The Spinach Overture (1935)
The Spinach Overture Review
The Spinach Overture is a 1935 animated short from Popeye the Sailor series. It is one of the oddest and most flawed Popeye cartoons.
This is a very interesting entry. On the one hand, the action is expected and the use of Bluto has also been seen before. And those moments are still very good. But on the other hand, you have a music related episode with Popeye using spinach to strengthen his piano playing abilities. That was such a weird scene that stopped the whole story considerably. Yes, the pacing is very weird. It is sometimes action-packed and rushed whereas it is often slow and some scenes do drag a bit. The running time is also somewhat longer than usual.
But overall, I liked this entry because the action was good, the laughing scene is hilarious and Bluto is put to some great use. The ending I really liked as well as the attention to detail that went into the animation and especially Bluto’s look which is so good. His role here is one of the most memorable thus far. The entire episode feels weird and dragging, but is still interesting and fun.