Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor

1936 animated short film directed by Dave Fleischer

Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor

Theatrical poster

Directed by| Dave Fleischer
Story by| Joe Stultz (uncredited)
Bill Turner (uncredited)
Jack Ward (uncredited)
Izzy Sparber (uncredited)
Based on| Sinbad the Sailor
Produced by| Max Fleischer
Adolph Zukor
Starring| Jack Mercer
Mae Questel
Gus Wickie
Lou Fleischer[1]
Bradley Barker[2]
Music by| Sammy Timberg
Bob Rothberg
Sammy Lerner
Animation by| Willard Bowsky
Lillian Friedman
George Germanetti
Edward Nolan
Orestes Calpini
Color process| Technicolor

Production
company

Fleischer Studios

Distributed by| Paramount Pictures

Release date

* November 27, 1936 (1936-11-27)

Running time

| 16:33 (two reels)
Country| United States
Language| English

Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor is a 1936 two-reel animated cartoon short subject in the Popeye Color Specials series, produced in Technicolor and released to theatres on November 27, 1936, by Paramount Pictures.[3] It was produced by Max Fleischer for Fleischer Studios and directed by Dave Fleischer, with the title song's music composed by Sammy Timberg and lyrics written by Bob Rothberg. The voice cast includes Jack Mercer as Popeye, Gus Wickie as Sindbad the Sailor, Mae Questel as Olive Oyl and Lou Fleischer as J. Wellington Wimpy.[1]

In 2004, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

## Plot

[edit]

Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (full film)

Sindbad the Sailor (intended to be an alternate version of Popeye's old nemesis Bluto) lives on an island where he keeps loads of creatures that he had captured during his adventures, where he proclaims himself, in song, to be the greatest sailor, adventurer, and lover in the world and "the most remarkable, extraordinary fellow," a claim that is inadvertently challenged by Popeye as he innocently sings his usual song while sailing by within earshot of Sindbad's island with his girlfriend Olive Oyl and friend J. Wellington Wimpy on board.

Sindbad orders his huge roc to kidnap Olive Oyl, and wreck Popeye's ship, forcing him and Wimpy to swim to shore. Sindbad relishes making Olive his trophy wife, which is interrupted by Popeye's arrival. Sindbad then challenges the one-eyed sailor to a series of obstacles to prove his greatness, including fighting the roc, a two-headed giant named Boola (an apparent parody reference to the Three Stooges), and Sindbad himself. Popeye makes short work of the bird and the giant, but Sindbad almost gets the best of him until Popeye produces his can of spinach, which gives him the power to soundly defeat Sindbad and proclaim himself "the most remarkable, extraordinary fella."

A subtly dark running gag features the hamburger-loving Wimpy chasing after a duck on the island with a meat grinder, with the intention of grinding it up so that he can fry it into his favorite dish, but the duck not only escapes, but also snatches away Wimpy's last burger in retaliation when he gives up.

## Production

[edit]

This is the first of three Popeye Color Specials, the others being including Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves, and Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (all adapted from One Thousand and One Nights). Many of the scenes in this short feature make use of the Fleischer's multiplane camera "Stereoptical Process", or "Setback Tabletop" process, which used modeled sets to create 3D backgrounds for the cartoon.[4]

## Release and reception

[edit]

This short was the first of the three Popeye Color Specials, which, at over sixteen minutes each, were billed as "A Popeye Feature." It was also the first Popeye color cartoon in general. Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor was nominated for the 1936 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons, but lost to Walt Disney's Silly Symphony short The Country Cousin. Footage from this short was later used in the 1952 Famous Studios Popeye cartoon Big Bad Sindbad, in which Popeye relates the story of his encounter with Sindbad to his 3 nephews.

The Popeye Color Specials are in the public domain and are widely available on home video and DVD, often transferred from prints of poorer quality. A fully restored version with the original opening and closing titles is available on the Popeye the Sailor: 1933–1938, Volume 1 DVD set from Warner Bros.

Producer and special effects artist Ray Harryhausen stated in his Fantasy Film Scrapbook that Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor was a major influence on his production of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

In 1994, the film was voted #17 of The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members in the animation field, and is the highest ranked Fleischer cartoon in the book.[5] In 2004, Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (1936)
2. ^ Scott, Keith (3 October 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media.
3. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 122–123\. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.
4. ^ Vilas-Boas, Eric; Maher, John, eds. (October 5, 2020). "The 100 Sequences That Shaped Animation". Vulture. "Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor was the first Popeye cartoon made in Technicolor as well as the first American animated film to be billed as a feature (running over 16 minutes, it took up two reels), and it is where the Fleischer brothers' "setback process" was showcased to its full potential. [...] First used in the 1936 Popeye short For Better or Worser, the process gave off the illusion that two-dimensional characters were able to maneuver in a three-dimensional space."
5. ^ Beck, Jerry (1994). The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals. Turner Publishing. ISBN 978-1878685490.
6. ^ "Librarian of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry". Library of Congress. December 28, 2004. Retrieved February 20, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Available copies:
* Media related to Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor at Wikimedia Commons
* The short film Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
* Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor on the Library of Congress
* Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad The Sailor at IMDb
* Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad The Sailor at the TCM Movie Database
* Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor at the Big Cartoon Database

* v
* t
* e

Popeye created by E. C. Segar

Characters|

| Main|

* Popeye
* Bluto
* Olive Oyl
* Wimpy
* Swee'Pea

|

Supporting|

* Alice the Goon
* Eugene the Jeep
* George W. Geezil
* Harold Hamgravy
* Castor Oyl
* Poopdeck Pappy
* Sea Hag

Authors and artists|

* E. C. Segar
* Max Fleischer
* Dave Fleischer
* Hy Eisman
* Seymour Kneitel
* Roger Langridge
* Bobby London
* R. K. Milholland
* Bruce Ozella
* Bill Pearson
* Bud Sagendorf
* George Wildman
* Doc Winner
* Bela Zaboly

Theatrical shorts|

| Fleischer Studios|

* Popeye the Sailor
* I Yam What I Yam
* Blow Me Down!
* Seasin's Greetinks!
* Wild Elephinks
* Let's You and Him Fight
* Little Swee'Pea
* Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor
* The Paneless Window Washer
* Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves
* A Date to Skate
* Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
* Ghosks Is the Bunk

|

Famous Studios|

* You're a Sap, Mr. Jap
* Scrap the Japs
* Me Musical Nephews
* Spinach Fer Britain
* Seein' Red, White 'N' Blue
* Pop-Pie a la Mode
* Olive Oyl for President
* Ancient Fistory
* Popeye, the Ace of Space
* Fright to the Finish
* Spooky Swabs

Feature films|

| Official|

* Popeye

|

Public domain|

* Popeye's Revenge
* Popeye the Slayer Man
* Shiver Me Timbers

Television shows|

* Popeye the Sailor
* The All New Popeye Hour
* Popeye and Son
* The Popeye Show

TV specials|

* Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter
* Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy

Video games|

* Arcade game
* Popeye no Eigo Asobi
* Popeye (Game Boy)
* Popeye 2
* Ijiwaru Majo Seahag no Maki
* Beach Volleyball
* Rush for Spinach

Other|

* Popeye the Sailor (radio series)
* Popeye Song Folio
* Popeye Village
* Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges
* Popeye Saves the Earth

* v
* t
* e

Sinbad the Sailor

One Thousand and One Nights

Films|

* Sinbad the Sailor (1935)
* Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (1936)
* Arabian Nights (1942)
* Sinbad the Sailor (1947)
* Son of Sinbad (1955)
* The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
* Sindbad ki Beti (1958)
* Captain Sindbad (1963)
* Sindbad Alibaba and Aladdin (1965)
* The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
* Adventures of Sinbad the Sailor (1974)
* Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977)
* Sinbad of the Seven Seas (1989)
* Sinbad (1992)
* Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists (2000)
* Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
* The 7 Adventures of Sinbad (2010)
* Sinbad and the Minotaur (2011)
* The Adventures of Sinbad (2013)
* Sinbad (film series) (2015–2016)

Plays|

* The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad (1964)

Television series|

* Sinbad Jr. and his Magic Belt (1965)
* Arabian Nights: Sinbad's Adventures (1975)
* Alif Laila (1993–1997)
* The Fantastic Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor (1996)
* The Adventures of Sinbad (1996)
* Princess Dollie Aur Uska Magic Bag (2004–2006)
* Sinbad (2012)
* Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic (2012-2013)
* Magi: The Kingdom of Magic (2013-2014)
* Janbaaz Sindbad (2015–2016)
* Magi: Adventure of Sinbad (2016)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Spain

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