Waste of time

the audience applauded

From my favorite movies..

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's the Natural Thing to Do (1939)*** (out of 4)Popeye and Bluto are involved in a violent fight when Olive receives a telegram from the Popeye Fan Club. The telegram asks the three to quit fighting so much and act more mature. The three decides to give it a try.I'm sure there were some complaints from people back in the day. I'm sure there were some who thought these cartoons were a bit too violent and sent the wrong message at times so it's pretty funny seeing this short address that issue. Of course, it's all done in a funny way as the three characters were really stupid when it came to acting normal. The title song is certainly the highlight of the film as Olive really gets to shine. The rest of the film is certainly entertaining but the laughs aren't as big as the sarcasm.

Here's a different twist from the normal Popeye cartoon: we see a telegram delivered to Popeye, Bluto and Olive Oyl after the first minute of the cartoon. It reads: "We like your pictures but wish you'd cut out the rough stuff once in a while and act more refined. Be ladies and gentlemen. That's the natural thing to do. Signed, The Popeye Fan Club. P.S. Now go on with the picture."Bluto and Popeye had been beating the you-know-what out of each other while Olive was inside in the kitchen when the telegram arrived. All three of them read it outside in the backyard where the boys were going at it tooth-and-nail.Olive tells the boys to come back later as gentlemen. From that point, the cartoon is hilarious, a real hoot. I begin to mention all the sight gags in here, right from the opening scene with the two boys, dressed in tuxes and top hats strutting up the walkway to the insane, wild finish. Olive is dressed to the hilt, too, and actually looks good! How long everyone can stay on their good behavior is the big question here and you just know they are all going to snap any minute. This is a very good cartoon....the Fleischer brothers at their zaniest. It even incorporates the title as a song as all three people sing a verse or two of it!

In the 1930s, the Fleischer Studios made a ton of Popeye cartoons. And while the quality of the animation was amazingly good, the cartoons suffered from two things. First, despite great animation, until WWII, they still were black & white--even when other studios were making full-color cartoons. Second, for the most part, when you've seen one, you've seen them all, as the same basic plot was recycled again and again. This time, however, the cartoon starts off normally BUT Popeye receives a letter from his fans saying they wanted a nice and non-violent cartoon--one that is sophisticated. So, Popeye, Bluto and Olive decide to be sophisticated and they try so hard--and fail so miserably! It's quite clever and worth a look--even if you hate Popeye.

This is a Max Fleischer Popeye cartoon. As such, there is a lot more inventive humor than in the more formulaic Famous Studios ones from many of the same animators. I guess the real difference is in the presence of Max and his brother Dave, as usual credited as director. The short begins with Popeye and Bluto fighting outside. Olive Oyl, washing dishes inside, gets a telegram that she passes to the boys that says in essence to stop fighting and act more civilized as signed by the Popeye Fan Club. So they do while getting some food service that results in the three of them trying to balance various food and drinks literally on their hands! They then try to make conversation about conversing and language. Eventually, it ends with a gradual slapstick scene that ends with them all singing, "It's the Natural Thing to Do!"...Hilarious from beginning to end, it's a shame that perhaps because of the black-and-white imagery, this and other Fleischer cartoons have not been seen by many of the public in nearly 30 years. Perhaps this will be rectified when Warners finally releases a Popeye collection later this year. Anyway, if you're interested in seeing Popeye outside of the formula plots of the Popeye/Bluto/Olive triangle then It's the Natural Thing to Do is as good a start as any...