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Popeye the Sailor, Vol. 2: 1938-1940 Posters
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Rating:  -
Even though it's a much smaller box than the first Popeye collection, it's still a must have for fans of the Fleischer ouevre. The restorations, as in the first set, are meticulous, and there's a pretty good hour doc on the whole Fleischer history, including a couple of things (a 1950s luncheon set up by former arch rival Walt Disney) that I didn't know before. As with the first box, some of these cartoons are as good as golden age theatrical cartoons ever got. There are first appearances by the Jeep, the Goons and Pappy, and the third of the three Technicolor specials. By the way, the early colorized versions of these beautiful black and white cartoons hide much of the detail and quality of these pieces, ironically making them look much more poorly drawn than they are. Stick with the black and white and you'll have a much better visual experience.
Rating:  -
This set covers a time of change at the Fleischer Studios as they made the decision to move to Coral Gables, Florida where they were given the first air conditioned office building in Florida as an enticement by the state. This move was made more difficult as Mae Questel declined to follow and the voice of Bluto, Gus Wickie, had died the previous year. At the same time, the theaters and distributers were looking for more conformist Disney style animation and less of the rough and tumble weirdness that marked the Fleischer style. The short "It's The Natural Thing To Do" makes a great direct commentary on this.
So this is an uneven set with some of the best traditional Popeye cartoons ever made and some rather uninspired films predicting the later Famous Studios Popeye films. The films also have a big variation in style as some are in the classic Fleischer style and others in a softer more rounded design which seems to depend on who was the lead animator listed. The influence of the now very obscure Fleischer Color Classics series (made to compete with Disney's Silly Symphonies) is very evident in the final 2-reel color Popeye. This is the weakest of the three made but is perhaps the most sophisticated in film technique. Greg Ford's excellent commentary will get you thru the first ten minutes.
The Fleischer documentary is very good although one fact is incorrect. Paramount did not "ask" the Fleischers to make a feature. The Fleischers had been trying to make a feature for years but were unsuccessful until Paramount saw the success of Snow White. Listen to the commentary on "Alladin" for more details. Also reason for the feud between Max and Dave is glossed over. Some people who worked at the Fleischer studios said that Dave's repeated cheating on his wife really galled Max who was happily married to one woman for his whole life. The final straw was when Dave had another affair, this time with the wife of an employee.
There's no real reason not to get this set if you are a Popeye fan. I would hope that one day the Fleischer's other output from the 1920's and 1930's gets restored and released, especially the Song Car Toons and the Screen Songs plus Betty Boop.
Rating: -
"Hello How Am I" will be worth the price of the DVD alone. But generally it's good to have all the classic shorts coming in bit by bit. We can complain all day about it being a shorter set, but as long as it gives me more Popeye to enjoy watching, I'm happy.
Rating: -
Another great collection. Almost perfect restoration (with the exception of a couple of shorts with jittery opening credits and 2 shorts on disc one that used TV credits), great extras, great commentaries (made even better with the absense of John Kricfalusi, Eddie Fitzgerald and Kali Fontecchio...all three are talented cartoonists, but horrible commentators). This set is a must-have for fans of Popeye the Sailor, the Fleischers and anyone interested in classic animation.
*TOOT TOOT*
Rating: -
These cartoons were notoriously difficult to restore--where Volume 2 was originally intended to be another four disc set, the restorations on this particular group of films proved to be much more challenging than expected.
With that said, I think the producers did a great job delivering us another high-quality "official" Popeye The Sailor release. There are some instances where the picture jumps during the opening credits or the sound quality swells, but overall the quality and integrity of these cartoons has been restored 99 percent. In other words, the producers of this set did the best they could to fix what were very damaged originals.
If you enjoyed Popeye The Sailor Vol. 1 you will enjoy Vol. 2 as well. You definitely see some changes in the Fleischers' direction, as they uprooted their studio and moved to Miami, in some cases placing Popeye in a suburban setting rather than the gritty city of the cartoons in the first volume. And it's interesting to see all of that off-screen drama manifest itself on-screen. But as the saying goes, you can take the kid out of the city but you can't take the city out of the kid; even though Popeye may find himself in calmer neighborhoods, he is still the same rough and tumble sailor, ready to crack a can of spinich and throw down with anyone.
What I think is so impressive about these sets is that they don't only rekindle your interest in Popeye--they pull you into the Fleischers' history and they boost your overall interest in animation. The extras and "Popumentaries" give you detailed looks at specific characters and voice-actors, and the packaging is really beautiful, perfectly capturing the era that these films represent.
I would recommend this set to any fan of Popeye, any fan of animation, or any fan of DVD collections, for that matter. While you may find a spot where the picture shakes in one or two of the cartoons, that is only because the originals are seventy years old and this specific batch of originals was particularly damaged. The picture isn't perfect, but then again, neither is Popeye--the one-eyed, toothless, middle-aged scrapper--the unlikeliest of heroes. The producers did the best they could to restore the films--and for me, that grittiness actually adds to the set's authenticity. Looking forward to Vol. 3.
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