"I'm dying to know what E.C. Segar thought about the Fleischer Popeye cartoons produced before his death! Now, don't get me wrong. I love the Fleischer Popeye cartoons as much as Wimpy loves hamburgers. However, they ARE very unfaithful to their source material, and Popeye IS very one-dimensional in them when compared to how he was in the strip (not to mention the Popeye-Bluto-Olive formula which didn't even exist in Segar). I wonder if Segar had any reservations about that, or if he just accepted the cartoons for what they are - superb entertainment in their own right."
That's a question I couldn't answer so I forwarded it to cartoon historian Jerry Beck. His response was:
"I've looked over several books that discuss Segar. I could not find any quote on his reaction to the cartoons. Segar only lived to 1938 so he never saw that character abused by TV. I personally think he probably didn't give the Fleischer films much thought. Animated versions of King Features (Hearst) comics have routinely appeared on screen since the teens - without the involvement of the original cartoonists. The movie versions were considered more an advertisement for the strips, which were the main thing."
Seems that there is no definitive documentation of Segar's feelings about the Fleischer cartoons. Given the drawing below I think it's safe to say he was OK with them. Does anyone out there know for sure??
"I've looked over several books that discuss Segar. I could not find any quote on his reaction to the cartoons. Segar only lived to 1938 so he never saw that character abused by TV. I personally think he probably didn't give the Fleischer films much thought. Animated versions of King Features (Hearst) comics have routinely appeared on screen since the teens - without the involvement of the original cartoonists. The movie versions were considered more an advertisement for the strips, which were the main thing."
Seems that there is no definitive documentation of Segar's feelings about the Fleischer cartoons. Given the drawing below I think it's safe to say he was OK with them. Does anyone out there know for sure??
Click on picture to enlargeThanks to John Vincent for the scan.
Update: Blog reader Barbara Bickert sent me this message:
"Jim Korkis has a promotional drawing that Segar made for the Sindbad two-reeler, showing Popeye on a lounge being waited on hand and foot because he's a "big movie star". It was published in the Official Popeye Fanclub newsmagazine sometime in the 1990's."
Anyone have a copy of that drawing I can post here??
Update: In the comments section David Gerstein has provided a link to the drawing. Thanks Dave!!
8 comments:
good question and post.
Do you know if there's going to be any more Popeye dvd's released?
"Do you know if there's going to be any more Popeye dvd's released?"
I believe any future releases have been put on hold for the moment. Best to check with Jerry Beck at Cartoon Brew or through one of the animation forums. He will have the most up to date information on any future releases.
Bob, you're wonderful! Thank you so much for helping me out with my question, and for your excellent and informative post. I can't help but notice that the guy whom Popeye is punching out on the cinema screen DOESN'T appear to be Bluto; I wonder if this suggests that Segar was reluctant to acknowledge him! I can't wait for the Popeye Vol. 4 DVD to be released either...!
Okay, thanks Bob.
I have a book called the fleischer story that has a quote from Segar's assistant about what he (Segar) thought of the first Popeye cartoon.
I think it said that he didn't love it but he didn't hate it either. That's not the exact quote, I'd have to look again to be sure but I think that's pretty much what it said.
Here's the excerpt from The Fleischer Story by Leslie Cabarga
Bud Sagendorf (Segar's assistant during the thirties.):
"Segar saw the first cartoon. I remember the night well. We went to the theatre where they had announced they were showing it and so they reserved a section for him. And I can't say there was anything but mixed emotions. He wasn't delighted, he wasn't disappointed. It's weird to see you character all of a sudden moving!"
"Segar once said, "Popeye is much more than a goofy comic character to me. He represents all of my emotions, he is an outlet for them...To me Popeye is a really serious person and when a serious person does something funny - it's really funny."
Is this the drawing you mean?
I haven't seen Korkis' copy or the version in the newsletter—just this drawing, which was photographed from the original art some years ago.
Dave - thanks for the link to the photo. It seems to show indifference based on Popeye's attitude.
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