Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves
Encyclopedia
Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves is a two-reel animated cartoon
short subject
in the Popeye Color Feature
series, produced in Technicolor
and released to theatres on November 26, 1937 by Paramount Pictures
. It was produced by Max Fleischer
for Fleischer Studios
, Inc. and directed by Dave Fleischer
. Willard Bowsky
was head animator, with musical supervision by Sammy Timberg
. The voice of Popeye
is performed by Jack Mercer
, with Mae Questel
as Olive Oyl
and Gus Wickie
as Abu Hassan. It should also be noted that Popeye is enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard and did not enlist in the Navy until 1941 in the Fleisher short, The Mighty Navy.
does not appear in this film, but the band of Forty Thieves do, led by Abu Hassan (Bluto
playing a "role"). Popeye, Olive Oyl
, and J. Wellington Wimpy
hear of Hassan's attack on a town in Arabia and fly there to capture him but their plane crashes as they enter a desert in Arabia. After getting lost in the desert, the group happens upon the town where the Forty Thieves attack. The Thieves abduct Olive and Wimpy, and Abu Hassan leaves Popeye hanging from a chandelier
after failing to win a battle of wits with him (during which, demonstrating a magic trick, Popeye relieves Hassan of his long underwear
, remarking "Abu Hasn't got 'em any more!"). Popeye manages to break free and takes a camel
to Ali Baba's secret cave, where, failing to remember the magic word of "open sesame!", he breaks in using his pipe as a torch
.
Inside the cave (giving the Fleischers a chance to show their Tabletop
3D
background process), Popeye sneaks past the guards and attempts to free Olive and Wimpy. He confronts Abu Hassan and demands that he give the Forty Thieves' stolen jewels back to the people. He is apprehended and thrown into a shark
pit. Just before being eaten by a shark, Popeye tangles the shark's teeth together, and the shark goes back down into the water. Popeye then produces his spinach
, opening it by commanding the can "open sez me!" Now superpowered, Popeye defeats Abu Hassan, and all forty of the Thieves (counting them as he does so). The Thieves and Hassan are chained and made to drag a cart filled with the stolen jewels, Popeye, Olive, and Wimpy, back to town, where the townspeople await them with open arms. Popeye turns to Olive and sings, as the film irises out, "I may be a shorty/but I licked The Forty/I'm Popeye the Sailor man!/*toot toot*".
was entering the final months of production on his first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
. It made full use of Fleischer Studios
's multiplane camera
, which they had been experimenting with for some time. Disney had just released The Old Mill
, their first 3-D cartoon, and were advertising their upcoming Snow White
as multiplanal as well. As such, advertising for "Forty Thieves" accented the fact that it was 3-dimensional. It was released just weeks before the seasonal Los Angeles premiere of Snow White and was essentially the only animated competition for the feature.
The short was the second of the three Popeye Color Specials, which were over sixteen minutes each, three times as long as a regular Popeye cartoon, and were often billed in theatres alongside or above the main feature. Today, this short and the other two Popeye Color Specials, Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor
, and Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
(both of which were also adapted from a story featured in One Thousand and One Nights), are in the public domain
. The cartoon, fully restored with the original Paramount
mountain logo opening and closing titles, is available officially on disc four of the DVD collection Popeye the Sailor: 1933-1938, Volume 1
.
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
short subject
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
in the Popeye Color Feature
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
series, produced in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
and released to theatres on November 26, 1937 by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. It was produced by Max Fleischer
Max Fleischer
Max Fleischer was an American animator. He was a pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon and served as the head of Fleischer Studios...
for Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...
, Inc. and directed by Dave Fleischer
Dave Fleischer
David "Dave" Fleischer was an American animator film director and film producer, best known as a co-owner of Fleischer Studios with his two older brothers Max Fleischer and Lou Fleischer...
. Willard Bowsky
Willard Bowsky
Willard Bowsky was an American animator best known for his work at Fleischer Studios.Bowsky was born in 1907 in New York City and spent his childhood either living in Manhattan or across the Hudson River in New Jersey...
was head animator, with musical supervision by Sammy Timberg
Sammy Timberg
Sammy Timberg was an American musician and composer who was perhaps most famous for the music he wrote for the cartoons of the Fleischer Studios, such as Popeye, Betty Boop, and Superman...
. The voice of Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
is performed by Jack Mercer
Jack Mercer
Jack Mercer was an American animator, storyman and voice actor. He is best known as the voice of cartoon character Popeye the Sailor...
, with Mae Questel
Mae Questel
Mae Questel was an American actress and vocal artist best known for providing the voices for the animated characters, Betty Boop and Olive Oyl. She began in vaudeville, and played occasional small roles in films and television later in her career, most notably the role of Aunt Bethany in 1989's...
as Olive Oyl
Olive Oyl
Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1919 for his comic strip Thimble Theatre. The strip was later renamed Popeye after the sailor character that became the most popular member of the cast; however Olive Oyl was a main character for 10 years before Popeye's 1929...
and Gus Wickie
Gus Wickie
Gus Wickie was a baritone singer and voice actor. He was the voice of Bluto in the Fleischer Studios Popeye cartoons from 1933 until his death in 1938. His final performance was as the "Chief" in Big Chief Ugh-Amugh-Ugh.-External links:...
as Abu Hassan. It should also be noted that Popeye is enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard and did not enlist in the Navy until 1941 in the Fleisher short, The Mighty Navy.
Plot
Ali BabaAli Baba
Ali Baba is a fictional character from medieval Arabic literature. He is described in the adventure tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves...
does not appear in this film, but the band of Forty Thieves do, led by Abu Hassan (Bluto
Bluto
Bluto is a cartoon and comics character created in 1932 by Elzie Crisler Segar as a one-time character, named "Bluto the Terrible", in his Thimble Theatre comic strip . Bluto made his first appearance September 12 of that year...
playing a "role"). Popeye, Olive Oyl
Olive Oyl
Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1919 for his comic strip Thimble Theatre. The strip was later renamed Popeye after the sailor character that became the most popular member of the cast; however Olive Oyl was a main character for 10 years before Popeye's 1929...
, and J. Wellington Wimpy
J. Wellington Wimpy
J. Wellington Wimpy, generally referred to as Wimpy, is one of the characters in the long-running comic strip Popeye, created by E. C. Segar and originally called Thimble Theatre, and in the Popeye cartoons based upon the strip...
hear of Hassan's attack on a town in Arabia and fly there to capture him but their plane crashes as they enter a desert in Arabia. After getting lost in the desert, the group happens upon the town where the Forty Thieves attack. The Thieves abduct Olive and Wimpy, and Abu Hassan leaves Popeye hanging from a chandelier
Chandelier
A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. Chandeliers are often ornate, containing dozens of lamps and complex arrays of glass or crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light...
after failing to win a battle of wits with him (during which, demonstrating a magic trick, Popeye relieves Hassan of his long underwear
Long underwear
Long underwear, also called long johns, Granny pantys, or thermal underwear, is a style of two-piece underwear with long legs and long sleeves that is normally worn during cold weather. It offers an advantage over the one-piece union suit in that the wearer can choose to wear either the top,...
, remarking "Abu Hasn't got 'em any more!"). Popeye manages to break free and takes a camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
to Ali Baba's secret cave, where, failing to remember the magic word of "open sesame!", he breaks in using his pipe as a torch
Torch
A torch is a fire source, usually a rod-shaped piece of wood with a rag soaked in pitch and/or some other flammable material wrapped around one end. Torches were often supported in sconces by brackets high up on walls, to throw light over corridors in stone structures such as castles or crypts...
.
Inside the cave (giving the Fleischers a chance to show their Tabletop
Multiplane camera
The multiplane camera is a special motion picture camera used in the traditional animation process that moves a number of pieces of artwork past the camera at various speeds and at various distances from one another...
3D
Dimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a space or object is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it...
background process), Popeye sneaks past the guards and attempts to free Olive and Wimpy. He confronts Abu Hassan and demands that he give the Forty Thieves' stolen jewels back to the people. He is apprehended and thrown into a shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
pit. Just before being eaten by a shark, Popeye tangles the shark's teeth together, and the shark goes back down into the water. Popeye then produces his spinach
Spinach
Spinach is an edible flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. It is native to central and southwestern Asia. It is an annual plant , which grows to a height of up to 30 cm. Spinach may survive over winter in temperate regions...
, opening it by commanding the can "open sez me!" Now superpowered, Popeye defeats Abu Hassan, and all forty of the Thieves (counting them as he does so). The Thieves and Hassan are chained and made to drag a cart filled with the stolen jewels, Popeye, Olive, and Wimpy, back to town, where the townspeople await them with open arms. Popeye turns to Olive and sings, as the film irises out, "I may be a shorty/but I licked The Forty/I'm Popeye the Sailor man!/*toot toot*".
Release and reception
Forty Thieves was produced while Fleischer competitor Walt DisneyWalt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
was entering the final months of production on his first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...
. It made full use of Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...
's multiplane camera
Multiplane camera
The multiplane camera is a special motion picture camera used in the traditional animation process that moves a number of pieces of artwork past the camera at various speeds and at various distances from one another...
, which they had been experimenting with for some time. Disney had just released The Old Mill
The Old Mill
The Old Mill is a 1937 Silly Symphonies cartoon produced by Walt Disney, directed by Wilfred Jackson, scored by Leigh Harline, and released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on November 5, 1937...
, their first 3-D cartoon, and were advertising their upcoming Snow White
Snow White
"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm...
as multiplanal as well. As such, advertising for "Forty Thieves" accented the fact that it was 3-dimensional. It was released just weeks before the seasonal Los Angeles premiere of Snow White and was essentially the only animated competition for the feature.
The short was the second of the three Popeye Color Specials, which were over sixteen minutes each, three times as long as a regular Popeye cartoon, and were often billed in theatres alongside or above the main feature. Today, this short and the other two Popeye Color Specials, Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor
Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor
Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor is a two-reel animated cartoon short subject in the Popeye Color Feature series, produced in Technicolor and released to theatres on November 27, 1936 by Paramount Pictures. It was produced by Max Fleischer for Fleischer Studios, Inc. and directed by Dave...
, and Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp is a two-reel animated cartoon short subject in the Popeye Color Specials series, produced in Technicolor and released to theatres on April 7, 1939 by Paramount Pictures. It was produced by Max, and directed by Dave Fleischer for Fleischer Studios, Inc., with David...
(both of which were also adapted from a story featured in One Thousand and One Nights), are in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
. The cartoon, fully restored with the original Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
mountain logo opening and closing titles, is available officially on disc four of the DVD collection Popeye the Sailor: 1933-1938, Volume 1
Popeye the Sailor: 1933-1938, Volume 1
Popeye the Sailor: 1933-1938, Volume 1 is the first authorized collection of theatrical Popeye cartoons on home video. This four-disc DVD set includes 60 theatrical Popeye cartoons, and was released on July 31, 2007 by Warner Home Video...
.
External links
- Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves in Flash and iPod formats.