When people think of comic book characters they usually think of the big hitters like for example Spider-Man or Superman. However there is one character that is actually older then Spider-Man AND Superman as the character in question is Popeye who made his first appearance in 1929 and yet he's been forgotten about for no good reason this is despite the fact that he had a hugely popular cartoon series in the thirties and a very popular live action movie in the eighties and some questionable cheaply made horror films that came out in the past few years with it being his second cartoon that i'm going to be talking to you all abut today and so then join me as I review the cartoon that wouldn't get made today with the question in question being called simply just "I Yam What I Yam" enjoy.
The plot of this cartoon is Popeye , Olive Oyl and Wimpy find themselves on a deserted Island and have to fend of a group of Indians that come to attack them. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's a actually featured / presented to us in this very cartoon well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very cartoon was in all honesty OK at best. To be frank here the cartoons plot isn't all that great as it's simple and while this is still a good thing there's also nothing all that much to this plot outside of the basic set up of the cartoon which to be fair given how long theatrical cartoon shorts they do kind of need to have a basic and simple plot to them to make them work and this is something that is also true for this cartoons plot. With the fact that it is this short and simple plot being something that does work to it's advantage as it allows for there to be more jokes and more action moments in the cartoon with of both of those taking precedence over the plot of the cartoon however tho this plot still could have been better as we don't get to find out why the three of them are sailing in the first place the cartoon literally opens up with all of three of them out sailing and while it's not a big deal to not include something like that it is something that would have made the cartoons plot feel more thought out and heck we don't even find out why the Indians are attacking them which does lead to another issue with the cartoon that will be getting talked about later on in this review with the plot of this cartoon also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this cartoon is Billy Costello as Popeye , Bonnie Poe as Olive Oyl and Charles Lawrence as Wimpy. It's not uncommon for theatrical cartoons to have only a short amount of actors in each cartoon as after all nine times out of ten there's not going to be that many speaking characters in the cartoon and to this cartoons credit it really doesn't need to have that many actors in it as right when the cartoon starts as does the plot and that is something that does mean that there's not going to be that many characters in the cartoon and heck even the fact that there's just three main characters is something that does mean that all three of this cartoons actors had to do alot of heavy lifting and make sure that there voices for there characters was spot on right from the word go. As while both Billy Costello and Bonnie Poe both appeared as there characters in the previous Popeye cartoon which was apart of the Betty Boop series this cartoon which is the first in the Popeye cartoon series meant that they could hit the ground running as they already knew what there voices sounded like as they had just done them one cartoon previously yet Charles Lawrence had to find his voice of Wimpy which is something that might explain why his character didn't have alot of dialog in the cartoon infact he only had one line of dialog in the whole cartoon as the makers of this cartoon wouldn't have known how the character was going to sound while they started production and to be fait his voice for the character is alright but it's nothing special, however tho the voices for both Popeye and Olive Oyl sound really good with there respective voice actors really getting there voices down perfect and while Billy Costello does give Popeye more of a gruff sounding voice something which would get toned down when Jack Mercer takes over the role just a few years after this cartoon the starting voice for the character is a really good one.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's a actually featured / presented to us in this very cartoon well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very cartoon was in all honesty OK at best. With the cartoons actors turning some really good performances with alot of them having voices that do suit there respective characters where the acting is let down at the very least from the actors point of view is the fact that the characters don't get much in the way of dialog and therefor the cartoons actors really can't get across just how good that they are as an actor with the cartoons having to do alot of the heavy lifting in this regard. With the best actor in the whole cartoon being Billy Costello as Popeye as he does manage to capture the spirit of the character whilst also being this reluctant hero type which is something that does fit his character perfectly with the only thing that doesn't quiet fit being the characters more gruff voice as the bones for the characters voice is there it just needed to be toned down a little bit but performance wise Billy Costello does do a really good job of setting up just how good each of Popeye's other voices actors need to be as he is the one that started it all with his performance in this cartoon being really good with him having this charm that really does come through in this very cartoon. With the acting that's in this very cartoon really being helped by the fact that this episodes script is just so good that all this cartoons actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very cartoon.
Doing the animation for this cartoon is the legends and the really greats that were over at Fleischer Studios. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's a actually featured / presented to us in this very cartoon well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very cartoon was in all honesty really good. The fact that we have some really good animation in this cartoon is of no surprise as outside of Warner Bros and Disney Fleischer Studios was known for having really high quality animation in all of there cartoon shorts with this particular cartoon of course being of no exception to this. As despite the backgrounds not being that detailed this is something that does make alot of sense as the characters are on a deserted island therefor of course there's not going to be that much detail in the backgrounds but when there is detail in the background it is something that does stand out all the mor with the makers of this cartoon putting alot of thought and effort into this cartoons animation with the things that is annoying about this cartoons animation being the fact that it has the characters bending there knees alot of the time for no reason this is somethin that is seen in alot of cartoons from around this period and it's always annoying to see as it makes no sense all of the time, there are alot of places where the animation does shine like in the characters movements as given the fact that this is a theatrical cartoon it mean that the makers of the cartoon could have a bigger budget and they put that to good use by giving the characters these really fluid movements that help to make the characters feel more real with the animation even helping to sell you on both the comedy and the action in the cartoon as it makes each hit feel more impactful and each joke being animated as well as it possibly could have been at the same time.
There's no other way around it this cartoon would not be made today due to how it portrays Native Americans or Indians. As while yes it was fairly common practice back in the thirties to portray them as savages as we as a world didn't know much better back then but here due to the fact that they do attack Popeye and his friends for reason even tho technically it's Popeye and his friends that are trespassing on there lands the Indians are seen as being the bad guys of the cartoon with them all wearing the clothes that you typically think of when you think of Native American Indians and acting like savages and heck when Popeye knocks out the head Indian he turns in Mahatma Gandhi again looking back at when this was made which is something that we have to do when discussing controversial moments in classic media this cartoon doesn't come of as being that bad but when you look at through the eyes of today it does come off as being really bad. This is why the cartoon wouldn't get made today or if it did it would be blasted all over social media within a week of it coming out and while this cartoon isn't as racist or as controversial as other cartoons are it is something that is certainly up there but in this cartoons defense this is something that could be chalked up to the ignorance of the time that it was made as back then we didn't know much about Native American Indians we just knew what we saw on TV and in films and that was it whereas today of course we do know alot more this is not to say that this isn't controversial content still being made heck an episode of Lanterns portrayed white people in a racist way just to make one of their heroes look good but we are learning and while this cartoon was just a victim of circumstance it is something that should be shown in schools so that future generations can learn from it.
This was the first Popeye cartoon not to have Bluto in it at all and well the cartoon really did miss him as he would have made for a great villain to have in this cartoon. As it could have been him that told the Indians that Popeye and Wimpy are bad people all the while he's there trying to get Olive which is something that would have been very true to his character how he would have gotten onto the island in the first place is another story tho as there is no way that you could have gotten him on to the island without him having to have sailed with the rest of the main cast which would then beg the question of why he's turning on them which does mean that not having him in the cartoon is something that does also work in the cartoons favor as you don't really miss him as a character. It would have been nice seeing Bluto in this cartoon as then you could have the Indians and Popeye team up to take on Bluto and end the cartoon as friends yes it wouldn't remove the racial stereotypes seen in the cartoon but it is something that would make them less damaging as then it would be painted as Bluto being the racist and the one who's in the wrong and not Popeye and heck it is something that would have made the cartoon alot more fun to watch as then we get to have that moment where both Popeye and the Indians realise what's going on and have to go and stop Bluto before he gets away with Olive, however like was said it wouldn't remove the racial stereotypes seen in the episode but it is something that would make them alot more easier to watch as its easier to buy Bluto as being this bully who is doing everything that he can to get rid of Popeye then it is to buy Popeye willingly trespassing on someone else's land as that's not in his character with the whole situation being one that could have been stopped if both Popeye and the Indians stopped and talked to each other.
These Popeye cartoons are meant to be action comedies and there is a good dose of that here altho it does feel more like tat the cartoon does favor more being an action cartoon then it does being a comedy cartoon. This is not to say that there isn't comedy in the cartoon as there is but there's more action in the cartoon but when the cartoon does get to some comedy it is something that really works as the film does gave alot of really funny bits in it like the fact that when it starts to thunder Popeye just straight up grabs the bold of lighting and throws it into the sea scaring of the rest of the clouds and thus clearing up the weather and stopping it from raining it's a simple joke but it's also one that works really well and that's also true for alot of the cartoons other jokes as they are all simple and nine times out of ten they all work. With a great example of this being not long after the thunder joke as the friends boat starts to sink and yet the characters just keep on as they were even when there on dry land with Olive still rowing as if she was rowing the boat with the only thing that would have made that joke be even more funnier was if in the next shot we saw rowing into frame as that is something that would have made the joke be even more over the top and even more funnier then what it already but to be fair ending the joke with them rowing onto the beach works just as well. This is something that does prove that you don't need to have a complicated set up in order for the joke to work as sometimes having a more simple and yes basic set up is all you need with all of the jokes in this cartoon being a good example of this as they all have very basic and simple premises and they all work due to how simple and basic the set up of the joke is.
Now then this cartoon has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly six minuets and four seconds. This is pretty much the bog standard running time for these Popeye cartoons as alot of them wound last between six or seven minuets total and to be fair to this cartoon it really doesn't need to be that long as outside of the basic premise there's not alot there that really requires the cartoon be alot longer then that but even so it still would have been nice if this cartoon was a few minuets longer as it does feel like the cartoon is rushing along at break neck pace to reach the next plot point instead of just taking its time and getting there at a more thought out pace with the cartoon having more then enough plot there to cover that amount of running time in the first place. With the cartoon not even using its running time all that wisely as the cartoon doesn't take the time to fully develop its plot granted this is something that would have been hard to do with its current running time but this is where having a longer running time would have helped as it would have allowed for the makers of this cartoon to have scene where they can add things to the plot like showing us why Popeye , Olive and Wimpy are out sailing in the first place and showing us why the Indians are attacking the group these are small things yes but they are small things that make the cartoons plot feel more developed with the makers of this cartoon putting more thought and effort into the cartoons action then they did in giving the cartoon some plot development. This is also true for the cartoons character development as while you don't go into a theatrical cartoon expecting the characters to grow or change it is still something that would have been nice to see even if it was just for this one cartoon and its something that could have happened if the cartoon was longer as then there could have been scenes where the characters do grow as people but the makers of this cartoon where more focused on making Indians look bad that they didn't give the cartoons characters any kind of character development but I really will admit this very cartoon really does have some really good pacing to it tho
So now then as this is an action cartoon that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very cartoon well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very cartoon was in all honesty not that bad that. This cartoons action was quite frankly alot more better then what it really should have been as given the desert island setting it would have been impossible for the cartoons action to be as good as it is and whilst yes the action in this cartoon isn't that good it is still alot of fun to watch as we do get to see Popeye and Olive Oyl beating up alot of Indians and heck Olive holds her own against several of them and yet she still screams for Popeye to come and save her even tho she's doing just fine. With the best action in the whole cartoon being the third act fight between Popeye and the Indians as we see Popeye having to outwit several groups of Indians not only to get some food to his friends but to then returns to them when they need his help with him even getting beaten up by alot of them with it only being when he eats his trusty can of Spinach that he ends up beating them up with this action scene just being fun to watch as not only do we get some really fun and over the top cartoon violence but but we also get some nice comedic moments in there as well like Popeye bending all of there arrows so that they won't hit the ducks that he wants and instead hits all of them on the rear end and yet when the cartoon does show us violence it is alot of fun to even if it's something as simple as Popeye knocking down an entire line up of Indians with one punch with the rest of the cartoons action being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall this is cartoon that whilst it is fun to watch is also one that due to how Indians are portrayed is also incredibly dated and while this is was always going to be the case it is something that people need to be weary of when checking out this cartoon but it is still a solid cartoon to watch in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and well as all of the bad things that are in this very cartoon in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very cartoon really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 6.5 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very cartoon that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very cartoon with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.