Not the classic Popeye, but still decent family entertainmen
A. Gammill | West Point, MS United States | 06/06/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Popeye fans will immediatly realize this is NOT the classic character popularized by the Segar comic strips or the great black & white shorts made by the Fleischer Studios. These are, in fact, cartoons culled from "The All-New Popeye Hour," which aired on CBS in 1978. As such, they are colorful but rather bland interpretations of the spinach-loving sailor and his pals.
The cartoons in this collection are:
ABJECT FLYING OBJECT
SHIP AHOY
I WOULDN'T TAKE THAT MARE TO THE FAIR ON A DARE
POPEYE GOES SIGHTSEEING
CHIPS OFF THE OLD ICE BLOCK
POPEYE THE PLUMBER
SWEE-PEA PLAGUES A PARADE
POLLY WANTS SOME SPINACH
One of the few good things about these shorts is that they feature Jack Mercer's final performances as the voice of Popeye. And they are at least as good as much of what Paramount did with the character in the 50's and 60's. But for the definitive animated Popeye shorts, be sure to check out Popeye the Sailor: 1933-1938, Vol. 1 and Popeye the Sailor: 1938-1940, Vol. 2."
Why only 8 cartoons?
MODY VIDENFELD | JERUSALEM, ISRAEL | 05/05/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I remember as an Israeli child seeing these Popeye Hanna Babrbara cartoons daily during summer and afterwards weekly (they werent shown one at a time but 2 or 3 each time, usually including 'treasure hunt' episodes). I recorded much of them on VHS which unfortunatly did not survive over the years. I was happy to see this DVD of my old favorites, which are less good in retrospect then the Fleicher ones but are still fun to watch. My question is why only 8 of them have been released? Warner bros. should realese all of them and the famous studios ones."
Weak to the Finish
Scott T. Rivers | Los Angeles, CA USA | 11/22/2009
(1 out of 5 stars)
"In the late 1970s, Hanna-Barbera made the big mistake of reviving Popeye, Olive Oyl and Bluto for Saturday morning TV consumption. Despite attempts to emulate the Fleischer style of the 1930s, these watered-down cartoons really miss the mark. The eight shorts on this DVD signify another low for the spinach-packing hero - an embarrassment similar to the mass-produced King Features cartoons from the 1960s. By no means confuse "Popeye and Friends, Vol. 1" with Warner Home Video's essential Fleischer Popeye collections. Thankfully, Warner pulled the plug on a second Hanna-Barbera volume."