FOXSYLVANIA

It’s important to realize that many cartoon characters, like ourselves, have backstories. In the 1951 cartoon Let’s Stalk Spinach, we are shown that Popeye came from an impoverished family background (above). We are shown Popeye’s mother, who looked like Popeye himself, complete with a squinty eye, sporting a pipe, and sadly, suffering from the same enlargement of lower arms that was passed on to her son. From seeing the young Popeye in this cartoon wearing shorts (or knickers?), we also learn that Popeye suffered from similar enlargement of his lower legs! Clearly, medical research needs to be done on these conditions…

(Popeye and his mother…Observe the hideous bodily limb deformations!)

Well, we also are shown Popeye’s four nephews, who not only look like miniature versions of himself, but also suffer the apparent genetic abnormalities. Their names are Pip-eye, Pup-eye, Poop-eye, and Peep-eye. Such names seem to me to be uncommonly cruel, as if the physical stigmata weren’t enough…

Well, the sailor-man had prepared lunch for his nephews which consisted of spinach sandwiches. I’m not surprised by this, nor was I surprised that the nephews upon taking a bite of the sandwiches spit them out. One can hardly blame them for this! Popeye then tells the nephews the story of how he discovered the virtues of spinach, which involved confrontation with a giant who easily thrashed Popeye until he was thrown into a giant-sized can of spinach, acquiring super-strength from ingesting it . The tide of battle then predictably turned, and Popeye bested the giant!

So Popeye’s nephews upon hearing the tale then eagerly consumed their sandwiches, and the battered giant makes an appearance at the end to testify to the veracity of Popeye’s story. Giants usually do not come out on top despite their clear advantages of size and strength, and are often depicted as dim-witted. They really deserve better…

A similar revelation I experienced recently is that Yosemite Sam, who might be considered the poster-boy of the gun lobby, had a brother! This brother looks identical to Yosemite Sam, other than the fact that his bushy eyebrows and prodigious mustache are black in color rather than reddish-orange. In the cartoon Along Came Daffy (1947), Yosemite Sam and his brother are bested by Daffy Duck rather than Bugs Bunny, the usual match-up. In his role as a cookbook salesman, however, Daffy proves himself easily up to the job… and speaking of abnormalities, check out Yosemite’s four-fingered hand… 🙀

In the aftermath of the election, we may at least be glad that our parents didn’t name us, Poop-eye… 😸