Wagnabbit: Popeye became an animated cartoon hero in 1933

Popeye the Sailor jumped from the comics section of newspapers into the world of animated films in 1933, when King Features Syndicate licensed the character to Fleischer Studios in New York City.

Brothers Max Fleischer (shown above) and Dave Fleischer (shown below) were intent upon transforming Popeye into a movie star.

Entertainment historian Fred Grandinetti, who has written extensively about Popeye’s development, said Popeye was introduced to audiences as “a pugnacious, wisecracking cartoon sailor who possesses superhuman strength after ingesting an always-handy can of spinach.”

“Popeye is a scrappy little seaman with bulging forearms, a squinty eye, and a screwed-up face, punctuated with an ever-present pipe in his mouth.”

“He is always ready for a fight instead of a reasonable discussion, has a gravelly voice and is constantly mumbling under his breath.

His credo is: ‘I yam what I yam, and that’s all that I am. I’m Popeye the sailor man. I’m strong to the finich cause I eats me spinach.’”

“His girlfriend is the gangly Olive Oyl, for whose attention Popeye vies constantly with Bluto, his bearded, hulking rival,” Grandinetti wrote.

Popeye’s cartoon debut in 1933 was a bit of a cameo appearance in a “Betty Boop” short produced by the Fleischers.

Vocalist Billy Costello of Providence, R.I., commonly known on the vaudeville circuit as “Red Pepper Sam,” was the original gruff-sounding voice of Popeye in the animated cartoon shorts.

In 1935, Jack Mercer of Worthington, Ind., took over as Popeye’s voice actor.

A source at Amazon’s IMDb (Internet Movie Database) said: “Mercer proved to be a superior comedian who brought engaging warmth and humor to the character.

Many of Popeye’s funniest under-the-breath mutterings – the puns, malapropisms and wisecracks – were freely ad-libbed by Mercer during the recording sessions.”

Mercer continued in that role for nearly 50 years; he was still performing in 1984 when he died from cancer at age 74. (Mercer also was the voice of cartoon character “Felix the Cat.”)

Popeye’s first two-reel Technicolor film, “Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor,” was produced by Fleischer Studios in 1936.

A veteran mariner, Popeye joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 1933, before he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1941.

Popeye’s most famous role as a Coast Guardsman came in 1937, when he appeared in the two-reel feature “Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba’s Forty Thieves.” Popeye was deployed to the Middle East to foil the evil plans of Bluto and his band of 40 thugs.

Popeye’s 100th animated cartoon was titled “The Mighty Navy” (1941). As a fresh recruit, Popeye finds his ship surrounded by eight enemy battleships. He grabbed a cannon in his bare hands and fired away, sinking the entire armada of attackers as well as wiping out an aircraft carrier and all its planes.

And then…when Popeye noticed a huge destroyer approaching, he munched a bunch of spinach and launched himself through the torpedo tube, proceeding to sink the oncoming enemy vessel with only a blow from his fist. Instantly, Popeye became a war hero.

This marked the first appearance of Popeye in his new “Navy whites” uniform, which would become his standard outfit going forward.

Popeye became an inspirational symbol for the Navy, with his image used for squadron insignias during World War II.

Popeye cartoons debuted on national television in 1956, featuring the extensive library of 234 theatrical shorts that were now the property of Paramount Pictures, having absorbed Fleischer Studios in 1941.