Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (1936)

Overrated

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (1936) *** (out of 4)Sinbad (Bluto) is singing a song talking about how great he is when he overhears someone else singing. He looks out to see and notices Popeye singing about how great he is. What catches Sinbad's eye is Olive Oyl so he kidnaps her and sure enough Popeye follows to get her back. This isn't your typical Popeye cartoon because not only is it a two- reeler but it was also filmed in Technicolor. Most of the Popeye shorts from this period were B&W and ran around six minutes long so this here is different in that way. With that said, the story itself is pretty familiar to a regular Popeye short as we have the two men fighting over Olive. There's really nothing fresh or original as far as the story goes, although the extended running time does make room for some supporting characters including loads of animals and a two-headed cyborg. What really makes this film stand out is the Technicolor, which looks downright amazing. Just take a look at the sky in the background during the opening sequence. Another catchy moment are the snakes at the start of the picture. The colors are just wonderful to look out and certainly help make up for the familiar story.

This cartoon from almost 80 years ago is a work of superlatives. It is among the most famous, most successful and longest cartoons from the entire Popeye franchise and that is quite an achievement looking at how long and enduring this one was for over 20 years in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. And maybe this one here is even number 1 in these categories I listed. However, it was not number 1 at the Academy Award as it lost to the Disney entry that year, but a nomination is a success already too.I personally would say that this is a very competent work. The voice actors all had strong careers and there is nothing I need to say about Dave Fleischer I guess. It's an earlier Popeye film and the characters are the same as usual. The action is not that different either. Olive gets abducted by Bluto (Sinbad) and Popeye has to save her. When all hope is lost, he gets out the spinach and finishes his enemy. One difference here is that the first almost five minutes were entirely about his antagonist. Actually, this was mostly because they had to fill the really long runtime for cartoons back then, but it also served as nice preparation for their duel. Before Popeye fights Sinbad at the end and proves who the greatest sailor is, he has to take care of some of the villain's henchman. Not too common either. So there are definitely some differences compared to all the other Popeye short films. I enjoyed this watch. There was nothing truly great about it, but it was pretty entertaining, had good animation and seeing all the animals was nice as well. Recommended.

this is only the second animated Popeye short i have seen,the first one being With Swee' Pea,which i thought was pretty good.this one,i didn't like as much.it doesn't stack up too well,in my opinion.there's a lot of action,but i didn't find a lot of it all that funny.Bluto(Popeye's nemesis)plays Sinbad as a blow hard ego maniac.he has a few singing numbers,which are very brief,but i found them irritating.this feature is around 15 minutes long,and i found it a bit slow,even boring.With Swee' Pea was much more lite hearted,and "Sinbad" was much darker than i was expecting.i guess it's really a matter of taste.for me,Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor is a 4.5/10

Using the Fleischer Brothers' special 3-d backgrounds, Paramount's "Sindbad" is an impressive animation feat, as well as an entertaining and funny cartoon. It has made virtually every "greatest cartoon" list, with no apologies.