Punch and Judo (Short film 1951)

In the 1950s, the Popeye series was not near as good as it was in the 30s. While still liking the animation, music and voice acting and the cartoons were still funnier than most of those from the mid/late-50s (one of Famous Studios’ generally roughest and most inconsistent periods overall), they didn’t quite have the same energy and the stories were becoming increasingly formulaic with the lack of originality increasing over-time in the 50s.

This is epitomised in 1951’s ‘Punch and Judo’. It is not an awful cartoon, a long way from it. There is a little more good than there is bad. It is not also not a great one, there are far better Popeye cartoons (almost all in the Fleischer Studios output though) before, even think that there’s been better since ‘Punch and Judo’ as well. Just in case anybody is wondering, this reviewer does not have any bias against Famous Studios, despite how it sounds. Actually like a good deal of their work, their best decade by far being the 40s, and their Popeye cartoons were their best regular character theatrical series, even when in they were much more variable in the series’ roughest periods and in one of the studio’s roughest periods.

‘Punch and Judo’ has a good deal of good things. The animation is bright and colourful, with expressive enough drawing and meticulous attention to detail in the backgrounds. The music, courtesy of the always never less than reliable Winston Sharples, is typically luscious, wholly dynamic to the action and very characterful. There are some occasionally amusing moments and there is not a shortage of gags.

Furthermore, Popeye proves himself to be a more than compelling lead character and he has a good nemesis. Some nice conflict between them and Jack Mercer’s voice acting cannot be faulted.

Jackson Beck (one of the studio’s most prolific voice actors for a reason) has been better and lacks his usual energy. There were bigger problems. Despite there being a lot of gags, most of them are nothing special and don’t reach amusing level. The final third does not have the usual wild energy in most of the previous Popeye cartoons and it is just too predictable to be exciting or anything else.

Which can be said for the story in general, nothing surprising or suspenseful. If you have seen the cartoons adopting the formula for the Popeye vs Bluto cartoons, it is pretty much that plot with not an awful lot of variation apart from the champ in the Bluto (he and Olive do not appear here) role. Delivered in a routine at best fashion.

Concluding, not a bad cartoon but not great. Worth a look for completest Popeye sake. 5/10.