Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor is a 1936 two-reel animated cartoon short subject in the Popeye Color Specials series, produced in Technicolor and released to theatres on November 27, 1936, by Paramount Pictures. It was produced by Max Fleischer for Fleischer Studios and directed by Dave Fleischer, with the title song's music composed by Sammy Timberg and lyrics written by Bob Rothberg. The voice cast includes Jack Mercer as Popeye, Gus Wickie as Sindbad the Sailor, Mae Questel as Olive Oyl and Lou Fleischer as J. Wellington Wimpy.

Release and reception

This short was the first of the three Popeye Color Specials, which, at over sixteen minutes each, were billed as "A Popeye Feature." It was also the first Popeye color cartoon in general. Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor was nominated for the 1936 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons, but lost to Walt Disney's Silly Symphony short The Country Cousin. Footage from this short was later used in the 1952 Famous Studios Popeye cartoon Big Bad Sindbad, in which Popeye relates the story of his encounter with Sindbad to his 3 nephews.

The Popeye Color Specials are in the public domain and are widely available on home video and DVD, often transferred from prints of poorer quality. A fully restored version with the original opening and closing titles is available on the Popeye the Sailor: 1933–1938, Volume 1 DVD set from Warner Bros.

Producer and special effects artist Ray Harryhausen stated in his Fantasy Film Scrapbook that Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor was a major influence on his production of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

In 1994, the film was voted #17 of The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members in the animation field, and is the highest ranked Fleischer cartoon in the book. In 2004, Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

References

  • Available copies:
  • , including a digital viewing copy
  • Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad The Sailor at the TCM Movie Database
  • Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor at the Big Cartoon Database