I've put together some clips of Abner Kneitel's work - maybe they'll solicit a better response than the frame grabs. The clips are from cartoons produced by the Famous Studio - 'Too Weak To Work', 'A Hull of a Mess', and 'Alona on the Sarong Seas' - all included on the upcoming Popeye Vol.3 DVD set.
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I have no answers for you but I've read your entire blog from the bottom up and I admire your goals. The Popeye cartoon documentation is really in a sorry state. Keep it up though; I look forward to your updated posts!
Best regards,
Steve Hoffman
http://www.stevehoffman.tv
That's some nice animation, especially Bluto's big take in the first clip. I'm not familiar with the styles of the Popeye crew. How is Abner Kneitel's animation different from the others in the unit?
Abner Knietel's stuff was memorable, for some reason, but it could easily be the gags or layouts of the scenes he picked up from the director as much as for his animation. I recall that shot of Bluto's painted throat from seeing it as a child.
"Aloha on the Sarong Sea" is one of my favorites from this period, due largely to it's strong layouts.
I've never cared much for the Bluto of this era. The new voice, and the 'softening' of the character and design, made him seem more a 'friendly' nemesis of Popeye, rather than the heartless hulk of the earlier Fleischers. (and as I write this, I recall that 'We're On Our Way to Rio' is on of my favorite cartoons, where Bluto has never been 'friendlier', so there you are).
thanks for the Knietel posts Bob...I remember as a kid being annoyed by Popeye acting as a stooge to the bespectacled runt in Marry Go Round..(reminds me of when Buster Keaton was haplessly united with Jimmy Durante)
PS...as an off topic sidenote, what's your take on Sony Pictures release of Three Stooges shorts?...Like your comment on a missing gag from Wimmen Hadn't Oughta Drive, I'm finding a lot of the Stooges shorts have gags or scenes where obviously something was cut for timing, etc.
I'm not a huge fan of 'Popeye as the comedy foil/fall guy' cartoons. I'm working on a post that will detail some of those shorts and a possible reason why they took the character in that direction.
It looks to me like the Stooge cuts were intentional - just their style of making films. I'm no expert, and someone more informed could chime in here, but I think the low budget potboiler film making didn't allow for reshoots and what you see is what the editor had to work with. I'm thankful Sony has decided to release them on DVD. I can hardly wait for the 'doppelganger Shemp' shorts.
'How is Abner Kneitel's animation different from the others in the unit?'
I'll use 'Too Weak To Work' as an example. Abner Kneitel's work looks more like the Fleischer style coupled with 40's style animation while the other animators in that crew were breaking free of the Fleischer style of animation.
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