Popeye Casting

[mhberest]

Would we accept a Popeye on film who didn't look like Popeye, but was still homely and small enough to be an underdog?

I know Dustin Hoffman (Dustin Hoffman?) was originally set to play Popeye in 1980. The role fell to Robin Williams, who probably is the closest in appearance to the sailor man of any actor I can think of to the sailorman. I think we all agree an actor today who physically resembles Popeye comes readily to mind.

I think I can say with a far amount of confidence the fake arms, shoes, etc. really didn't enhance the film. It was no homage to Segar to try to make his characters look live living drawings when he himself based those drawings on actual people. (I've seen Rocky Feigel (the real Popeye), Doris Pascal Grau (the real Olive) and J. Wellington Suchert (need I have to say which character he is the really version of, or do you want me to "wimp" out)) and, as one would expect, they did look like human beings--weird human beings, but human beings nonetheless.

In other words, I think a Popeye with some kind of make-up wouldn't work. So I'd be willing to accept someone who doesn't look like Popeye in the role as long as, as Steve said, he still looks and acts like he could be the underdog. Agree or disagree?

[bluto]

mhberest said:

Would we accept a Popeye on film who didn't look like Popeye, but was still homely and small enough to be an underdog?

I think I can say with a far amount of confidence the fake arms, shoes, etc. really didn't enhance the film.

In other words, I think a Popeye with some kind of make-up wouldn't work. So I'd be willing to accept someone who doesn't look like Popeye in the role as long as, as Steve said, he still looks and acts like he could be the underdog. Agree or disagree?

I agree, Mike! We don't need foam rubber forearms or digitally enhanced ones! If Popeye's underdog quality and personality were there on film, I wouldn't really care if he looked like a cartoon character or not.

[mhberest]

This brings up another question. What would be the acceptable age range for Popeye? Would you be willing to accept someone in his 20's (who looks it, Robin Williams has the kind of ageless face that went with the ambiguity of Popeye's true age)? Or would he need to be closer to 40 (from either direction), the age Popeye is recognized as being in both "Goonland" and "Popeye, Ace of Space"?

[doc]

Hello all. Sorry I haven't posted for a while; I got sick over the holidays and it just bowled me over.

Now for my two cents.

As a kid, the thing I loved most about the Popeye movie was the fact that they DID go out of their way to show the cartoonyness of the characters. I really liked Popeye's and Pappy's huge arms and would have felt cheated if they hadn't made the effort to depict Popeye's most well-known physical feature. I enjoyed the big shoes, silly clothing, pronounced facial expressions, etc. that were taken from the cartoon directly to the film. Why would you try to depict cartoon characters as "real" humans? It would be like making a live-action Bugs Bunny and depicting him as a regular rabbit. Why?

As for the age, I always assumed that Popeye was in his early 40's. Old enough to have been kicking around the seven seas for some decades, but still young enough to be a tough guy if he needed to be. Originally he was supposed to be even older, around 50 or so, but his age dropped somewhat once he became a more important character.

And I would definitely keep Popeye the same type of physical character; small, homely, and not terribly sharp. That is really the whole appeal of the character. If he seems too competent, he really isn't Popeye. Whoever suggested Seth Green as Popeye might be onto something. He is about the right size, not particularly good looking, and has great comic timing. Of course he is some 15-20 years too young at this point. If the movie were to depict an "origin" of Popeye, showing us his first years at sea looking for his Pappy, then it might work. If they do that, though, the chances of seeing Olive or Wimpy would be quite small (although an early encounter with the pirate Captain Bluto would be entirely within reason).

If they DO decide to do another Popeye film, I would like for them to expand somewhat on the other characters. I would love to see a decent version of Castor (the 1980 version was pathetic), Ham, the Sea Hag, Alice, etc.

Anyway, I hope that everybody had a safe and happy new years

GW

[doc]

I just had a thought: How about Corey Feldman to play Popeye? He's 5'8" (as compared to Popeye's 5'6"), wiry, with a gravel voice, and has that squint-eyed homeliness that would be perfect for the character. At 37 he is within the relative age range.

What do you think?


Doc

[Sparky]

LOL, well, maybe. I never would have thought of him though...

[Sparkina]

Jim Carrey as Popeye, Calista Flockhart as Olive Oyl, and Ricardo Antonio Chavira as Bluto