10 Best Popeye Moments
2. Sweet Sweethaven
“God must have landed here. Why else would he strand us here?”
The sun comes up on our beautiful town of Sweethaven, and just like clockwork the townspeople begin filing out of their houses. A man is propped on a ladder that is wobbling back and forth, another is endlessly stumbling over his feet to grab his flyaway hat, and a third has crashed through a plank on a rickety rope-strung bridge. This is how Popeye begins, bursting into life as the silhouette of a small rowboat approaches the docks. Altman shows us all at once how Sweethaven functions, and that something is coming to disrupt that.
The set was built in Malta, and it is now a tourist destination called Popeye Village. It took 7 months and 165 construction workers to build the town of Sweethaven, and this attention to detail shines thorough in every wobbly bridge and jaunty, angled roof. There is so much character in every pane of glass and beam of wood, and those details marry together so well with the townspeople who bring Sweethaven to life. It is masterful storytelling, to be able to portray so much rich character without saying very much at all, and this is what makes this scene so integral to the story of Popeye. Altman masterfully presents to us a whole world, full of rules and routine, and we immediately understand what kind of place this is – a place where outsiders are not welcome.
1. I yam what I yam!
“I may not be a doctor, but I knows when I’m losing me patience.”
It’s Popeye’s big triumphant moment!
After they find out that Wimpy has taken baby Swee’pea to the horse races in order to benefit from his fortune-telling abilities, Popeye, Olive, and the rest of the Oyl family rush to Swee’pea’s rescue. But, the rescue mission doesn’t quite go to plan when Olive realises how much money Wimpy has managed to win with the help of Swee’pea. She snatches the baby up in her arms and continues to place bets, but enough is enough… according to Popeye. The pipe-smoking muscular father sings and dances his way into the crowd, swinging around wooden beams and strutting his way in front of the mechanical horses to disrupt the unruly shenanigans of Derby Day.
This is Popeye’s moment. He has stood up to his only friends and purposefully isolated himself, but it is the bravest thing we have seen him do. Whilst he might be physically strong, Popeye comes across rather shy. But when it comes to baby Swee’pea, there’s no room for waiting.
Robin Williams’ performance is excellent; he brings so much energy and passion to the screen. The song in this scene is also unforgettable, the tension slowly bubbling away at the beginning and eventually rising into the mighty high that it maintains all the way until Popeye skips his way out of the frame. This scene encompasses so much of what makes Popeye Popeye, his fifty-plus years of comic strips and cartoons flourishing into this moment of triumph, the energy of the performance and the music interlocking with aplomb.
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He’s strong to the finish ‘cause he eats his spinach! Popeye is a treat to watch, it’s the type of film that gives you something new every single time. Each line uttered by Popeye is a treasure, and it’s a delight to catch them all. Each character is so distinguishable too, every gag unmissable. Every moment of this film could be considered the best, at least until the next one comes along and changes your mind. What is your favourite moment? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow @thefilmagazine on Facebook and X (Twitter) for more insightful movie lists.
Written by Holly Carter
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