'Popeye Meets Rip Van Winkle' is something of a change of pace for the Popeye theatrical series, certainly at this point. And it is not just because it is one of the ones concerning Popeye's endeavours with real life/literary characters (others in the series including Sinbad and William Tell). It is even more so interesting for being one of the few Popeye cartoons to not feature any other, besides Popeye, single regular/recurring character and being more surreal than the others.
Count me in as somebody who was disappointed in 'Popeye Meets Rip Van Winkle'. It did sound very interesting and also quite curious on paper, but the execution doesn't quite come together. Of Popeye's outings with real life/literary characters, it gets my vote as the weakest and the only one to not work for me. There are far funnier and more visually pleasing Popeye cartoons, 'Popeye Meets Rip Van Winkle' agreed didn't really feel like Popeye and was both too strange and subdued.
Shall start with what just about works. Some of the animation is nice, especially the attention to detail in the backgrounds and the black and white is crisp. Popeye has expressive moments. Popeye is amusing and likeable, while Jack Mercer does a typically great job with the voice work.
There are amusing moments too, namely when Popeye is smaller. The second half does pick up in the energy. The best aspect is the music, the only outstanding thing about 'Popeye Meets Rip Van Winkle'. Very characterful and lushly orchestrated.
However, the cartoon didn't gel. Apart from Popeye's dialogue and some of the action when Popeye is smaller, there is not much that is funny here in 'Popeye Meets Rip Van Winkle' and the gags are not enough. All the best parts are in the second half, whereas the first half is bland and humourless pretty much. The story is very slight and there actually is not much of one at all, the first half doesn't go anywhere and takes too long to get going. The energetic pace is there in the final quarter but is too sedate in the first half.
On the whole, this felt very subdued. Not just in the underused and unevenly executed humour but it didn't feel like Popeye. It needed to be wackier, wilder and more absurd, instead there is a more surreal approach and that felt too tame and under-explored. The supporting characters are bland and Rip Van Winkle felt out of place. He and Popeye were too much of a personality clash due to Popeye's being much stronger and Rip Van Winkle's not fitting within the cartoon. Sinbad and William Tell worked because the Popeye series put their own wackier spins on them, but Rip Van Winkle is not done very much with. The character animation generally isn't always up to par, tending to look rushed.
In summary, underwhelming. 5/10.
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