Who’s Soaring Now?
The hook this week is “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” and we’re off with a flying start, plane-wise, with a 1937 Max Fleischer cartoon, “I Never Changes My Altitude.”
Man, I’m nuts about this cartoon — one of my all time favorites! Love the way Popeye starts up his airplane. Love those simple little chores Bluto has dreamt up for Olive Oyl (painting the stabilizer while they are still up in the air?) Love the opening shot, a fabulous 3-D set-up of an old time air field. Love Jack Mercer’s ad-libs, which are even funnier than usual here (but, it took me 30 years of repeated viewings to finally get the “this is tear-ible” pun!) Most of all, I love, love, LOVE the way this film starts with Popeye crying his eyes out over being jilted — I mean the poor guy is openly sobbing! I say if the ol’ sailor man is comfortable with a public display of vulnerability, it’s high time the rest of us manly men got over ourselves! Guys — give yourself permission to grieve!
Dave Fleischer directed it. Willard Bowsky was given lead animator credit (which meant he probably did a lot of the heavy lifting.) This one is a classic classic!
ReFrederator flies high tomorrow with another gravity defying toon.
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On July 10th, 2006 at 12:00 am
I love the old Max Fleischer black & white Popeye cartoons, and this is a great one! The 3D backgrounds they had in some of thier cartoons were spectacular! I’m glad to see someone paying homage to these timeless classics!
On July 10th, 2006 at 12:00 am
It will be great to see these Popeyes cleaned up and put on DVD next year.