Director: Dave Fleischer
Release Date: October 27, 1933
Stars: Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto
Rating: ★★★★½
Review:
Like the previous two cartoons, ‘Blow Me Down!’ (another of Popeye’s oneliners from E.C. Segar’s comic strip) opens with Popeye singing his own theme song, now while riding a shark to Mexico.
In Mexico Popeye visits a canteen, where Olive is a dancer, performing a dance, that’s taken straight from Segar’s strip from March 1932, including the gag in which she lands with her feet into two spittoons. Then Bluto enters, shooting everything in sight, and within seconds, Popeye is the only other person in the canteen. The two engage into a strange duel, then Bluto tries to harass Olive, but like in ‘I Yam What I Yam’ she appears pretty much in control when Popeye comes to rescue her. In a spectacular finale, Popeye knocks Bluto around the world.
‘Blow Me Down’ covers no new story grounds, its premise harking all the way back to ‘Gallopin’ Gaucho‘ (1928). Yet, it’s by all means a delightful cartoon, and it’s over before you know it. It contains a very original bird-eye shot of Popeye ascending the stairs. Olive’s voice is by Bonnie Poe, and very different from Mae Questel’s later version.
Watch ‘Blow Me Down!’ yourself and tell me what you think:
This Popeye film No. 2
To the previous Popeye film: I Yam What I Yam
To the next Popeye film: I Eats My Spinach
‘Blow Me Down!’ is available on the DVD Box Set ‘Popeye the Sailor 1933-1938’
Dr. Grob's Animation Review 
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September 13, 2017 at 10:51
Bobb Edwards
A delightful quirk of the early Popeye cartoons is how the characters rhythmically bob up and down even in stationary scenes without music, which is exemplified in this cartoon. Producer Max Fleischer said he did this to give the audience its money’s worth of animation.