| The Crystal Brawl | |
| Number 227 | |
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The Crystal Brawl is Popeye's 227th cartoon, released by Paramount Cartoon Studios on April 5, 1957. It features Popeye as the protagonist (in a dual role, as himself and as a fortune-teller), Bluto as the antagonist, and Olive Oyl as the third component of a love triangle. It is a clip cartoon that incorporates excerpts from Alpine for You (1951) and Quick on the Vigor (1950), augmented by wraparound footage that adds a new storyline.
Plot[]
Popeye walks up to Olive's front door carrying a bouquet of flowers and rings the doorbell. Bluto, arriving a moment later, makes use of a street tree to catapult the sailor out of the way and take his place on the doorstep as her date. Olive answers the door, thinking Bluto was Popeye. The big man then tells Olive they will go to the fair, rather than asking her. Olive is not smitten with Bluto this time, but accepts the outing anyway. Together, the two saunter off to the fair, where Olive is "just dying to have [her] fortune told."
The scene cuts to the fairgrounds, where the fortune teller's tent displays a sign that reads "Out to Lunch." Having had enough of Bluto disrupting his date with Olive, Popeye decides to do something about it. Thinking quickly, Popeye dons a turban and a fake beard and ensconces himself at a table holding a crystal ball. His two marks enter, and the bogus psychic proceeds to tell Olive's future (in a voice that Jack Mercer would later utilize for the Professor in the Felix the Cat cartoons) should she elect to pursue her relationship with Bluto.
The crystal ball displays several scenes from Alpine for You where Bluto is revealed as a conniver who only wants to use Olive for his own sordid purposes. Following a vignette where he transforms her into a human yo-yo, the scene fades, and Olive is left with a realization of the big man's true motives. But immediately another vision follows, with a clip from Quick on the Vigor. Bluto appears at his most provocative as the strongman at a traveling sideshow. But as it, too, fades, with the libidinous lothario pursuing her on a roller-coaster with nefarious intent, Olive announces that she has no further desire to have any dealings with the duplicitous Bluto and walks out.
Unable to resist, Popeye breaks into a hearty cackle with his own unmistakable voice. Bluto yanks off the false beard to reveal the fraud and lets him have it with a powerful punch that sends the diminutive trickster sailing right through the tent canopy and out across the fairgrounds. Bluto then sets out with a vengeance to reclaim his date and impose his will on her for the third time in this cartoon. Olive is about to go back home, but when she turns around to see Bluto attempting to harass her, she runs for dear life, calling for Popeye's help. Olive runs to the Tunnel of Love water ride and uses her feet as a motor on the ride's seat to escape from Bluto.
Meanwhile, Popeye finds his way to some spinach at a spinach exhibit. His resultant muscle morphs into another crystal ball, that shows Bluto rapidly catching up to Olive inside the Tunnel of Love. Popeye takes off after his nemesis and effects a rescue just in the nick of time, sending Bluto to roast suspended over the 'Fires of Hades' display as Popeye and Olive have the last laugh.
Trivia[]
- This is the first cartoon to fade to the people in the credits since 1945's Mess Production.
- First Popeye cartoon released under Paramount Cartoon Studios.
- Final theatrical cartoon focusing on the Popeye and Bluto rivalry over Olive.
- In this cartoon, as Popeye has had enough of Bluto disrupting his date with Olive, he plays the role of a character Bluto and Olive encounter. Unlike in the usual setup, Olive announces to Bluto that she is breaking up with him in favor of Popeye. This makes Bluto realize that Popeye is playing a trick, leading him to remove Popeye's fake beard and punch him. Afterwards, Bluto goes after Olive in an attempt to harass her, like in the usual plot.
- The Quick on the Vigor clip features a redubbed voice from the Carnival Barker by Gilbert Mack. The original voice of the barker was provided by Jackson Beck.
- Final cartoon in which Olive is depicted as a damsel in distress.
- Final cartoon in which Olive does not wear a hat. However, she is seen wearing her hiker's hat in the Alpine for You clip.
- By the time Famous Studios was renamed to Paramount Cartoon Studios, the Paramount cartoons of the time used the 1957 Paramount Cartoons logo. The Popeye cartoons of the era continued to use the 1954 Paramount Cartoons logo.
- Final Popeye theatrical cartoon to employ the "clip show" format.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- The Crystal Brawl at the Internet Movie Database