Posted September 1, 200717 yr The internet is fantastic. I discovered these old Popeye cartoons from 1938 through 1941 on Youtube. I suppose they show up occasionally on television, but I haven't seen these since I was three years old. I remember watching these with my grandfather. Of course, I didn't notice things that I see now. These old cartoons were made using a process where the foreground was drawn on a clear surface, placed over the background image, and photographed, one frame at a time. This process allowed the illustrators to focus on the action and not spend so much time on backgrounds, as well as to make the background match the frame before it. It would be neat to find the original background drawings. The background scenes are wonderful. Notice the perspective views, the street clutter, and the overall level of detail. I find myself watching the cartoons for the background images. The stories and music aren't bad either. I took screenshots of Youtube movies. This was the best quality that I could get. 1. Wires, water tower, smoke, shadows.<br> 2. <br> 3. <br> 4. <br> 5. <br> 6. Refrigerator, sink, washing tub, and stove (I think.) Vanishing point perspective view highlighted by tile floor. Furniture in foreground helps frame the view. <br> 7. <br> 8. I included this one because it has a tall highchair with wheels. Can you imagine?<br> 9. Circus tent<br> 10. Wooden fence with posters.<br> 11. Front porch, wooden siding, vanishing point perspective view.<br> 12. Worn picket fence.<br> 13. Steamship with 4 stacks and two masts<br> 14. Popeye pilots a ship down a street. Streetlamp, fire hydrant, curb, skyscraper with setbacks. Wooden country home doesn't match urban setting but was required for story line. <br> 15. Wires, water tower.<br> 16. Oil lamp.<br> 17. <br> 18. Hilarious scene where Olive Oyl dances with traffic cop. Cop is manually operating sign with "STOP" and "GO" boards on a rotating post. Cop gets tangled with Olive, rotates the sign, and make chaos of traffic. <br> 19. Shepard's hook streetlamp, corner sign.<br> 20. Art deco domed roller rink interior. <br> 21. Structural steel complete with rivets, fire hydrant, vanishing point perspective view.<br> 22. Box cab steam shovel with curved roof.<br> 23. <br> 24. <br> 25. Brick and stucco.<br> 26. Streetlamp, catch basin, manhole cover, shack, tool cart in the street.<br> 27. Garbage can, streetlight, manhole cover<br> 28. <br> 29. Wires, wooden pole, interior building angle.<br> 30. Long staircase, corridor, vanishing point perspective view<br> 31. Pyramid shaped roof, awning with a torn corner.<br> Hope you enjoyed!
September 1, 200717 yr The internet is fantastic. I discovered these old Popeye cartoons from 1938 through 1941 on Youtube. I suppose they show up occasionally on television, but I haven't seen these since I was three years old. I remember watching these with my grandfather. Hope you enjoyed! Yes I did. Thanks. So, this must make yousomewhere around 65 yr old?
September 1, 200717 yr Good eye. Thanks for posting. I enjoyed this. I think it would be a gas lamp in 16, not oil. I like that interior shot too, plus the kitchen shot.
September 1, 200717 yr Hey, I used to watch popeye cartoons when I was three years old. Doesn't make me 65 yoa! Channel 43 and, before that, Channel 61 in Cleveland showed Popeye, both the early black and white cartoons and the later color ones. Then again, my father used to see popeye cartoons in the 1930s when he was a kid, back when going to the movies on a Saturday was an all-day thing and they also mixed in serials, Movietone News, plus live shows, contests, etc. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 1, 200717 yr I know. I know. Sheesh... Don't get your panties in a bunch. I used to watch them too. That and Little Rascals. That was my fave. Get out of school a 3:00, walk home (that's right young'uns - walk), get a snack and watch the crazy Rascal's adventures.
September 1, 200717 yr I used to watch Popeye when I was little and I'm only 20. I think they've re-made it a few times. I remember the animation being in color and of better quality. I like the older ones better though; it looks like they drew them with charcoal.
September 1, 200717 yr Brilliant. A truly poignant glimpse of a very different time. I watched all these cartoons in syndication in the 70s. I'm sure this all seeped into my subconscious back then and contributed to: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=10005.0
September 2, 200717 yr Cool post, Eighth and State. I used to love the old Popeye cartoons but I guess I never noticed all of the urban perspectives.
September 3, 200717 yr love these pics (and loved Popeye as a kid)....parts of cleveland still look like this. In what city was Popeye set?
September 3, 200717 yr Sweethaven Village. Apparently Popeye is Maltese: http://www.visitmalta.com/sweethaven-vilalge
September 3, 200717 yr Oh, the REAL Popeye... Sweethaven was his home in the cartoon land, too. But it was produced out of NYC: The Popeye series, like other cartoons produced by the Fleischers, was noted for its urban feel (the Fleischers operated out of New York City)... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popeye#Fleischer_Studios
Create an account or sign in to comment