This is the most unusual episode of the Popeye cartoon series in that it is made by one studio - that of Jack Kinney - yet it uses the opening theme and a particular cue from another studio - Paramount Pictures. Winston Sharples' mid-1950s power-march theme introduces the cartoon, editorially extended to cover the longer credits common to Kinney's entries, and the spinach cue from Paramount's 1957 entry "Patriotic Popeye" is also used, and also editorially extended.
The theme closes over the actual title card, which features silhouettes of Popeye and Olive Oyl over an outdoor stove. The silhouettes give away the cartoon's unusual visual quality. Dispensing with the handsome character designs of Paramount's 1950s shorts, Kinney goes back to the future with character designs straight out of E.C. Seger's newspaper funnies; Popeye even wears black sailor garb for the first time since his late-1930s shorts.
The subject matter here is a weekend off for Popeye and company in their new suburban setting, displayed by the opening establishing shot of a suburban block. Popeye is setting up a barbecue for himself and Olive. When he borrows some flowers for his sweetie from his neighbor Brutus, he gets a one-punch pounding but is otherwise unfazed. Brutus, after getting his "favorite pet petunias" back, begins scheming to get into Popeye's celebration (this leads to the short's funniest gag, when Brutus drops a lit match onto Popeye's grill, it blows up in his face, and all his hair is burned off only to regrow in an instant), but Popeye soon finds his hands full with J. Wellington Wimpy and Little Swee'Pea while Brutus regales Olive with his folk song about spilled mustard.
The cartoon is among the loudest and most chaotic of the entire Popeye animated series, theatrical or television, as Popeye runs himself ragged taking care of his unexpected guests while trying to get at Brutus. Falling into his cellar, Popeye finds a can of spinach and that gives him the strength to resolve this situation at last - Wimpy and Swee'Pea get the hint, but of course Brutus doesn't, instead being provoked merely by being referred to as "Junior." The soundtrack stock used for this cartoon has considerable room-sound-quality reverb in the voice performances, which hurts them (Mae Questel's in particular) as voices seem to crack at times. Nonetheless it still works as an entertaining if very unusual entry in the Popeye series.
The theme closes over the actual title card, which features silhouettes of Popeye and Olive Oyl over an outdoor stove. The silhouettes give away the cartoon's unusual visual quality. Dispensing with the handsome character designs of Paramount's 1950s shorts, Kinney goes back to the future with character designs straight out of E.C. Seger's newspaper funnies; Popeye even wears black sailor garb for the first time since his late-1930s shorts.
The subject matter here is a weekend off for Popeye and company in their new suburban setting, displayed by the opening establishing shot of a suburban block. Popeye is setting up a barbecue for himself and Olive. When he borrows some flowers for his sweetie from his neighbor Brutus, he gets a one-punch pounding but is otherwise unfazed. Brutus, after getting his "favorite pet petunias" back, begins scheming to get into Popeye's celebration (this leads to the short's funniest gag, when Brutus drops a lit match onto Popeye's grill, it blows up in his face, and all his hair is burned off only to regrow in an instant), but Popeye soon finds his hands full with J. Wellington Wimpy and Little Swee'Pea while Brutus regales Olive with his folk song about spilled mustard.
The cartoon is among the loudest and most chaotic of the entire Popeye animated series, theatrical or television, as Popeye runs himself ragged taking care of his unexpected guests while trying to get at Brutus. Falling into his cellar, Popeye finds a can of spinach and that gives him the strength to resolve this situation at last - Wimpy and Swee'Pea get the hint, but of course Brutus doesn't, instead being provoked merely by being referred to as "Junior." The soundtrack stock used for this cartoon has considerable room-sound-quality reverb in the voice performances, which hurts them (Mae Questel's in particular) as voices seem to crack at times. Nonetheless it still works as an entertaining if very unusual entry in the Popeye series.
