Popeye and Son was a really good attempt by Hanna-Barbera to update the Popeye franchise and introduce it to a new generation. The cartoon was unfortunately quite short-lived, just 13 episodes, but watching it back now I think it was a real shame that no more were made, it's actually quite a bit better than I remember!
The basic storyline is that Popeye and Olive Oyl have finally gotten married and settled down into the town of Sweet Haven. They have had a son, which they have imaginatively named Popeye Junior, and guess what, when he eats Spinach he also gains super-strength etc. just like his father. Unfortunately Bluto has also decided to settle down in Sweet Haven, Bluto has found a wife Lizzie and has got a son, the same age as Popeye Junior called Tank and so the feuding goes on between families!
The whole cartoon is modernised sensitively, by keeping the nautical theme but making it all about Hawaii and surfing etc. Popeye now runs his own gym in Sweet Haven with Olive Oyl, he goes around wearing Hawaiian style shirts, while his son loves to surf and swim. The only thing that I can't really remember is what happened to Olive Oyl's baby from the traditional cartoons (Olive Oyl had an adopted child called Sweet Pea) I can't remember if the cartoon explains this, or if the child is just written off!
Popeye
Popeye has an incredibly rich history going back to the 1920's. I'm not going to try and attempt to cover all of this here, but I would recomend a look at the links in the resources section below if you want to know more. As with previous cartoons if Popeye eats spinach he gains super strength, can heal injuries etc. Popeye has however hung up his sailor suit in this series, he instead runs a gym in Sweet Haven with Olive Oyl and sports a rather fetching Hawaiin shirt.
Olive Oyl
Olive Oyl is the love of Popeye's life, she has finally agreed to marry him in this series and born him a child, Junior. Olive Oyl has also hada change of clothing and she now sports a fetching shell track-suit and pink headband (no matter what the occassion!)
Bluto
Bluto also lives in Sweet Haven, with his wife Lizzie and his son Tank. The Bluto's have a huge yacht like ship called the SS Lizzie and are constantly trying to get one-up on the Popeye family. The big difference between this and previous Popeye cartoons is that now that th etwo characters are fathers, we very rarely see them actually fight, they will tend to argue and shout at each other a lot but very few punches, maybe none? are ever thrown between them.
Junior and Tank
So Popeye Junior has found that eating Spinach gives him super-strength just like his dad, however the twist in this series is that Junior hates the taste of Spinach and so will only eat it as a very last resort!
Junior's enemy is Tank who is the school bully and also Bluto's son, just like their fathers they are constantly scrapping.
Dee Dee
Dee Dee an dher friend Polly are the girls that Junior and his friends are always trying to impress. Junior has a crush on Dee Dee.
Wimpy
Wimpy is also in this series, and just as with previous series, Wimpy owns his own Burger restaurant in Sweet Haven and is probably Popeye's best friend.
Popeye and Son: Facts
Originally Aired: 1987-1988
Episodes: 13 episodes (2 cartoons per episode)
Length: 22mins
Produced By: Hanna-Barbera
Maurice LaMarche-Popeye
Marilyn Schreffler-Olive Oyl/Lizzie/Puggy (1987-1988)
* As you can see I've no idea what the second verse of the intro theme is - I've listened to it about 5 times and I just can't make it out, if you have any ideas please e-mail me at anthony@thecartoonarchive.com thanks!
