- Date: July 14, 1933
- Type: Movie
AKA: Betty Boop Meets Popeye the Sailor Popeye the Sailor is a 1933 animated short produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. While billed as a Betty Boop cartoon, Betty Boop only makes a small appearance, as it actually starred Popeye the Sailor in his first animated appearance. The cartoon begins with stock film footage of newspapers rolling off a printing press. The front page of one of the newspapers appears, with a headline declaring that Popeye has become a movie star. The camera zooms in on the illustration of Popeye, which then comes to life, as Popeye (voiced by William "Billy" Costello) sings about his amazing prowess in his signature song "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man."[1] On land with his nemesis Bluto (voiced by William Pennell), the two sailors vie for the affections of Olive Oyl (voiced by Bonnie Poe). Popeye takes Olive Oyl to a carnival and pays the peacock 10¢ and Bluto blows off the peacock's feather. They play games and then they watch Betty Boop doing the hula. Popeye jumps up on stage, wraps the bearded lady's beard around his waist for a grass skirt, and dances with Betty. Bluto abducts Olive Oyl and ties her to a railroad track, using the track itself as "ropes", in order to cause a train wreck to kill Olive, where a train is approaching. Popeye defeats his enemy, and rescues Olive, but punches the approaching engine and its baggage car and coaches in the "face", and wrecks the whole train in a crushing halt and sparing Olive's life, thanks to his ever-reliable can of spinach.