| Popeye the Sailor with Betty Boop | |
| Director: | Dave Fleischer |
| Animator: | Seymour Kneitel Don Figlozzi Roland Crandall Willard Bowsky William Henning George Germanetti Orestes Calpini |
| Starring: | Billy Costello William Pennell Bonnie Poe |
| Music: | Sammy Timberg Sammy Lerner Tot Seymour Vee Lawnhurst |
| Producer: | Max Fleischer Adolph Zukor |
| Studio: | Fleischer Studios |
| Distributor: | Paramount Publix Corporation |
| Color Process: | Black-and-white Color (1985 redrawn color version)[1] |
| Runtime: | 7:37 |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Popeye the Sailor (titled onscreen as Popeye the Sailor with Betty Boop) is a 1933 animated short produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Publix Corporation. While billed as a Betty Boop cartoon, it was produced as a vehicle for Popeye in his debut animated appearance.[2]
The cartoon begins with stock film footage of newspapers rolling off a printing press. The front page of one of the newspapers appears, with a headline declaring that Popeye has become a movie star. The camera zooms in on the illustration of Popeye, which then comes to life, as Popeye (voiced by Billy Costello) sings about his amazing prowess in his signature song "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man".[3]
On land with his nemesis Bluto (voiced by William Pennell), the two sailors vie for the affections of Olive Oyl (voiced by Bonnie Poe). Popeye takes Olive Oyl to a carnival and pays the peacock 10ยข and Bluto blows off all of the peacock's feathers. They play two games, the high striker and African dodger, with Popeye "winning" both times and then they watch Betty Boop (also voiced by Bonnie Poe) doing the hula. Popeye jumps up on stage, wraps the bearded lady's beard around his waist for a grass skirt, and dances with Betty, mimicking her movements. He is then bit by a snake, but then tranquilizes it with his pipe.
Bluto then abducts Olive Oyl and ties her to a railroad track, using the track itself as "ropes", in order to cause a train wreck to kill Olive, where a train is approaching. Popeye fights Bluto, but initially loses, but then eats spinach and then punches Bluto, causing him to get trapped in a nailed coffin. He then punches the approaching engine and its baggage car and coaches in the "face", and wrecks the whole train in a crushing halt and sparing Olive's life, because of the can of spinach he ate.