by Moe Zilla

Created on: March 14, 2008   Last Updated: March 15, 2008

"Popeye" is one of the strangest musicals ever made. In 1981 Robin Williams played the plucky sailor in his first movie ever. But the songs were written by the eccentric songwriter Harry Nilsson, and the director was the unpredictable Robert Altman.

The story was surprisingly dark. It opened with a nomadic Popeye in an ocean storm, traveling alone in search of his long-lost father. Though Popeye is ostensibly the hero, he's snubbed by the snooty small-town residents in the town of Sweethaven. A baby named Sweet Pea only enters the film when he's discovered as an abandoned infant. The movie ultimately received a PG rating, as a frustrated Popeye blurts out a swear word while toppling into the ocean.

The script was written by cartoonist Jules Feiffer, a long-time fan of the original newspaper comic strip Popeye. This presented a challenge for fans who remembered the simple Popeye cartoons from television, since Feiffer was reaching back even further to a time when Popeye was just one of many characters. Feiffer populates the village of Sweethaven with a complicated cast of characters including the hamburger-eating Wimpy, and of course, Olive Oyl. She's already having second thoughts about her decision to marry Bluto, but Feiffer's script shows the social pressures that keep her from being heard.

Even if the movie failed, it's a glorious failure. Instead of a simple, colorful romp, Altman delivers an entire community. This is literally true, since Altman built an entire ramshackle village on the island of Malta. The intricate relationships between the characters may have interfered with the happy tone that the studios were hoping for, but that makes Popeye's triumph that much more meaningful. After getting ignored and abused by the townsfolk of Sweethaven, he finds it in himself to announce that "I yam what I yam."

Unfortunately, Williams isn't much of a singer, and the murky direction robs some of the potential from Nilsson's tunes. Later in the film Bluto sings out funny examples of how "I'm (So Damn) Mean," and Olive Oyl can only justify her pending marriage by singing resignedly that at least "He's...Large." There's a sweet duet to Sweet Pea, when Popeye and Olive Oyl sing "Come Sail With Me." The film's music and it's complicated look both show a lot of creative energy went into the production. It's fascinating to marvel at the pieces, even if they don't really work when they're all brought together.

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