User reviews

this movie is like a car wreck: so bad, you can't watch it, but so fascinating you can't make yourself turn away. shelley duvall was born to play olive oyl and robin williams, as always, adds his own special touches to the title role. however, even the two of them can't overcome a weak script, and probably the most dreadful score ever to appear on the screen. and yet, i have seen this movie about 20 times. why? i can't quite explain it, but there's something that implores me to watch it again and again (something subliminal, perhaps?)

My admiration for the film is mostly in its production design. The town of Sweethaven is stunning to look at and , far as I know, remains standing and is a tourist attraction if you're in the Malta area. It gives the film a very realistic quality in an otherwise cartoonish story. This may or may not have been my first Robert Altman film and I was unfamiliar with his style of characters talking over one another and the very loose manner in which he structured his stories. They can appear like a series of disconnected scenes that seem to have no real story and feel like they ramble on without a point or purpose. He's an acquired taste and he can be very hit or miss. Popeye, for me is an interesting miss. It had all the elements for something better but there was some key element that was missing. I don't know who this film was targeted for. Nostalgia for these characters couldn't have been very large and children would have been bored by it. Even for die-hard Altman fans it must have a WTF reation. The casting is excellent. Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall were ideal choices. This goes for most of the supporting cast and they all bring their characters to life, and several of the Harry Nielsen songs are catchy, but it's all in service of nothing and it just fizzles out. It's an opportunity squandered.

The Popeye cartoon character was one of my favorite during my childhood. It made me want to eat spinach during dinner. This version of Popeye is a visual feast - excellent set decorations. Robin Williams plays a credible Popeye character. However, the movie doesn't seem coherent at all and appears like a series of random action sequences. Many of the spoken words cannot be heard distinctly and you needed subtitles in order to know what was said. The movie can be praised for how detailed the sets and costumes that were used to portray the characters and locations from the cartoon series. But, it fails to deliver in plot coherence and spoken script. I could easily understand the cartoon episodes as a child, but I was baffled by the movie version as an adult. I know that making the cartoon transition to the big screen can often times be difficult, but I think they tried to make the movie version too much of a replication of the cartoon episodes and they left out the plot development. If you never saw a Popeye cartoon before and seen the characters for the first time in this movie, you would have a hard time figuring out the personalities and eccentricities of each character.

Robert Altman's "Popeye" (1980) features Robin Williams in the titular role, Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl, Ray Walston as Pappy and others as Bluto, Wimpy and so on. These actors are outstanding as these characters, particularly Williams and Duvall. Unfortunately, I found the story boring and the excellent seaside Malta set too confining and therefore increasingly dull. If Altman would have included a more compelling story it would've worked better for adults. As it is, its appeal is limited to small kids, hardcore Popeye fans and devotees of Williams.

The reason 1994's The Flintstones" and even the 2000 sequel worked so well (for me anyway) was because they both had interesting and entertaining stories. "Popeye" is dull by comparison, although somewhat amusing. If my wife -- who loves the movie -- wasn't with me I would've never gotten through it.

The film runs 114 minutes (too long).

GRADE: C-

Altman goes Disney and I have to say it's quite the mess. Robin Williams tried his best to bring Popeye to life, but I just don't think the character translates well to film because he is a literal cartoon. That means showing some of the outlandish things that cartoon characters can do can look off-putting on film. In this specific one, Popeyes arms are massive just like in the cartoon, but it comes of the screen as fake and obscure. Shelly Duvall is reduced to a Mary Sue type role which I guess is cartoon accurate, but again, this does not translate well to film and hasn't aged well at all.

I have to admit that I liked some of the set design and the levity of the picture, but I couldn't take this seriously while watching it for the first time at the tender age of 23. Maybe this was not targeted for my age group and that's why I had a tough time with it. Pass on this unless you want to experience an 80s children's movie. If you're sober though, I wish you luck on your adventure because this picture is whacky.

The real star is the set and props. Those who designed and built them are masters of their trade. Worth watching just for that as the script and actors leave a lot to be desired.

A live-action version of Popeye was probably a bad idea to begin with, but Robert Altman's cluttered, strangely claustrophobic (despite some outdoors location work) approach certainly does not help matters. The film is too adult for kids, too kiddie for adults. The off-key, nonsense-lyrics songs are fun - for a while. Shelley Duvall is wonderful as Olive Oyl and Paul Smith is also perfectly cast as Bluto, but Robin Williams was a questionable choice for the title role, and his dialect is irritating. You can watch several old Popeye cartoons in the time it would take you to watch this film, and that would probably be a better use of your time. *1/2 out of 4.

"Erratic" is the most appropriate word I can think of to describe this truly bizarre, mostly unsuccessful attempt to "musicalize" the (apparently initial) adventures of the famous title cartoon character. The typecasting is excellent and the "live versions" of Popeye, Olive Oyl and Bluto are very close to our imaginary ones.. But Robert Altman doesn't seem to be able to decide what audience he wants to aim his film at; there is an excessive amount of unpleasantness and not enough fun for "Popeye" to be enjoyable for small children, but the adults, too, will probably be interested only sporadically in such silly material. "Popeye" is neither cartoonish enough, nor mature enough. One thing is clear, however; you'll have to search hard to find another musical with such dreadful songs! (**)

Some ideas for a film should just be better left alone. One example of this notion is the film Popeye. An adaptation of the comic strip character famous for his spinach-eating antics, Popeye has been loved by millions over the years in his cartoon form. However, as a live-action musical comedy, Popeye proves to be far less enchanting, an exercise in tedium, near-pointlessness and bad songwriting, all rolled up into a two-hour package that will have you wondering if you have been sitting still for much longer.

To recite the plot of Popeye (what there is of one) seems to be an almost complete waste of time, but the duty must be performed: Popeye (Robin Williams) arrives in the small seaside hamlet of Sweethaven in search of his long lost "Poppa," who abandoned him as a child. He takes up temporary residence with the Oyl clan, including the headstrong Olive (Shelley Duvall) who is engaged to Captain Bluto (Paul Smith), who more or less runs the town for the mysteriously unseen Commodore. Popeye meets up with several characters, including Wimpy (Paul Dooley), who loves hamburgers, and the Taxman (Donald Moffat) who hits you up for money for almost every minor item you can think of.

Popeye proves to be a somewhat unwelcome soul in Sweethaven, ridiculed for his speech patterns and his quest for his father. When he happens upon Olive trying to get out of her engagement, the two stumble upon an abandoned baby, named Swee' Pea (Wesley Ivan Hurt), and they agree to take care of him together, quickly discovering that he has a knack for predicting the future, an ability that makes him desirable to Bluto, who kidnaps Swee' Pea with the intention of using him to find missing treasure.

Popeye was obviously produced with the intention of being a live-action comic strip in every way, full of the kind of outrageous things that can usually only be accomplished on the page with a pen. The characters all have exaggerated mannerisms and speech patterns, mimicking their illustrated alter-egos, and in certain scenes, such as when Popeye is hit by Bluto, for example, he rolls down some stairs in the shape of a hoop, mimicking a visual device a comic artist might use for humor.

However, what screenwriter Jules Feiffer and director Robert Altman apparently failed to consider is whether the decision to bring this material to "real-life" would prove to be a good one. Based on the final results, it is not. The film that unfolds is stultifying boring and lacking in any real purpose. Popeye's characters quickly prove to be wearying, running through the same schtick over and over again, with no depth to their actions. They aren't characters so much as just voices and faces, eliciting dialogue that is either indecipherable (as in the case of many of Popeye's lines) or completely lacking in consequence. There is no depth to these people, it's all just surface. Sure, Popeye was originally a harmless cartoon character, and traditionally had thin plots and limited character development, but those were cartoon shorts or a few panels in a newspaper, but when you jump mediums, you have to adapt to the new medium. Film needs characters and story. Two hours of comic strip antics with no solid character base is a recipe for boredom, and Popeye delivers in spades.

It doesn't help that for a film identified as a comedy, it's not funny. I didn't laugh one time in the entire running length of the film. The dialogue is attempting to be funny, but fails miserably. The sight gags are interesting in the sense that you say to yourself "Hey, that's a comic strip like gag" and you are momentarily interested to the extent Feiffer and Altman went to realize a live-action comic strip, but you still don't laugh. The film was also intended to be a musical (producer Robert Evans wanted the screen rights to Annie, but failed to land them, so he decided to turn Popeye into a musical. Thanks, Robert), but the majority of the songs, aside from the famous "Popeye the Sailor Man" ditty, are terrible. They are barely songs, with limp music and questionable rhyming, but worst of all, the performers deliver them badly. I am not aware of any of the cast being trained singers, and it shows. Shelley Duval is especially bad in her delivery of one ballad to Popeye, and Robin Williams isn't much better in his numbers.

As far as performance, Robin Williams does his best to mimic the Popeye voice, but it makes much of his dialogue difficult to make out (you can tell many of his scenes were redubbed) and Shelley Duval is just annoying as Olive Oyl. This is more the character's fault than the actors, but still, after only a few minutes on screen, you keep hoping Bluto will kidnap Olive, and when he finally does, he doesn't gag her, leaving us to continue to listen to the character's droning voice. The lack of characterization and annoying performance also ensures that there isn't the slightest hint of chemistry to the "romance" of these characters, they might as well be wooden dolls for all the audience cares. The rest of the cast just fills in the scenery, there are no people for us to remotely care about or be interested in.

Yes, Wolf Kroeger's production design is imaginative and many of the actors do resemble their comic counterparts, but is this enough to justify sitting through Popeye? Absolutely not. This is flash over depth, and Popeye proves a thin as tissue paper. If you want to see some Popeye adventures, check out the old cartoons and leave this one on the shelf.

Very poor.

Safe to say, I didn't enjoy 'Popeye' one bit - despite the presence of one Robin Williams. He is pretty alright in the role of Popeye, but I personally didn't like the uneven/whacky nature of the film. I see - and appreciate - what they were going for, it just doesn't come off in my opinion. It's all very pedestrian.

The characters around Popeye are annoying, as are the very forgettable musical numbers which don't fit in. I had high hopes for this, given I had heard good things of the titular character (not necessarily from this, just overall) as well as the fact of Mr. Williams appears. For me, in terms of his films that I've currently seen, this is closer to 'Hook' than (the awesome) 'Bicentennial Man'.

I'm sure many out there would disagree on that latter point, as well as my view of this film itself. That's fine, each to their own of course. I, though, couldn't wait for it to finish.

It's the iconic Popeye the sailor man (Robin Williams) and he hates to eat spinach. He rows his rowboat into the seaside town of Sweethaven. He rents a room from the Oyls. Olive Oyl (Shelley Duvall) is getting engaged to Bluto. The town is run by Bluto for the Commodore. Popeye is looking for his Poppa. He befriends Wimpy but the town is generally unfriendly. Olive Oyl is conflicted about her engagement and about to run away. Someone switches her basket with a basket with abandoned baby Swee'pea inside. Bluto sees Olive Oyl with Popeye and beats him to a pulp. The Oyls lose everything as Bluto takes it all for tax. There is a challenge to anyone who last one round with Oxblood Oxheart for a 10 days tax exemption and $15. Castor Oyl tries and gets knocked out. Popeye takes on the challenge and has to overcome Oxblood's mother (Linda Hunt). Popeye pushes the Taxman into the harbor and instantly becomes the town's hero. Wimpy gives Swee'pea to Bluto for some hamburgers. It turns out that the Commodore wants to use Swee'pea's insightfulness to find a buried treasure.

The set of Sweethaven looks both ugly and fake. The first thing Popeye encounter is tax. It's not a good start. The camera is far away with long uncut scenes. It's Robert Altman's style and not a good fit for Popeye. It is not a good fit for a blockbuster. In fact, I think Altman is horrible fit in every way for this movie. The songs are boring, sad, and not catchy. Robin Williams tries very hard. Olive Oyl is such an annoying spoiled brat. Everybody is a bit annoying and terribly unfriendly. Of course, they talk over each other as an Altman movie does. There are quite a few acrobats at work but it is not filmed well. There is no energy. It is a lot of blah, and a lot of groans. There is a general ugliness to the whole affair. The biggest problem is still that Robert Altman is the wrong fit. For Popeye, this is simply unfunny.

In a way, 'Popeye (1980)' is hard to actively dislike but, at the same time, it's not good - like, at all. The first, maybe, forty-five minutes are actually kind of awful. I mean, the piece is straight-up boring for quite a while and its attempts at humour are the opposite of funny. Eventually, things liven up just enough for the thing to be watchable - primarily thanks to some inventive sight-gags and scenery-chewing performances. Indeed, it's the latter that really stand out here, as pretty much all main players encapsulate their well-known characters to a tee. Duvall, especially, is a once-in-a-generation match, portraying the often-flailing Olive Oyl with apparent ease. Still, the piece is never even remotely compelling or, even, all that enjoyable. You can tell exactly what it's going for and there are moments where it almost achieves this, but it ultimately feels rather subpar. Its crooked, cartoon-like visuals and clumsy, uninspired music numbers may have a certain charm to them, but its half-baked plot and, I suppose, general aesthetic prevent them from providing any real entertainment, even ironically. It's not awful but it's certainly not good. Somehow, it leaves you with an oddly satisfied feeling, though. However, it's certainly a false feeling; all it takes to sour this satiation is a little trip down recent memory lane. 4/10

I got a weak spot in me heart for this ol' shanty on account'a Robin Williams and a childhood love of the characters. However, I've also got a weak spot in my stomach for it on account of Shelley Duvall and the God-awful song sequences that drag on forever and sound like they were written by Sweetpea

So, watching this was kind of a weird flashback. I remember it from when I was a kid, but I also remember it leaving a bad taste that has taken 30+ years to get over. So tonight I gave it another try and... well, it is better than I remember, but I also understand now why I didn't like it then. First, the good - it actually does a pretty good job following the feel and tone of the original cartoons. If you don't know the characters or cartoon, don't complain about Shelly Duvall's singing, or the goofiness, or everything that was completely and directly related to the original Popeye. (Why would you even watch it? Sheesh.) As for the bad... It's long. Really, REALLY long. Not like "Desolation of Smaug" long, but it's just hard to take a concept that was always meant to be 5-10 min. and turn it into a full length feature film. (Sadly, Hollywood didn't learn this from "Popeye" and has tried everything from cartoons to board games since; Expect "Candy-Land The Movie" any time now.) The first hour is cute, and quaint, and you think about the cartoon and it's kind of fun. The second hour is... well, I can't say for sure. I fell asleep for part of it, and couldn't stop thinking about what else I should be doing the rest of the time. Then there is the "Haul Ass" final pseudo-song ending. OK, maybe Popeye's Pappy is saying "Haul Aft", but this is supposed to be a kids movie and it simply gets old and wasn't really funny the first time. So, I guess my suggestion is this - watch the first half hour or so, see some great performances, have a trip down memory lane and then let it go. It ends how the cartoons end - Popeye eats the spinach, Brutus looses, and toot-toot, all is well in the world. I just saved 60-90 minutes of your life. You will thank me someday.