Thursday, April 10, 2008

It's an Eagle, It's a Rocket, It's a Meteor...


It's Popeye the Sailor!!


Here's a clip from the 1944 Popeye cartoon She-Sick Sailors. I love when a director has assigned a number of scenes in sequential order to an animator - it really helps to highlight their ability and skill. Here's a stretch of scenes done by the amazing Johnny Gent courtesy of de facto director Jim Tyer. (who, even though credited as animator, has no animation in this cartoon) Apart from the first scene, all of the animation in this clip is Gent's.



Thanks to Thad K. for the copy.

10 comments:

Yeldarb86 said...

I felt for sure Tyer animated this one, particular Bluto's machine gun hitting Popeye.

Bob, off-topic question: What was it like directing on Family Guy? (They're showing it on Adult Swim right now.)

Duck Dodgers said...

This is one of my favorite Popeye entries!

Michael Sporn said...

That's an excellent CU of Olive Oyl saying "It's Popeye!" Thanks for posting. Definitely Johnny's work.

Thad said...

THAT didn't take long for you to put up!

Now would be a good time to pray to Mr. Jesus that Vol. 4 comes out before the icecaps melt and drown everyone on the CA coast.

Smilodon said...

I'm really amused by the bits from the early Popeyes that are reused in this one... including the train gag that ends the first Popeye cartoon. Oh, and the shot with the Bluto rolling the boulder thats very reminiscent of Bluto rolling the giant snow ball at the end of Seasin's Greetinks.

J Lee said...

A couple of the scenes in the middle, with Popeye and the train, look like they were Tyer's work, albeit really restrained (this cartoon does help affirm the notion that what Tyer could do in an Izzy Sparber or Dan Gordon cartoon was far more personal and experimental than what he could manage when Seymour Kneitel was overseeing things and demanded a look that was closer to what the West Coast studios were producing).

TotalD said...

Johnny Gentilella was amazing . I know you met a number of the Fleischer/Famous artists so I am assuming your knowledge of it was gleaned from those contacts .

Bob Jaques said...

D - Yes. I met with Johnny on 3 different occasions. (although I had figured out his style before I ever met with him)

j lee - I think you're confusing Tyer and Henning. The train section has Henning's look all over it. Check out Tyer's animation on his cartoons that bookended She-Sick Sailors in release order - Puppet Love and Shape Ahoy. Both cartoons have his signature animation and drawing style.

mr.semaj - I believe the scene(s) you're referring to was animated by Ben Solomon.

Re: Family Guy - I can't really call it 'directing'. It was more like a middle management position moving piles of s**t from one desk to another - not what I consider a career highlight. The artists were a great group of people though.

eeTeeD said...

did milton stein do any work on the popeye cartoons?

Bob Jaques said...

>>did milton stein do any work on the popeye cartoons?<<

Not to my knowledge.