Popeye's four nephews are keeping him awake with their music practice. He puts them to bed but it's not so easy to get them to sleep. It's too bad that the nephews did not become regulars. They're actually a great group. Groups of nephews have been great sidekicks in other series although three seems to be the better number. It's got fun music. The kids are fun. It's a fun Popeye short.
8 Reviews
When England's "Queen Mother" (and, of course, our Common . . .
oscaralbert24 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
. . . Sense--as well as recent video footage--requires that, for QEII, this must have been QEI) decided to detach her sister (aka, "Aunt Mary") from her noggin, the elder Liz called it "a chick off the old block." Though no heads are seen to roll during ME MUSICAL NEPHEWS, "Popeye's" out-of-wedlock quads manage to force America's first Super Hero (Superman came close, but no Segar) into a new dimension as this brief cartoon concludes. The quads bear out the warning "Be careful what you fish for," as they are at least three too many chips off their old blockhead. Dangerous enough to drive an illiterate tar to ink, this worrisome foursome present a severe case of congenital jazz at the most inopportune times possible. Their tunes are not loony, nor are their melodies merry. These four nefarious moppets are hardly silly banging on our sympathies. "Ebenezer Scrooge" wondered what would happen if all the orphanages and poor houses closed up shop. Popeye came before his time with respect to a simple fire hall drop-off solution for his plague of brats. By the climax of ME MUSICAL NEPHEWS, this wayward seaman seems to be totally lost in space.
Peepeye, Poopeye, Pipeye and Pupeye
ccthemovieman-119 March 2007
Popeye is getting annoyed in this early cartoon because his nephews are making noise playing the trumpet, trombone, drums and piano while our hero is trying to take a nap on his big easy chair. Popeye sends them to bed but they demand a story first. The kids - Peepeye, Poopeye, Pipeye and Pupeye - rush to the bathroom, which is funny to see since all have separate facilitates.
Once in bed, the kids can't sleep and they sure have music in their blood. They improvise, playing bed springs, trash cans, the radiator, and whatever they see in the room to make more music....and they sound good, too.
The last part is hilarious as a woken-up Popeye tries to catch the kids in the act, but they are too quick for him. Overall, a very clever animated short.
Once in bed, the kids can't sleep and they sure have music in their blood. They improvise, playing bed springs, trash cans, the radiator, and whatever they see in the room to make more music....and they sound good, too.
The last part is hilarious as a woken-up Popeye tries to catch the kids in the act, but they are too quick for him. Overall, a very clever animated short.
Popeye's nephews are annoying but in this cartoon, they're supposed to be
jweatherford275 July 2001
A pretty funny cartoon considering the fact that I was never a fan of Popeye's nephews. They were actually created by the studio to compete with Disney's Huey Dewey and Louie, and for me that just makes me disrespect them even more. This cartoon however was really funny, and it's fun to watch them make music with objects they found in there room.
Making music at bedtime
TheLittleSongbird25 November 2018
Do have a preference for the Fleischer era cartoons, that are generally funnier, more imaginative and of higher quality. Many of the Famous Studio offerings entertain and are well done, the earlier Famous Studios cartoons look better though whereas the later ones were inferior in animation quality and ideas, though still enjoyable generally.
'Me Musical Nephews' is not quite one of my favourite Popeye cartoons overall. It is enormously enjoyable though and has pretty much everything that was so great about the best of the Fleischer output while not being quite as imaginative in the formula and humour. That is not saying that 'Me Musical Nephews' is unimaginative, for Famous Studios Popeye it is quite the contrary. The result is a great cartoon and also one of Famous Studios' better Popeye cartoons overall.
One doesn't care so much that the story is on the thin and somewhat formulaic side, consisting of a battle between Popeye and his nephews involving making music when there's meant to be sleep. Namely because there is enough creativity and variety to stop 'Me Musical Nephews' from being repetitive and the energy is constant and so infectious. .
So many fine things. The animation is great , the backgrounds have lost none of the meticulous attention to detail, it's fluid, Popeye still looks good and is recognisable in design and the shading has atmosphere. Every bit as good is the lively and lushly orchestrated music score, that has character and adds a lot to the action and enhances it. It is also very important here and essential to the cartoon's success, it is brilliantly done here.
Popeye is amusing and likeable still, he is also quite relatable here, and Jack Mercer doesn't disappoint with the voice acting. The nephews are bratty but they avoids being too annoying and they are actually very funny, their actions and behaviour handled very cleverly.
There are a lot of gags that are timed beautifully and are very funny and laugh a minute, the best absolutely hilarious. The energy never ceases and the non-stop action prevents it from being dull.
In conclusion, great. 9/10 Bethany Cox
'Me Musical Nephews' is not quite one of my favourite Popeye cartoons overall. It is enormously enjoyable though and has pretty much everything that was so great about the best of the Fleischer output while not being quite as imaginative in the formula and humour. That is not saying that 'Me Musical Nephews' is unimaginative, for Famous Studios Popeye it is quite the contrary. The result is a great cartoon and also one of Famous Studios' better Popeye cartoons overall.
One doesn't care so much that the story is on the thin and somewhat formulaic side, consisting of a battle between Popeye and his nephews involving making music when there's meant to be sleep. Namely because there is enough creativity and variety to stop 'Me Musical Nephews' from being repetitive and the energy is constant and so infectious. .
So many fine things. The animation is great , the backgrounds have lost none of the meticulous attention to detail, it's fluid, Popeye still looks good and is recognisable in design and the shading has atmosphere. Every bit as good is the lively and lushly orchestrated music score, that has character and adds a lot to the action and enhances it. It is also very important here and essential to the cartoon's success, it is brilliantly done here.
Popeye is amusing and likeable still, he is also quite relatable here, and Jack Mercer doesn't disappoint with the voice acting. The nephews are bratty but they avoids being too annoying and they are actually very funny, their actions and behaviour handled very cleverly.
There are a lot of gags that are timed beautifully and are very funny and laugh a minute, the best absolutely hilarious. The energy never ceases and the non-stop action prevents it from being dull.
In conclusion, great. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Makes a great promo, too!
hungadunga200116 November 2011
Warning: Spoilers
One of the Fleischer's best (DESPITE the nephews - in fact this one could be the ONLY good Popeye cartoon that features them, aside from the 1950 color remake of this cartoon, "Riot In Rhythm" which contains fewer of the great gags... These days when you see this one, it's been colorized, which looks okay for cartoons - everything has a black line around it). Cartoon Network's "Boomerang" channel seems to agree, since they did indeed make a killer promo with THIS cartoon, and not the 1950 version.
When the story opens, Popeye is having trouble keeping his eyes open as he and his four nephews (later cartoons feature only three nephews - cheaper to draw, I'm guessing) are in the living room, and the normally annoying nephews are practicing their music. At the time this one was made (1942), Big Band Swing music was all the rage, therefore the nephews are playing brass and woodwind instruments, along with a rhythm section of drums and piano.
Popeye just wants to get some sleep, but the kids are still wound up from playing music and have no intention of sleeping. Having played Swing and Jazz tenor sax professionally many years ago myself, it's easy to understand why it could take a while to wind down from a jam session... even a sleepy one as at the top of this cartoon.
Anyway, after Popeye confiscates the instruments and ad libs a cheesy excuse for a bedtime story, which turns out to be an off-kilter amalgam of several fairy tales, he hauls the boys off to bed for some overdue shut-eye. However, the boys soon discover things in their bedroom upon which they can continue to play more Swing. Meanwhile, Popeye is trying to sleep, but to no avail due to the music played by the boys. And by the way, kids, NEVER smoke your pipe in bed as Popeye does in the 1950 version! It's a fire hazard! After several times getting out of bed to see where the music's coming from (smashing a perfectly good radio in the process), Popeye figures out that the music is coming from the room belonging to the nephews. But every time he opens their door and looks inside, the boys are one step ahead of him and feign their rhythmic snoring. At first, Popeye is fooled, but not for long. And as explained in several other user reviews, he temporarily escapes the musical din by stepping outside the "iris-out" and pulling it closed behind him. This solution doesn't last long, however, and the Sailor Man bounces his way up the aisle and out of the theater. All in all, in my opinion this is Dave Fleischer's best cartoon with the crummy nephews in it. At least they're not Swee' Pea.
When the story opens, Popeye is having trouble keeping his eyes open as he and his four nephews (later cartoons feature only three nephews - cheaper to draw, I'm guessing) are in the living room, and the normally annoying nephews are practicing their music. At the time this one was made (1942), Big Band Swing music was all the rage, therefore the nephews are playing brass and woodwind instruments, along with a rhythm section of drums and piano.
Popeye just wants to get some sleep, but the kids are still wound up from playing music and have no intention of sleeping. Having played Swing and Jazz tenor sax professionally many years ago myself, it's easy to understand why it could take a while to wind down from a jam session... even a sleepy one as at the top of this cartoon.
Anyway, after Popeye confiscates the instruments and ad libs a cheesy excuse for a bedtime story, which turns out to be an off-kilter amalgam of several fairy tales, he hauls the boys off to bed for some overdue shut-eye. However, the boys soon discover things in their bedroom upon which they can continue to play more Swing. Meanwhile, Popeye is trying to sleep, but to no avail due to the music played by the boys. And by the way, kids, NEVER smoke your pipe in bed as Popeye does in the 1950 version! It's a fire hazard! After several times getting out of bed to see where the music's coming from (smashing a perfectly good radio in the process), Popeye figures out that the music is coming from the room belonging to the nephews. But every time he opens their door and looks inside, the boys are one step ahead of him and feign their rhythmic snoring. At first, Popeye is fooled, but not for long. And as explained in several other user reviews, he temporarily escapes the musical din by stepping outside the "iris-out" and pulling it closed behind him. This solution doesn't last long, however, and the Sailor Man bounces his way up the aisle and out of the theater. All in all, in my opinion this is Dave Fleischer's best cartoon with the crummy nephews in it. At least they're not Swee' Pea.
Decent Popeye Short
Michael_Elliott19 September 2017
Me Musical Nephews (1942)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Popeye is watching his four nephews and they are practicing on their musical instruments but the uncle says that's enough and sends them to bed. However, once in bed that doesn't stop them from the music.
For the most part this is a mildly entertaining episode for the series that offers up some nice animation as well as a great directing job. The music numbers are extremely fast-paced and the way the action on screen mixes with the music was well-handled. There really aren't too many laughs to be found here but the highlight is the sequence where Popeye keeps opening the door trying to catch the kids making noise but they are one step ahead of him.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Popeye is watching his four nephews and they are practicing on their musical instruments but the uncle says that's enough and sends them to bed. However, once in bed that doesn't stop them from the music.
For the most part this is a mildly entertaining episode for the series that offers up some nice animation as well as a great directing job. The music numbers are extremely fast-paced and the way the action on screen mixes with the music was well-handled. There really aren't too many laughs to be found here but the highlight is the sequence where Popeye keeps opening the door trying to catch the kids making noise but they are one step ahead of him.
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