History Film / Popeye

[[caption-width:497: [[OrIsIt Or is he?]]]]

A 1980 [[TheMusical Musical]] LiveActionAdaptation starring RobinWilliams as the eponymous character and directed by Robert Altman.

* LoveItOrHateIt: People still can't agree whether it's SoBadItsGood, SoBadItsHorrible, or just a GuiltyPleasure.

* AdaptationDecay - Popeye hates spinach in this film. This is mocked in ''MadMagazine'''s Flopeye, in which cartoon Popeye watches the film and complains about this as well as other things, ultimately ending with [[TakeThat cartoon Popeye beating up live action Popeye]].
-->'''Cartoon Popeye:''' I yam what I yam, but dat guy wasn't even close!
** That wasn't AdaptationDecay, that was a parody of the formula. At the end, [[spoiler:Bluto forcefeeds Popeye an uncooked can of spinach, forcing him underwater as well. With triumphant musical cue, Popeye emerges to punch Bluto out of the scene. Then he goes to rescue Olive Oyl from the [[NaughtyTentacles octopus]].]]

[[hardline]]

* DrivenToSuicide - Popeye over losing Swee'Pea, in a scene that was deleted because it was considered too dark.

* DrivenToSuicide - Popeye over losing Swee'Pea, in a scene was deleted because it was considered too dark.

* MorePopularSpinoff - The Sweethaven set used in the film later became a popular tourist attraction called Popeye Village, which is still in business today.

* CultClassic - after being forgotten for a time, partly for the [[GuiltyPleasure entertainment value]].

* MostlyNarmless - Popeye's singing and dancing probably couldn't be pulled off by anyone but RobinWilliams without inducing {{Narm}}.

[[caption-width:497: Or is he?]]

* RedEyesTakeWarning - When Bluto sees Olive with Popeye and the newly found Swee'Pea when she arrives late for their engagement party he gets the wrong idea and his eyes glow red with anger, complete with POV shot. See SpecialEffectsFailure.

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* SpecialEffectsFailure - Bluto's red eyes POV shot is just Popeye, Olive and Swee'Pea dressed in red in front of a red background.
** As bad as that effect is, it's got nothing on the octopus.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming - Early in the film we see Popeye keeps a picture frame with the words '''Me Pap''' in place of a picture. The CMOH comes later when we see Pappy has an identical picture frame with the words '''Me Son'''.

* MythologyGag - At Olive and Bluto's engagement party a man can be heard complaining about Olive getting married. This man is Ham Gravy, who was Olive's fiance in the original ''Thimble Theater'' comic strip before Popeye became a main character.

* {{Retraux}}: The opening starts off with a hand drawn throwback to the original MaxAndDaveFleischer Popeye cartoons, the animation being outsourced to Hanna-Barbera (which was making new Popeye cartoons for [=TV=] at the time).

**The Mediterranean village where the movie was filmed, however, has become a giant tribute to the movie.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen - The parts of Popeye and Olive Oyl were originally intended for Dustin Hoffman and [[SaturdayNightLive Gilda Radner]].

* AuteurLicence - Robert Altman, best-known at the time for iconoclastic comedies and dramas like ''Nashville'' and ''[=MASH=]'', getting the reins to a family musical is a perfect example of this. Because the film wasn't as profitable as hoped and reviews were so mixed, he immediately lost it and while he did a lot of film and [=TV=] work over the rest of TheEighties, none of it got mainstream attention until 1992's ''The Player'', which triggered a CareerResurrection.

A 1980 [[TheMusical Musical]] LiveActionAdaptation starring RobinWilliams as the eponymous character.

The movie grossed more than twice its budget in the US alone, but received mixed reviews from critics.

* ActorAllusion: The actors playing Popeye and Pappy both starred as an alien in a sitcom. Robin Williams was Mork in MorkAndMindy and Ray Walston was the Martian in MyFavoriteMartian.
* AdaptationDecay - Popeye hates spinach in this film. This is mocked in MadMagazine's Flopeye, in which cartoon Popeye watches the film and complains about this aswell as other things, ultimately ending with [[TakeThat cartoon Popeye beating up live action Popeye]].

* LoveItOrHateIt: Many people can't agree whether it's SoBadItsGood, SoBadItsHorrible, or just a GuiltyPleasure.

* {{Retraux}}: The opening starts off with a hand drawn throwback to the original MaxAndDaveFleischer Popeye cartoons, the animation being outsourced to Hanna-Barbera.

* TearJerker - "Swee'Pea's Lullaby"

* VillainSong - "I'm Mean"

** Eugene the Jeep was originally going to be in the film, but he was written out because the special effect would have been too expensive. Eugene was going to be a {{Living MacGuffin}} with telepathic powers. The script was rewritten so that Swee'Pea took over this role.