Director: Dave Fleischer
Release Date: May 9, 1941
Stars: Popeye
Rating: ★
Review:
‘Popeye Meets Rip van Winkle’ opens with Popeye passing Rip van Winkle’s home, which is emptied by some movers (one being a caricature of Chico Marx), because Van Winkle didn’t pay the rent.
Soon, Van Winkle is put outside himself, still sleeping. Popeye takes the old man home. But when he leaves the bearded fellow alone for a while, Van Winkle immediately starts sleepwalking. Incomprehensibly, the somnambulist ends with some fairy tale dwarfs bowling in the countryside. Popeye has to fight them all before he can take the old man back with him.
‘Popeye Meets Rip van Winkle’ makes very little sense, and certainly is one of the weakest Popeye cartoons ever made. The best part is when the dwarfs beat Popeye to their own size. Nevertheless, the short features some beautiful effect animation on Popeye, when he’s lit by lighting.
Watch ‘Popeye Meets Rip van Winkle’ yourself and tell me what you think:
This Popeye film No. 95
To the previous Popeye film: Flies Ain’t Human
To the next Popeye film: Olive’s Boithday Presink
‘Popeye Meets Rip van Winkle’ is available on the DVD set ‘Popeye the Sailor 1941-1943’
Dr. Grob's Animation Review 
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December 9, 2018 at 00:50
Hans Christian Brando
Shamus Culhane, who claims to have directed this cartoon (Dave Fleischer allegedly was only the titular director of the cartoons), was inordinately proud of this one, which shows how little he understood Popeye. Arguably a bit slicker than the average Fleischer cartoon, but to what end? His model sheet already had Popeye in the white uniform.
December 9, 2018 at 20:57
Gijs Grob
Thanks for sharing this information! I’ve much respect for Culhane, but apparently he missed the point here…