Fowl Play

Popeye gives Olive Oyl the bird in the form of a parrot. Bluto comes by and tries to kill it, resulting in the inevitable fight in this funny episode of the series.

Most of the better comedy in this cartoon is provided by Miss Oyl and her outsized reactions, but there's a good bit in which she faints, and Popeye catches her, while Bluto continues to fight in the miasmic cloud by himself. Still, as I watched it, I thought it would be amusing if the parrot was the one who ate the spinach. When the formula is well-enough established that you can think of gags before they can happen, you're not producing peak comedy any more.

Still, it is funny on its own terms, and far better than the rote examples that Famous Studios would produce in the 1950s.

Fowl Play (1937)

*** (out of 4)

Popeye is about to leave for sea so he gives Olive Oyl a parrot to remind her of him. Soon Bluto shows up and begins to abuse the bird.

FOWL PLAY is the second straight film in the series to feature abuse towards an animal so obviously Fleischer and company was needing others to get pushed around and picked on. This isn't a classic for the series but there's no doubt that fans will have plenty of nice action and some good laughs along the way. There are several funny scenes here but there's no question that the highlight happens once Popeye eats his spinach and puts a hurting on Bluto. The abuse the poor Bluto takes is quite fast and ferocious. Another highlight happens when Bluto attacks the parrot who thinks that he is Dracula.

In this cartoon is the funniest parrot I've ever seen! He was hilarious and the star of this Popeye animated short. Kudso to either Jack Mercer, Gus Wickie or whomever did the voice work for "Polly." (It's not listed anywhere.)

Popeye drops the caged bird at the door of Olive Oyl to give her a reminder of him while he's away at sea. The bird recites poetry, sings and dances and Olive is more than impressed.

The problem starts when Bluto comes by, hears the parrot wooing Olive and decides to get rid of it. A wild chase ensues out of the house as the bird flees out of its cage and into a tree with Bluto, ax in hand, going after it. The funny stuff is the dialog the parrot uses as he's being chased - really good stuff and guaranteed to make you laugh. I played it with the English subtitle on, so as not to miss any of it, since it's so funny.

It gets really wild when Popeye comes to the rescue, Olive keeps fainting and.....well....all kinds of crazy things happen - a fantastic cartoon!

Popeye leaves a parrot for Olive Oyl as a gift. Bluto laughs at the parrot and scares it out of its cage. He starts chopping at the tree as he tries to kill the bird. Olive Oyl is in trouble and Popeye is getting beaten up. That is until Popeye eats his spinach.

The parrot has some good turns and surprisingly has some good lines. Bluto is just a jerk in this one. He's not even trying to win over Olive Oyl. He is going full jerk mode. That is this episode's only drawback. The story is extremely straight forward and does no gear changes. Besides that, I do love the parrot and this is pretty good.

The cartoons of Fleischer Studios more often than not amused and charmed and were always well made. Not without over-cuteness at times and stories were seldom a strong suit, but they were always made up for significantly in appealing characters, outstanding music and visuals that were inventive and with innovative animation techniques.

'Fowl Play' is not quite one of the best Popeye cartoons or one of the best Popeye cartoons from 1937 in the best period for the series (the late 30s). That is not knocking it in any way as it's still a great cartoon and saying what was said about it not quite being one of the best 1937 Popeye cartoons is only because really that 1937 was one of the best and most consistent years for the series where all the cartoons pretty much were very good and more, great in the case of many.

Other than the story not being much special, the only major problem really is Olive. Am aware about saying more that once about her being underused and having material not as strong as Popeye and Bluto's, but very seldom has she been practically pointless and given next to nothing to do. The only thing one remembers about her role here is the running gag about her fainting frequently and that was really not that funny or endearing.

Popeye and Bluto always did have stronger material and their animosity always had plenty of fun and tension. Both are obvious in 'Fowl Play'. Absolutely love their chemistry, which is deservedly legendary and just sparkles in energ, while Popeye is immensely likeable with great comic timing (Jack Mercer's voice acting helps quite a lot) and Bluto is a mix of funny and formidable. The parrot though actually steals the show from under them, it is not everyday when a supporting character is more entertaining and interesting than Popeye and Bluto and is a relatively rare occurence. Some hilarious dialogue can be heard with the character.

Lots of energy can be seen here in 'Fowl Play', especially in the last portion where it becomes increasingly wild to hilarious effect. Lots of gags spot on in timing, with not a misfire in the lot. As always, love Popeye's mumblings and asides and there were not many other animated characters to be as funny as Popeye in that regard.

Ever excellent for this period is the animation, beautifully drawn, lively, smooth and meticulously detailed, never too elaborate or cluttered neither too static or simplistic. Every bit as good, and even better perhaps, is the music, with its lush orchestrated, merry energy and character, it adds to every expression, gesture and action and at its best it enhances the impact. Fleischer's direction is as accomplished as ever. The voice acting is very good.

In summary, not Popeye at his best but lots of fun. 8/10