directed
by Robert Altman
and adapted from E. C. Segar
's Thimble Theatre aka Popeye
comic strip
.
Marketed with the tagline
, "The sailor
man with the spinach
can!", the film is a musical
. It stars Robin Williams
as Popeye and Shelley Duvall
as Olive Oyl
.
The film begins with an animated cartoon slide of Popeye on his ship with the words "MAX FLEISCHER
presents" at the top; the cartoon is "Blow Me Down" (1933).
[to a photo of his Pappy] Poppa. Pretty soon, you and me are going to be together again, huh? Yeah. Thirty years ain't that long. Besides, next Wednesday's our annual-versity. Yeah? Yeah. Stay alive. That's all I'm axskin' you. Good night, Poppa.
Eau de toilette, yeh, eau de toilette.
Another thing I got is a sensk of humiligration. Now, maybe you swabs can pool your intelligensk and sees that I'm axsking you for an apologeky.
I know you ain't down there. Truth is you ain't here. Now, where ain't you? Where ain't me Swee'Pea?
If I was gonna be Swee'Pea's mother, I should've at least let Olive be his father. Or viska versa. I ain't man enough to be no mother.
Bluto, even though you're larger than me, you can't wins, 'cause you bad, and the good always wins over the bad.
Oh, what am I? Some kind of barnicle on the dinghy of life? Oh, I ain't no doctors, but I knows I'm losing me patience. What am I? Some kind of judge or lawyers? Maybe not, but I knows what law suitks me. [to the prostitute] Careful there, don't ruffle me feathers. What am I? I ain't no physcikisk, but I knows what matters. What am I? I'm Popeye the Sailor.
[singing] And I yam what I yam and I yam what I yam that I yam / And I gotta lotta muscle and I only gots one eye / And I never hurts nobody and I'll never tell a lie / Top to me bottom and bottom to me top / That's the way it is 'til the day that I drop, what am I / I yam what I yam
[to the Oyls when they enter the gambling den] Oh, what is this? A house of ill repukes? Ooh, who'd bring me infant to this den of immoraliky? Don't touch nothin'. You might get a venerable disease.
[cartoon version] Hey, what's this? One of Bluto's tricks? I'm in the wrong movie.