The Age of Commercialism

From my favorite movies..

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

. . . U.S. Coast Guardsman Popeye, aided by his civilian contractor Wimpy, are shown ocean-hopping in a seaplane, on the lookout for Middle Eastern Terrorists, as POPEYE THE SAILOR MEETS ALI BABA'S FORTY THIEVES opens. Shot down over one of the God-forsaken deserts endemic to that threatening region, Popeye and Wimpy then labor diligently behind enemy lines to get the lay of the land. Olive Oyl, dressed as a typical casual Yankee chick, is set up in a local market as attractive nuisance bait, cleverly positioned as a kidnap victim the three dozen plus thieves of "Abu Hassan" cannot overlook. Thus tricked into plucking a flower of American Womanhood, it becomes incumbent upon Popeye to save Olive from a probable fate Worse than Death. Coast Guardsman Popeye accordingly makes quick use of his superior wits and Yankee ingenuity to completely rout Hassan's motley crew. For good measure Popeye humiliates the terrorists by making them drag a ton of ill-gotten swag through the desert sands before he water-boards them and begins the extreme vetting process. POPEYE THE SAILOR MEETS ALI BABA'S FORTY THIEVES can provide Leader Trump with all the background he needs to become as Triumphant in the Middle East as he's already been this summer in North Korea and Russia.

"Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves" is a 17-minute cartoon from 1937, so this one will have its 80th anniversary next year. The title already gives away the hero and antagonist for this one. Yes, it is another Popeye cartoon and there are so so many out there. However, this one here is different compared to what they usually look like. It has color, runs for almost 20 minutes and takes place far far away from Popeye's home that is the usual location for these (usually 7-minute) cartoons. But this does not mean it is a good or at least decent watch. The animation admittedly has creative moments from Fleischer on some occasions, but it is never a film that is funny or interesting in terms of the action. It is basically a poor man's version of the earlier short film in which Popeye goes up against Sinbad the Sailor, also played by Bluto as always. But back to this one here. I have no idea why Olive and Wimpy were even include as they add absolutely nothing to this one really. It is all about Popeye and, to a lesser extent, Bluto. Maybe they tried to hide the fact that it is a relatively weak film story-wise with all the action they gave audiences and audiences back then may have accepted it. I however will not and that's why I give it a thumbs-down. One of the weaker Popeye cartoons and don't be fooled by the rating here on IMDb. It may have been a solid achievement at an essential 7 minutes. But at 10 more, it's a disappointment. Don't watch.

Turner Classics aired this short along with "Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor" a few evenings ago and it was my first opportunity to catch either one. I preferred the 'Sindbad' cartoon for it's more vibrant colors and creative island creatures, but this one holds up pretty well also. Popeye starts out as a Coast Guard station agent in this one, with attendants Olive Oyl and Wimpy on hand to help out. A globe trotting sea-plane eventually brings them to a desert location where they wind up marooned to face off against Abu Hassan and his band of forty thieves. Hassan is a stand-in for perennial baddie Bluto with a treasure filled cave, and as usual, he's no match for Popeye once he gets his steroid-like fix of spinach in a can. I've probably seen dozens of these Popeye cartoons as a kid, and got a kick out of all of them, so it was a blast to finally get to see the 'Sailor Man' in one of the original stories that brought him to life. Catch this one if you can.

I love Fleischer's Popeye better than all the other versions of the character. This cartoon is my favorite out of the "Arabian Nights" trilogy of featurettes filmed in color, and also "Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp" too.I love the desert scene where the three heroes Popeye,Olive Oyl and Wimpy trudge through the sand and Wimpy sees a feast which was really a mirage; also the "tank roll" part too. I also love the scene at the cafe, when Popeye snatches Abu Hassen/Bluto's underwear from him...without removing his clothes! One last scene that I love is when Olive give Popeye a kiss while pacing on guard duty back and forth on the dock. So that makes it four parts I love and overall, it's another Popeye classic to favor.