Saturday, November 03, 2007

From "Lamb" to "Popeye"

I guess that’s the fun part of getting into book discussions – you never know where they will end up. Thanks to John at Spanish Inquisitor for inspiring this post based on something that came up in the comments on the Lamb post.

This really isn’t fair to the great animation, as it seems like it was taken from some old VHS copy and simply turned into a digital file and posted on You Tube. The original (about 60 years old) has incredibly sharp colors and sound. But at least this will give you an idea of why I like the (really) old Popeye cartoons.



5 comments:

The Exterminator said...

Hey, John.
Thanks for loading up the old Popeye cartoons. I'll watch them later when I've dug out of my work hole a little.

I'm a Warner Bros. cartoon fan, and can still find myself holding my sides from laughter over some of the really great Bugs and/or Daffy shtick.

Since you like the Max Fleischer Popeyes so much, I wonder if you're also into the really surrealistic Betty Boop cartoons that he did in the 30s, with popular jazz artists like Cab Calloway singing in the background.

John Evo said...

Haven't watched them in many years, but love Betty. Love Cab Calloway too - Minnie the Mooch! Seems like there was a lot more creativity put into much of the older stuff. Not that more recent animation isn't creative... just on average not as much. The old Bugs Bunny (and other WB cartoons) spent as much time working out clever dialogue as anything else. You don't see that as much anymore.
I know I'm talking like the old fart I am.

The mind is geared to have fond memories of the past, so every generation thinks previous things were better. Then again, the stuff I'm raving about here is before MY generation, so I hope I'm being a little more objective.

PhillyChief said...

Who's the most phenomenal, extra-ordinary blogger? You! John the Evo-man

I haven't seen these since I was a kid. I used to bug my mom to buy canned spinach. I never ate it, because spinach in a can is nasty. I think I liked these old ones because they were SOOO different. You're right, there was a great deal of creativity that went into these. This was back before you could farm stuff out to Koreans and further cheap out by only having like 8-12 frames per second.

John Evo said...

First I was lecturing the Exterminator about Brussels sprouts and now I have to take you to task for spinach! Guys... you have to eat your veggies. Where will you get the strength to battle the religiosas?

Oh course you did specify "canned" spinach. But I even enjoy that. It's all in the prep.

Drain a can thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook in little pieces of soft cooked bacon. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Serve hot.

Spanish Inquisitor said...

Hey! Hops are vegetables, aren't they?

As for Popeye, compare a recent vintage Popeye with these originals. The newer ones are terrible. They're actually insipid, humorless, and downright dumb. But listen carefully to Popeye in these classics. He maintains a nonstop mumbling commentary that is hilarious.