Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves (1937)

Touches You

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

. . . 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.

Max Fleischer is the man responsible for the blossoming American animation film industry and he inspired the likes of Walt Disney, Walter Lantz and even Leon Schlesinger. Popeye became the most popular short-film series in the United States when Fleischer bought the film rights to the character, thus resulting in classics like 'Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves' and so forth.These early Popeye shorts employed what is commonly referred to as 'rubber hose animation' where the characters lacked any specific points of articulation making their arms and legs look 'bendy'. I love these shorts because of the surreal charm they still have eighty years on. They're not trying to pretend that its animation is perfect, they just want to entertain the audience with its fast-paced and ridiculous animation.I really do like these cartoons' they're lovely time capsules in spite some of the inherent racism that was unfortunately prominent in the 30s. With that said, these cartoons were never made with the intent of offending anyone through any inappropriate characters, they were just products of the time which we can thankfully look beyond now.Popeye is still a beloved cartoon icon around the world and for good reason; he made the United States and the world happier during the Great Depression, and for that he's become a real superhero in his own right.

"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.

I was fortunate to see an excellent print of this. Popeyes is in pursuit of the rogue Abu Hassan, and Olive Oyl and Wimpy are along for the ride. Alas, their plane crashes in the Arabian Desert and the trio must trek across the desert getting more hungry and thirsty as they go. As to be expected, it is Wimpy who sees a mirage of sumptuous food. My favorite line of the film happens during this trek. Popeyes looks around and all he can see is sand and mumbles "I'd make a sandwich if I had a which." Abu Hassan captures Olive Oyl and Wimpy, but not to worry, Popeeye lays low not only the forty thieves but Abu (who could be Bluto's twin) - and all this to John Philip Sousa sounding music. Popeye's under his breath comments are always a highlight of these cartoons.