Or maybe you're undecided.
I still can't believe someone actually made a live-action Popeye movie --especially Robert Altman of all people.
My friend and I recorded a podcast about it:
http://bit.ly/geiroW
I YAM WHAT I YAM AND THAT'S ALL THAT I YAM
I love talking about this movie!
A friend of mine and his family watch this movie every Christmas season. He was able to meet Robert Altman once and told him so. Altman replied "Interesting family."
Giddy-up, goat!
Count me as a hater. This movie was a trainwreck.
shareI remember seeing this in the theater as a kid, that didn't help. Sucks.
shareI played the DVD for my 3-year-old (who loves the cartoons), and she was only mildly entertained by it. She liked the spinach part, but I couldn't help but notice the coldness of the movie. Other than the Sweet Pea/Popeye relationship, there's no real warmth or sweetness to the film. I don't believe Popeye and Olive Oyl share even one kiss or embrace. If you're gonna turn cartoon characters into live action, I think you need to breathe some life into them, and not simply stick to a cartoon formula with cartoon mannerisms and a cartoon personality. I think Williams did excellent for the material he was given, but he should have had better material.
I hate your stupid signature
I saw this in the theater when I was 6. I loved it then and still love it. I don't understand why all the hate.
I was 10 when i saw it in the indoor theatre. I thought it was lively
and entertaining back then,quite amusing,and the last time i viewed it,which
was back in late 2009,i found it very uplifting and mesmerizing.Enchanting even.
Something about it,maybe the way its all small townish and everyone's all together and gettin togther at local pubs and everything is there for entertaining the town,and its a musical that has all sorts of visual treats and whatnot.Very amusing,uplifting,enchanting,..just timeless and very charming,i'm quite fond of this film and its format,formula,and whatnot. 9/10.
... I couldn't help but notice the coldness of the movie. Other than the Sweet Pea/Popeye relationship, there's no real warmth or sweetness to the film. I don't believe Popeye and Olive Oyl share even one kiss or embrace. If you're gonna turn cartoon characters into live action, I think you need to breathe some life into them, and not simply stick to a cartoon formula with cartoon mannerisms and a cartoon personality. I think Williams did excellent for the material he was given, but he should have had better material.Perfectly put, well said, I couldn't agree more.
I get that reaction, I really do. I'll even acknowledge that a lot of really intelligent, discerning movie lovers feel the same way.
And yet, you're totally, utterly, gobsmackingly, stupendously, transcendantly wrong. Why? You just are. This is one of those movies I loved as a kid to the point that adult objective analysis is not gonna work.
"I'm mean, I'm mean, I'm mean, you know what I mean . . (He's mean! He's mean!)"
Rhyming "mean" with "mean" . . Bluto, you da man.
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I have meddled with the primal forces of nature and I will atone.
Coldness?? I remember the scene where the Oyles are losing everything to the tax man and Olive's mother, thinking her husband is unconcerned, knocks away the paper behind which he is hiding and we suddenly see his utter devastation and the tears trickling down his face; his wife immediately rises from her seat and comforts him -- a very heart-wrenching moment. Mrs. Oyles' concern for Castor in the wrestling scene, and the sweet little touches between the champ and his mummy are also little gems of sentiment. There were a number of tiny little throwaway touches like that, and of course the thing that makes Popeye himself stand out is his ability to hold on to honor and sentiment despite a hard and lonley life; I think what people may see as 'coldness' in this movie is a reproduction of Depression Era practicality where sentiment has to mold itself around and grow up out of the tiny little cracks between the harsh requirements of living in very straightened circumstances -- something that I think was innate in the early Popeye cartoons....
Other examples of sweetness/warmth:
Olive Oyle is a prickly, somewhat spoiled young woman, and it takes a man like Popeye to see the heart behind all of that -- and also discerning viewers, because Shelley Duvall did a good job of presenting both sides, with just the tiniest tilt of her head, quirk of the lip, and droop of an eyelid.
"He needs me, he needs me, he needs me, he needs me" shows Olive's perception into Popeye's lonely life and her desire to be there for him.
The Oyles have lost everything but they still greet the social event of the wrestling match with excitement and togetherness -- another example of Depression Era resiliency.
Popeye's sad little picture frame of his pappy -- no picture, just the scrawled text "My Pappy;" sweet as h#ll.
Popeye's consternation after the break up with Olive and losing Swee'pea, "Maybe if I'm gonna be the mudda, she otta be the fadda." Or something along those lines.
Popeye and Olive expressing their dreams for Swee'pea's future, while at the same time obliquely asking each other to share a life -- "Stay with Me," "Sail with Me!"
Their little mock fight at the breakfast table, with Olive pretending to be in high dudgeon while Popeye slyly challenges her with that flirtatious glint in his eye; "Phooey!" and the little peck! LOL Very sweetly romantic, more than if they had groped and ground lips together, I think....
Coldness?? Just about all of the songs were rife with sweetness and warmth!
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I think it's a poor movie, but I'll still stop and watch it a bit when I see it on TV like right now on Cinemax. The reason is the excellent art direction. On the down side the sound is poorly done, the story isn't engaging, and some of the songs are pretty bad.
shareI liked it, granted I was a kid. I haven't seen it as an adult yet.
shareI am a fan of the Popeye movie.
The focus of real greed lies with unrestrained Government.
Greatest thing about this movie(amongst others things)which separates it from most comic strip/cartoon based live action film adaptations......NO FREAKIN POP CULTURE REFERENCES or self-awareness of the environment they exist in.
If this ever gets re-imagined(and I really hope it doesn't), someone who I can definitely see doing it justice is Edgar Wright.
@ darksnapper99
Edgar Wright could do NO wrong, he can remake this movie in a grand way if he could.
I have such a mixed opinion of this movie. I want to love it, but I just can't. That's not to say there aren't very good facets of this movie. For example:
The cast was spot on. Robin Williams certainly doesn't think highly of Popeye, but I personally think he should be proud of his performance. He WAS Popeye, and everyone else was just as amazing as he was. The slapstick was great, the costumes were perfect, Sweethaven and the 30'sish style of everything in it worked perfectly. They even had the insight to include the twister punch! There was much, much love put into recreating the 'Popeye' flavor from the original cartoons and I absolutely love what they did.
Then we get into the more gray areas. The music wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't great, either. It was fine for what it was but I just never found my toes tapping or myself humming along. To me the songs were just...there. Competently done, but meh, who cares?
My biggest (and really, only) gripe with the movie is the script. The plot itself wasn't an issue. It was simplistic, but it's also Popeye, not Citizen Kane. There was something about how it was executed. When it wasn't advancing the plot or being funny (and even sometimes during) it was just...obnoxious. And unfortunately, Popeye (1980) didn't advance the plot or be funny often enough to overshadow that.
For example, most scenes with Bluto felt agonizing. 90% of his screen time was devoted to stomping around and growling (God, that incessant GROWLING). And that's how all the characters seemed to be (to a much lesser degree, of course). Everyone had some irritating little quirk that really stood out when they weren't doing anything in particular. It's like the script consisted of dialogue here and there with instructions to 'be irritating' between the lines.
On a more personal note, just about all of the banter in the movie was several people trying to talk over each other and I hate listening to that.
I could go on, but I think it would just give the impression that I hate this movie and really I don't. As a Popeye fan, I actually like it. For what it did right I give it a 10. For what it did wrong 1. That averages out to the whole experience warranting a 5.5. It's a movie that I can appreciate, but I also recognize it as very flawed. YMMV
It was hilarious oftentimes,and the bluto growl was very amusing,i didnt tire of it. Very entertaining flick,very silly,just the way it should be if its a Popeye flick. Very lively and uplifting. Enchantingly entertaining. Make another flick alot like this one please !
I'm a lifelong Popeye fan right along with Tom and Jerry. I remember loving this movie as a kid and I still think the casting and set/costume design was on point, but I do agree the script is lacking and it seems like they went the musical route as filler for the fact that the storyline was pretty thin.
"No my brotha, you got ta buy yo OWN!"
I saw it when it came out and hated it, I mean really hated it.
Which is strange because I can watch Altman's varying movies with a level of appreciation because he always brings a level of depth and abstraction to his narrative styles that challenges you as a viewer. "Popeye" to me looks like a film that was molested by film producers who probably didn't like the original footage. The reason I suspect this is the strange editing and overabundance of post-production sound mixing with Olive Oil's annoying "oohs and aahs" permeating so many scenes even though you don't see her mouth or face emoting any such reactions.
(¯`i´¯)´·¸.)‹^›