William 'Billy' Costello

Popeye The Sailor: 1933-1938 Volume One (DVD) Spinach--YUCK! But not to the most famous, fearless comic strip sailor in the world--Popeye. Whether romancing his longtime sweetheart, Olive Oyl, rescuing defenseless infant Swee'pea, or wrestling his nasty nemesis, Bluto, Popeye summons his spinach-induced strength to save the day. With one gulp of the vitamin-rich vegetable, Popeye transforms his scrawny body into a human dynamo! For high seas hijinks or landlocked levity, turn to the hilarious animated antics of that two-fisted tar--Popeye.

Popeye and Olive are attending a football game; Bluto's team takes the field, and Olive is swept off her feet, becoming a cheerleader for him. Popeye signs up and becomes quarterback of the opposing team, which is skinny and pathetic looking, compared to Bluto's team of huge bruisers. Things go badly, of course, until Popeye eats his spinach and becomes a whole football team himself, winning both the game and Olive.

Popeye and Bluto are deep sea divers. Popeye has a treasure map; for some reason he cuts Bluto in on the deal, but of course, Bluto's idea of 50-50 isn't exactly fair...

Popeye's failures in the kitchen send him on a quest for a wife. He visits the "matrimonial agency" and picks Olive at the same time Bluto picks her. Of course, the boys settle their problem with their fists. Soon, Bluto and Olive are visiting Justice of the Peace Wimpy, with Popeye temporarily detained.

Policeman Wimpy loses his handcuffed prisoner when he's distracted by a hamburger shop. The escapee drops into the weapon-filled pawn shop Popeye and Olive are running, and quickly gets in a fight with Popeye.

Popeye takes Olive to a stage show of a hypnotist (Bluto), who also levitates objects. While he's doing this, Popeye makes him lose his concentration, so in retaliation, the hypnotist pulls Olive on stage and turns her into a chicken. Popeye comes down to fight and the hypnotist tries to turn him into a monkey, but Popeye pulls a mirror into place. He recovers, and turns Popeye into a donkey, then smacks him around a bit, but spinach comes to the rescue.

The boys arrive at Olive's house at the same time, but at different doors. They both come in, and whenever Olive isn't looking, they start fighting. She catches them, and tells them one will have to leave. Bluto tells Popey that whoever does the best trick can stay. As a result, they find ever more creative ways to abuse each other, much to Olive's merriment. Eventually, though, they start destroying her house, and Olive throws them both out, for a little while, anyhow.

To the classic tune of "Barnacle Bill the Sailor", Olive explains that she can't marry Popeye because she's in love with Barnacle Bill (an unusually large Bluto), who then comes by and proceeds to pound Popeye (until he eats his spinach, of course).

Popeye and Olive open a diner, singing the title song. Alas, their first two customers are Wimpy (who actually gets them to fall for the "gladly pay you Tuesday" schtick) and Bluto, who orders 6 sandwiches and refuses to pay for them. This leads, of course, to a fight, which Popeye needs his spinach to win.

Popeye and Olive visit a dance hall, where a contest is in progress.

Popeye and Bluto run adjoining (and competing) fire companies. When Olive's huge house catches fire, they are soon more interested in fighting each other than the fire. When Bluto goes to the roof to rescue Olive, the fire strands him there. Popeye eats his spinach and rescues them, but it's too late for the house.

Popeye and Bluto each wants to save Olive as she sleepwalks onto a construction site. But most of their efforts go into preventing each other from being the hero.

Pierre Bluto, running a logging camp, has thrown Olive into the river because he didn't like her spinach. Popeye rescues her and proceeds to beat Bluto in a lumberjack contest.

Popeye, Olive, and Wimpy stumble across a ghost ship. They climb aboard, and it proceeds to scare them in various ways.

Olive runs some kind of boarding school. She serves her charges a huge bowl of spinach, but they are less than enthusiastic about it. Popeye comes by and demonstrates the values of spinach: he feeds some to a tree, which grows huge and sprouts a variety of fruit; he feeds a hen, which lays a dozen eggs, and he eats some himself to resist a prizefighter passing by.

Popeye sees Olive going into the Bruiser Boys Club, where she works in the hospital ward. Their motto, "Can you take it?", is a clear challenge to Popeye. President Bluto puts Popeye through the tests, and while he fares better than most, he still ends up in the hospital ward, until he eats his spinach and goes after the members.

Wimpy is such a terrible helper that blacksmith Olive fires him. Both Popeye and Bluto see the help wanted sign; they compete for the position. Of course, their competition wrecks the shop.

Popeye comes to ask Olive out, but finds she's gone off with the title character. Popeye goes to the circus (ringmaster Wimpy) looking for her, to find she's part of the act; an aerial battle ensues.

Popeye walks around while singing his theme song and punches various things, followed by a sing-along.

Bluto is the boxing champ, Popeye his challenger, Wimpy the timekeeper. Popeye is pounded mercilessly until Olive comes by with a can of spinach.

When Popeye takes the baby for a walk in the stroller, the little one won't be quiet unless he's sleeping. Of course there's no end of noisiness. This include a Harpo Marx lookalike playing the harp; a music school with many practicing students inside; a ship blowing its horn; a radio outside a radio store; a building construction site; and blaring car horns in traffic. Popeye doesn't hesitate to shut them all up.

Popeye and Olive, adrift on a raft, land on what apparently is Africa, and are immediately battling elephants and gorillas (also a moose!). Popeye eventually battles an entire menagerie at once - after first gulping down a can of spinach, of course.

Popeye skates over to Olive's house to give her a Christmas present: ice skates of her own. While he's teaching her, Bluto skates up and gets fresh; of course, Popeye fights him. When Olive rejects Bluto again, he sends her careening on an ice floe towards a waterfall.

Popeye and Olive Oyl visit a rodeo.

Popeye sails into Mexico, where Olive is a dancer and Bluto is a bandit.

Popeye, Olive Oyl and Wimpy are shipwrecked on an island of hostile Indians

Popeye and Bluto fight for the love of Olive Oyl in their debut short, featuring Betty Boop.

The Fleischer's Talkartoon short that debuted the now infamous Betty Boop.

The Fleischer's Talkartoon short that debuted the now infamous Betty Boop.