Fleischer Friday: Seasin’s Greetinks

There are no Betty Boop Christmas cartoons because she’s Jewish. There are no Superman Christmas cartoons because that would just be weird. There’s a Grampy Christmas cartoon, but I really detest Grampy, and have no intention of ever featuring him on a Fleischer Friday if I can help it.  However, Popeye the Sailor also celebrates Christmas in his fifth short, although of course he celebrates it in his own special way.

I’m keeping it short this week, since we all have holidays to get back to, so here’s a few quick observations:

• In Popeye’s World:  Earmuffs are essential.  Scarfs are optional.  Coats and jackets are unheard of.
• On a related note, you can’t really tell if a Fleischer character is shivering, because they constantly shake in time with the music.
• Olive Oyl fares much better without Mae Questel than Betty Boop does.  In this instance, Bonnie Poe does her voice.
• “It’s a day for peace on Earth!” is the very best thing you can say before punching someone.
• Popeye and Bluto are shockingly graceful on ice skates.
• I’m completely baffled that Bluto avoids cutting Olive’s head off at 03:35.
• The bit where Olive crawls across her own legs (or however you define that move) is pretty unsettling.
• Can’t afford tree trimmings?  Just punch a guy really hard.