phrankenstign
08-07-2007, 01:25 PM
This is what most fans of Fleischer's Popeye cartoons have been hoping to be released.
I bought the Best Buy exclusive which comes in a tin box similar to the Disney releases. The inside of the tin box contains the standard release (including the cardboard box).
This first release has the first 60 Popeye cartoons (including the Betty Boop series cartoon that introduced Popeye). It also has the first couple of two-reel Technicolor productions.
There are quite a few "Popumentaries". Some of them are packed with little known facts about both early animation techniques and the animators themselves.
The commentaries are a bit uneven. Some are good and some aren't. The commentary for "Popeye meets Sindbad the Sailor" is by a group of three people---one (art student Kali Fonatecchio) of which spends her time giggling throughout with practically no insight into what is happening on-screen. She states Popeye was originally supposed to be in his 70s, and one of the other people agrees with her. Is that really true?
Anyway.....one thing that can't be denied is the quality of the cartoons is absolutely wonderful. There are very few defects, such as scratches or discoloration, on all of the ones I've seen so far. (I've watched about 20 of them and a few of the Popumentaries.) The intros and outros have been fully restored. There are so many that I'd never seen before in these complete forms even on network television.
The colors are incredible and I can hardly wait for further volumes to be released. I read somewhere that the next volume will be released in 2008. That's a long time to wait. However, if it meets the high standard this first release attained, then it'll be worth the wait. Hopefully, they'll include a little booklet with more information on each cartoon. As it is, though, it's very difficult to be dissatisfied after viewing so many previous substandard issues of this material over the years.
I bought the Best Buy exclusive which comes in a tin box similar to the Disney releases. The inside of the tin box contains the standard release (including the cardboard box).
This first release has the first 60 Popeye cartoons (including the Betty Boop series cartoon that introduced Popeye). It also has the first couple of two-reel Technicolor productions.
There are quite a few "Popumentaries". Some of them are packed with little known facts about both early animation techniques and the animators themselves.
The commentaries are a bit uneven. Some are good and some aren't. The commentary for "Popeye meets Sindbad the Sailor" is by a group of three people---one (art student Kali Fonatecchio) of which spends her time giggling throughout with practically no insight into what is happening on-screen. She states Popeye was originally supposed to be in his 70s, and one of the other people agrees with her. Is that really true?
Anyway.....one thing that can't be denied is the quality of the cartoons is absolutely wonderful. There are very few defects, such as scratches or discoloration, on all of the ones I've seen so far. (I've watched about 20 of them and a few of the Popumentaries.) The intros and outros have been fully restored. There are so many that I'd never seen before in these complete forms even on network television.
The colors are incredible and I can hardly wait for further volumes to be released. I read somewhere that the next volume will be released in 2008. That's a long time to wait. However, if it meets the high standard this first release attained, then it'll be worth the wait. Hopefully, they'll include a little booklet with more information on each cartoon. As it is, though, it's very difficult to be dissatisfied after viewing so many previous substandard issues of this material over the years.