How Green Is My Spinach (Popeye the Sailor)

How Green Is My Spinach (episode 169)
A cartoon about a sadist trying to full-blown beat up and murder Popeye just because he wants to...
Directed by: Seymour Kneitel Written by: I. Klein Release date: January 27, 1950 Franchise: Popeye the Sailor Prequel: The Fly's Last Flight (previous short) Sequel: Gym Jam (next short)

How Green Is My Spinach is Popeye's 169th cartoon, released on January 27, 1950 by Famous Studios.

”How Bad Is This Episode” Qualities

1. It's a very mean-spirited and cruel 6 minute long Popeye torture episode, as Popeye is heavily tortured throughout half of the cartoon by Bluto for no reason whatsoever other than Bluto just wanting to beat him up because he feels like it.
2. Bluto is extremely sociopathic and unlikeable in this cartoon, as he just wants to beat the heck out of Popeye without any explanation other than the fact he just wants to! He goes as far as to say he wants to murder him. His rationale is even more flimsy than usual because Olive Oyl is absent in this short.
   • He even goes out of his way to get rid of every spinach (which is the main focus of the episode) since he knew the spinach was the source of Popeye always winning.
   • In addition, this cartoon marks the beginning of Bluto's atrocious flanderization from Popeye's arch enemy who wants to have Olive for himself into a full-blown evil villain whom is a much bigger pervert as well as a sadistic brute who has a much bigger hatred for Popeye than before, which is carried on for the rest of the Famous Studios era.
3. Continuity errors: Popeye is treated as if he's this totally weak and can't do anything without the use of his spinach, even though in several previous shorts, Popeye was shown to be strong even without the spinach. The first scene that has him being beaten up by Bluto shows him completely fine without the spinach...
4. Plot holes:
   • If Bluto wanted to beat up Popeye so badly, why couldn't he just get Spinach himself to succeed in doing what he wanted to do with Popeye?
   • In the first scene, Popeye was shown completely fine even without his spinach while getting beaten up by Bluto, but during the rest of the short, he feels incredibly hurt and frightened.
5. The scene of Bluto whining, complaining, and crying at the moon after being beaten up by Popeye for the third time is very cheesy and cringeworthy to listen to.

Good Qualities

1. Popeye is the only likable character in this short, and he manages to give Bluto his comeuppance in the end.
2. Decent animation and music during its time.
   • Decent voice acting in the short, aside from Bluto's crying.
3. The fourth wall joke in this short was done pretty well and uniquely.
4. The concept of this short was vastly improved in the 1952 Popeye short, "Friend or Phony" (even though it is a clip show short, but still).

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