Monday, April 02, 2007

Popeye! The DVD!

Finally, some of the best cartoons ever made are coming to legitimate DVD. Bootlegs and collections of the later (and far inferior) cartoons are all over the place, but at long last the first sixty Popeye cartoons, the cool black and white ones and the incredible color featurettes like Ali Baba have been remastered for official release.

I have fond memories of these cartoons. When I was growing up, KPTV in Portland Oregon used to fill out their "afternoon movie" time slot with a classic Popeye short, and after while I'd make a point of tuning in toward the end of whatever movie was showing just to see if they had a Popeye. The animation in these early toons is really a marvel; the characters huff and puff and really feel "alive", unlike so much modern animation. And Popeye himself is an ad-libbin' fiend, muttering caustic comments under his breath as he takes on his nemesis Bluto.

Anyhow, the straight dope is available at the link. July! Popeye!

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/classic/popeye-dvd

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