1943 Number: 081
Title: Wood-Peckin'
Studio: Famous
Date: 08/06/43
Credits:
Direction.
I. Sparber
Animation:
Nicholas Tafuri
Tom Golden
Story:
Joe Stultz
Series: Popeye
Running time (of viewed version): 7:03
Commercial DVD Availability: Popeye v3d2
Synopsis: Popeye makes a boat with trees, which a woodpecker opposes.
Comments: Something about the theme music this time feels brash and Famous-y to me. It may be a subjective perception tho. Woodpecker reminds me of the little bird from Disney's Peter and the Wolf. Dark lines in the opening background remind me more of Fleischer than most of this year's Popeyes. In spite of the theme, and probably the music overall, the cartoon as a whole feels more Fleischery-y. Maybe it just feels more competently animated? Underwear gag. Still has the incessantly same voice acting; Popeye's voice as Edward G. Robinson still sounds the same as Popeye. Word balloon. Caterpillar looks full on retro Fleischer. A distorted standard Popeye look at times. Woodpecker looks like Daffy when he imitates whoever it is who says "how do you dooooo". No spinach. Term "homeless" is used. I wonder if it's ultimately meant as some sort of response to Woody, but that may just be the simple presence of a woodpecker.
I agree it did feel like the old style Popeye..and not a bad thing..
ReplyDeletesome nice small gags like Popeyes tear landing in his pipe making it smoke..little details make a cartoon...worth the animators effort these extras..
"How do you DO?" was the catch phrase of Bert Gordon in his dialect character "The Mad Russian." He appeared, along with Arlene Harris and Richard Haydn in the 1964 "Dick Van Dyke Show" episode "The Return of Edwin Carp."
ReplyDeleteWhile not the last one released, going by the production numbers this was the last B&W Popeye started before the switchover to color, Apparently three more Popeyes (in color) would be at least put into production before the move back to New York.
ReplyDelete