I Yam What I Yam

I Yam What I Yam
Popeye the Sailor series
Directed by Dave Fleischer
Produced by Max Fleischer
Adolph Zukor
Voices by William "Billy" Costello
Bonnie Poe
Charles Lawrence
Music by Sammy Timberg
Animation by Seymour Kneitel
William Henning
Roland Crandall (uncredited)
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) September 29, 1933
Color process Black-and-white
Running time 7 mins
Language English
Preceded by Popeye the Sailor
Followed by Blow Me Down!

I Yam What I Yam is a Popeye theatrical cartoon short, starring William "Billy" Costello as Popeye, Bonnie Poe as Olive Oyl and Charles Lawrence as Wimpy. It was released in 1933 and was the second cartoon in the Popeye the Sailor series of theatrical cartoons released by Paramount Pictures, lasting through 1957.

Plot

Popeye, Olive Oyl and Wimpy, who are shipwrecked, land on an island inhabited by unfriendly Native Americans. Popeye punches trees to build a log cabin. Wimpy tells Popeye to fetch ducks for dinner. While out, Popeye is intimidated by a tribal member who repeatedly tells him hello before Popeye punches the tribal member. Another tribal member whacks him with a club. Popeye gives the Indian a "twister punch." At the duck pond, Popeye finds more Native Americans shooting arrows at the ducks, missing them repeatedly. Popeye bends the remaining three arrows, goes toward the pond, and goes in it while the ducks go under the water. When Popeye walks out, he is seen with the ducks, quacking. To get the ducks, the Native Americans grab the arrows, which are bent, and shoot them. However, the arrows act like boomerangs, and hit the tribal members instead. Meanwhile, back at the cabin, Native Americans are closing in on the cabin. Olive Oyl blocks them by stretching her legs over the doors, while the tribal members try to invade. Olive screams for help. When Native Americans try to come out of the floorboards, Wimpy is sitting on a chair on the floorboards. The resulting gag depicts when the Indians stretch, Wimpy pours more food into his bowl. When the tribal members finally make it in, Wimpy is thrown out. To get even, Wimpy pulls back a cactus, releasing its thorns. However, Wimpy is met with arrows striking the cactus. Wimpy screams in fear, and runs to Popeye for help. While Popeye walks back to the log cabin, the ducks are seen following Popeye, attracted to the smoke from Popeye's corncob pipe. Wimpy tells Popeye the situation, and after seeing the ducks, he pulls out a fork and knife, sighing in pleasure. When the ducks see the fork and knife, they flee, with Wimpy chasing them from behind. When Popeye encounter tribal members, he eats spinach. He punches a row of Native Americans, causing a domino effect. The final gag shows Popeye punching out the tribal chief, causing him to lose his outfit and become another type of Indian, Mahatma Gandhi. The cartoon ends with Popeye singing "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man!".

Notes

I Yam What I Yam is the second Popeye cartoon; the first entry, Popeye the Sailor, was released as a Betty Boop cartoon.[1]

This is the first cartoon in which Bonnie Poe voices Olive Oyl.

This cartoon is available on DVD in the four-disc set Popeye the Sailor: 1933-1938, Volume 1.

References

  1. John V. Brennan, John Larrabee (2008). "Popeye: The Black and White Cartoons". The Stuff You Gotta Watch. Archived from the original on 24 April 2010.

External links