William Tell story.
• "Autographically Yours" - Popeye and Brutus compete for a movie fan's attention.
• "A Poil for Olive Oyl" - Popeye tries to get pearls for Olive's necklace, but they belong to the Sea Hag.
• "My Fair Olive" - Popeye and Brutus joust in a medieval tournament to win Olive's heart.
• "Giddy Gold" - A magic bird turns a tunnel into a gold mine, but it's dangerous.
• "Robot Popeye" - Brutus builds a robot Popeye to ruin his relationship with Olive.
• "Sneaking Peeking" - Olive tells Swee'Pea a story about a princess who peeked and unleashed a genie.
• "The Wiffle Bird's Revenge" - The Whiffle Bird turns Wimpy into a werewolf.
• "Going...Going...Gone" - Wimpy uses vanishing cream to escape Brutus.
• "Popeye Thumb" - A funny version of Tom Thumb.
• "The Medicine Man" - Popeye sells "spinach juice" that cures everything, but Brutus tries to prove it's fake.

Where to Watch

In the late 1990s, Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits restaurants gave out some of the 1960s cartoons on VHS tapes. These tapes were part of a special series called Popeye Cartoon Video Collection Series.

In 2004, Family Home Entertainment put four of these cartoons on the DVD of Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy. These included "Spinach Greetings" (a Christmas episode), "Popeye in the Grand Steeple Chase", "Valley of the Goons", and "William Won't Tell". Later, 85 of the 1960s Popeye cartoons were released on a three-disc DVD set called Popeye's 75th Anniversary.

Warner Archive Collection also released a DVD with 72 cartoons on May 7, 2013. Most of these were made by Paramount Cartoon Studios.