. . . stinky cigar, it beats me. Such an odoriferous stogie amounts to a Declaration of War against Civilization. The villainous Count Marvel employs two such Crimes against Humanity to cast a pall over all the proceedings of THE ROYAL FOUR-FLUSHER. This heartless fraudster apparently feels no compunction about spreading Five Alarm Air Pollution wherever he goes. Whether it's a public park, a sidewalk right-of-way or the formerly Great Outdoors, the bogus Count appears to be adept at only one thing: Making our common atmosphere unfit for human consumption. Such a malingering miscreant merits a summary execution.
3 Reviews
The quintessential Famous Studios' Popeye cartoon
budman-425 February 1999
The quintessential Famous Studios' Popeye cartoon: Olive and Bluto The Count go ga-ga over each other; Bluto humiliates Popeye and gets him out of the way; A willing Olive accompanies The Count to his penthouse; The Count tricks Olive into putting on a strait jacket(!!)and proceeds to chase her around the apartment; She yells for help; Popeye eats his spinach and...well, you know the rest. A very entertaining cartoon.
Practical magic
TheLittleSongbird22 June 2020
The Famous Studios, more the earlier ones than the more variable later ones, Popeye cartoons were generally amusing enough and all the 40s efforts were well made (a bit more mixed for the 50s ones). To me though Fleischer's Popeye cartoons were funnier and fresher (even when the stories were formulaic the material was often very inventive) and they looked better, or at least looked better than the later Famous Studios output where time and budget limitations showed.
One of the best 1947 Popeye outings, among the better late-40s Popeye cartoons and one of the better Famous Studios outings of the series is 'The Royal Four-Flusher'. Very nearly up there with the best of the Fleischer Popeye cartoons, a very difficult feat to achieve and would have had to be really excellent to be as good, and not indicative at all of time and budget limitations showing. It showed in the late-50s onwards for the studio but it didn't in the 40s, where the Popeye cartoons were all watchable and more (the weakest efforts still being average) and the studio did some good to great cartoons.
Did feel that Olive's material is not as funny or as interesting as Popeye or Bluto's, but there was hardly anything to fault 'The Royal Four-Flusher' for to me and that is only in comparison. It was nice to see Olive more willing than she usually is to be with Bluto, and that difference came off believably. Popeye is amusing and likeable as ever, but of the three Bluto, here as a magician and practical joker, was the most compelling and had the funniest material. His chemistry with Popeye works like sheer magic and gives 'The Royal Four-Flusher' such energy.
Although the second half, where things are more wild in classic Popeye fashion, comes off stronger than the still very charming and entertaining first, 'The Royal Four-Flusher' never felt dull. One is hardly short-changed when it comes to the humour, where all of it works and nothing misfires, the exploding cigar was one of the highlights. The story is not an original one but never felt too predictable as there was enough variety to the material.
Had no qualms with the animation, it is beautifully drawn and with enough visual detail to not make it cluttered or static and lively and smooth movement. The music is outstanding, lots of merry energy and lush orchestration, adding a lot to the action and making the impact even better without being too cartoonish. Voice acting is dynamic and of very good quality, Jack Mercer definitive and Jackson Beck a worthy successor to the difficult to beat Gus Wickie.
Summarising, one of the best of the late-40s Famous Studios Popeye cartoons. 9/10
One of the best 1947 Popeye outings, among the better late-40s Popeye cartoons and one of the better Famous Studios outings of the series is 'The Royal Four-Flusher'. Very nearly up there with the best of the Fleischer Popeye cartoons, a very difficult feat to achieve and would have had to be really excellent to be as good, and not indicative at all of time and budget limitations showing. It showed in the late-50s onwards for the studio but it didn't in the 40s, where the Popeye cartoons were all watchable and more (the weakest efforts still being average) and the studio did some good to great cartoons.
Did feel that Olive's material is not as funny or as interesting as Popeye or Bluto's, but there was hardly anything to fault 'The Royal Four-Flusher' for to me and that is only in comparison. It was nice to see Olive more willing than she usually is to be with Bluto, and that difference came off believably. Popeye is amusing and likeable as ever, but of the three Bluto, here as a magician and practical joker, was the most compelling and had the funniest material. His chemistry with Popeye works like sheer magic and gives 'The Royal Four-Flusher' such energy.
Although the second half, where things are more wild in classic Popeye fashion, comes off stronger than the still very charming and entertaining first, 'The Royal Four-Flusher' never felt dull. One is hardly short-changed when it comes to the humour, where all of it works and nothing misfires, the exploding cigar was one of the highlights. The story is not an original one but never felt too predictable as there was enough variety to the material.
Had no qualms with the animation, it is beautifully drawn and with enough visual detail to not make it cluttered or static and lively and smooth movement. The music is outstanding, lots of merry energy and lush orchestration, adding a lot to the action and making the impact even better without being too cartoonish. Voice acting is dynamic and of very good quality, Jack Mercer definitive and Jackson Beck a worthy successor to the difficult to beat Gus Wickie.
Summarising, one of the best of the late-40s Famous Studios Popeye cartoons. 9/10
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