Blu-ray Review: Popeye the Sailor 1940's Vol 1

Today we look at a recent Warner Archive release that took everyone by surprise.  It's Popeye the Sailor for the first time on Blu-ray, and we see just how great it is.

The Blu-ray itself continues where Popeye the Sailor 1941-1943 left off when released 10 years ago.  Now celebrating 90 years of his debut in Thimble Theater, Popeye cartoons began in 1933 under Max Fleischer.  Over the years, there was some trouble between them and their distributor, Paramount.  In the end, because Popeye was so popular that he even beat Disney at #1 cartoon character (until Bugs Bunny came along) that Paramount wanted to control the studio altogether, and due to personal issues between the Fleischer brothers, it became so much easier to oust the Fleischers and continue the studio and the character on their own.  Renamed Famous Studios, they continued to turn out Popeye cartoons until 1957 which was their biggest breadwinner out of all the other more original characters that they created like Casper the Friendly Ghost, Herman and Katnip, Little Audrey, Baby Huey, and Buzzy the Crow among others.  While the last set ended with the start of the Famous Studio era, this set begins with the end of 1943 which the Popeye series is now in full time color.  It ends with 1945 when the studio had already started to feel more less like Fleischer and more trying to be their own.  That feeling ranges from the Disney feel to the MGM/Tex Avery/Warner Bros. feel.

Highlights include We're on Our Way to Rio, which shows Popeye and Bluto traveling to Rio, Brazil as part of the good neighbor policy at that time.  It's full of color and music you're sure to enjoy.  Shape Ahoy is one of many that feature the talent of animator Jim Tyer, who made his style his own every time he animates.  In one case, there is a cartoon that hasn't been officially seen nor screened for around 50 years due to a political correctness issue.  It really isn't that great of a cartoon, but the mere fact it is on here is amazing (unlike a certain Tom and Jerry Blu-ray that never came to be).  The biggest highlight on here is She Sick Sailor.  In this cartoon, Popeye faces off against "Superman" to find out who's best.

I should point out that while Cartoon Network and Boomerang had been rerunning these Popeye cartoons on TV and streaming, these have NEVER BEFORE been put out on home video.  This is because for years, there was an issue between King Features Syndicate and previous owners of the cartoons.  It almost happened in the early 1980's under MGM/UA, but that's when the legal issues started between MGM/UA which in turn Ted Turner bought out the entire MGM pre-1986 library and some United Artists properties including the Popeye cartoons.  Turner would then 10 years later merge with Time Warner, and by 2006, Warner Bros. finally signed an agreement with King Features to allow them to release all the Popeye cartoons they owned as well as the cartoons owned by King Features.  All the black and white cartoons, all the Popeye Color Features, a handful of Hanna-Barbera Popeyes, and some of the TV Popeyes from the 1960's did come out, but as the ecomony and streaming came about, it took a toll on DVD sales not allowing any more classic cartoon restorations.  And if the budget was not good for Warner Home Video, it's even worse for a smaller division like Warner Archive, who tried many things but mostly could only put out low hanging fruit like Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 70s and 80s, making old theatrical cartoons impossible to release.  As a test, Warner Archive put together Porky Pig 101 and years before that Bugs Bunny Superstar, but the budget only allowed very little restorations on these cartoons.  Many of the cartoons were brand new scans making them look much better than what we saw for years, but it wasn't up to the previous standards of the Golden Collection.  Finally, in and effort to be ready for streaming, WB began doing 4k scans on their film library, and enough of Popeye was done to do another test.  This time, however, the test allowed for brand new restorations thanks to this new 4k effort.

And restored they are indeed!  The difference is very noticeable as these cartoons were mostly shown through the years including today with their Paramount logos chopped off for the AAP logos when they were distributed for TV syndication, and it would be those prints that served as the main viewing copies to air since nobody was allowed to do new transfers for home video, causing them to look faded with some dirt and scratches making it seem they are not that good and very very ancient.  NO MORE!  These 14 cartoons are restored from the original negatives with their original Paramount logos and restored picture and sound.  The colors will pop right out of your screen, and hardly ever a surface stain or scratch on the film (but not TOO clean to get rid of grain and cel dust unlike how a certain Mouse House that does that to their films).  While some films are more colorful than others, they all look much better than previous and current airings on Boomerang.

And you think the picture is great, wait to hear the sound.  While varying cartoon to cartoon (in one case, the original audio in nitrate was missing, so it may not sound so great), get ready to adjust your volume as it sounds crisp and clear.  For example, in We're on our Way to Rio, it's like a 40 piece orchestra is in your living room performing right now.

This classic collection is very well produced and well made. It's just like watching these in a movie theater, and maybe even better than in the movies because of the many changes in technology. If this collection sells and it's looking good right now, not just more Popeye sets will happen, but Warner Archive may go even further in the cartoon library.  Highly recommended.