Popeye's 20th Anniversary

Popeye's 20th Anniversary
Number 202

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Popeye's 20th Anniversary is the 202nd Popeye cartoon, released by Famous Studios on April 2, 1954. The "20th anniversary" does not take into account of Popeye's first appearance in the comics in 1929, but only his 1933 film debut a little over twenty years prior.

Plot[]

At the Brown Derby, a Testimonial Dinner hosted by Bob Hope is served to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Popeye in the movies. Olive Oyl and Bluto are in attendance, along with several film actors such as Jimmy Durante, Bing Crosby, Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. Everyone congratulates Popeye for his 20-year cartoon career at Paramount Pictures. At one point, Lewis idolizes Popeye. The sailor is asked to make a speech, however, he is too shy to do it, so he instead produces a film projector and shows the cartoons Tops in the Big Top and Rodeo Romeo. Afterwards, Hope gives Popeye a trophy shaped like a spinach can. Humiliated by the movie clips, Bluto traps Popeye's head into the same trophy the guests had presented him with, but it is in fact filled with spinach, which allows the sailor to strike back and defeat Bluto. All attendees join in singing "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man", then Popeye winks at the viewer and the short ends.

Notes[]

In the public domain in the United States.
Clips are reused from Rodeo Romeo and Tops in the Big Top.

Trivia[]

Jerry Lewis saying "I like him! I like him!" is a reference to his catchphrase "I like it! I like it!"^[1]
As the celebrities sing the Popeye theme song at the end, Bob Hope is shown singing with Bing Crosby, and Dean Martin is shown singing with Jerry Lewis. At the time, Hope and Crosby were known for their Road to... films, and Martin and Lewis were still known as a comedy duo on radio and TV.
Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were also previously shown as part of Olive's cabinet in Olive Oyl for President (1948).
When Boomerang aired this short, they recreated the original title, but the 1951 theme was not used, and the ending cue is from Robin Hood-Winked.
Olive only has speaking lines in the excerpts from previous cartoons.
Final appearance of Olive's Fleischer design.
In the Rodeo Romeo clip, Jack Mercer redubbed Popeye's voice. Harry Foster Welch originally provided the sailor's voice in the earlier cartoon, since at the time Mercer had been drafted into service.
In the Rodeo Romeo clip, when Bluto says to Olive "Kiss me or else!", his mouth does not move. This is because in the actual cartoon, Bluto had drugged himself and was inadvertently attempting to stamp Olive on the seat of her skirt instead of making his usual demand for a kiss.