User Reviews

"I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today!" That is the favorite like of Wimpy, who starts off this cartoon with that familiar sentence. He's standing outside of Brutus' house but, I guess, just talking to himself.

Brutus is inside, reading the paper when an item jumps off the page at him: "Wanted: world's biggest giant for a carnival act." He isn't thinking about himself; he's looking at Wimpy outside and wondering, "I wonder if my garden 'Giant Grow Pills' will work on Wimpy."

He gives Wimpy a huge plate full of hamburgers with the pills inside them....and it works. Wimpy literally grows out of Brutus' house, bursting through the roof. He's a giant, all right.

At first, this looks like a good plan for Brutus, but it quickly backfires. Wimpy won't go to work unless he's fed first, and he has such a stomach that it takes an assembly-line worth of hamburgers just to remotely satisfy him. More problems ensue, such as the fact Wimby is too big even for the circus!

Brutus gets desperate and hires The Sea Hag. I liked the sign on her wall: "The Sea Hag: Shyster At Law." Aren't they all?

Overall, it wasn't boring, or so dumb it was annoying. Yes, these latter-day King Features Popeye cartoons were weak, but still watchable.

For decades, animation historians and fans have "slammed" the King Features Popeye series as being cheaply made, poorly directed and just plain awful.

Usually, it's because they've just watched "Popeye and the Giant".

It starts off with a decent gag--Brutus give Wimpy plant growth pills with the idea of offering him to the circus as a sideshow freak--but thanks to the cost-cutting animation butchering, it is impossible to watch. And the sound editing is just as bad, especially towards the end.

It is essentially snippets of other cartoons spliced together with only a portion of new animation used, and the snippets don't mix, as sets and costumes don't mesh, and even the animation styles are different. It is the closest to being a "Plan 9 From Outer Space" for cartooning that I've ever seen--you start watching it just to see how BAD it is.

The 1960-61 King Features Popeye series is a mixed bag, but the majority of the shorts are enjoyable and entertaining. Avoid this one if you wish to keep that opinion.