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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 9:04 pm
by Jeff
WHV Press Release:
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 6, 2006--Warner Home Video (WHV), Hearst Entertainment and King Features Syndicate have reached an agreement for the exclusive worldwide home entertainment distribution of both the classic Popeye theatrical animated shorts and the Popeye made-for-TV animated shorts. The announcement was jointly made by Jeff Brown, WHV Senior Vice President and General Manager TV and Franchise, and T.R. ("Rocky") Shepard III, President of King Features Syndicate.
WHV will be the exclusive worldwide home entertainment distributor for all classic Popeye theatrical and television properties. The new agreement has cleared Warner's home video distribution rights for the original 231 Popeye animated shorts released theatrically by Paramount Pictures between 1933 and 1957. In addition, WHV has licensed the exclusive rights to 220 Popeye made-for-TV animated shorts produced from 1960 to 1962, 65 episodes of The Continuing Adventures of Popeye, produced from 1978 to 1981 (consisting of 161 animated shorts) and 26 Popeye & Son shorts produced in 1987. Warner's first Popeye DVD release is expected to street in 2007.
The theatrical library consists of 120 black & white shorts (106 of these were produced by Fleischer Studios, the remaining 14 were produced by Famous Studios) and 111 Technicolor cartoons (three produced by Fleischer Studios and 108 produced by Famous Studios). Warner Home Video plans to commence preservation and restoration activities immediately.
Regarding the announcement, Brown remarked, "We are extremely excited to bring fans one of the most recognized, iconic characters who has spanned seven decades. Popeye is the only major theatrical franchise in film history that never received a legitimate home video release."
He added, "For years Warner Bros. had been inundated by consumer letters demanding the release of Popeye, an underdog, a hero, a character who always represents good, and WHV is proud to bring this illustrious collection to DVD."
King Features and Popeye go back 77 years, from the minute he walked into Elzie Segar's THIMBLE THEATER comic strip and muttered his famous "D'ja think I'm a cowboy?" line, to his recent primetime CGI special, Popeye has captured the hearts of millions of fans around the world.
Shepard said "In all my years at King Features and with the Hearst Corporation, I have yet to experience the enthusiastic outpour of support and love for a dynamic character as I have witnessed with Popeye. That's why I'm thrilled to be able to give the fans a chance to relive some of their favorite Popeye, Bluto, Olive Oyl, Wimpy and Swee' Pea moments on a soon to be released Warner Home Video DVD. Fans can now own, enjoy and share Popeye with many spinach-loving generations to come."
With operations in 90 international territories Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Video and New Line Home Entertainment.
King Features Syndicate is a member of Hearst Entertainment and Syndication Group, which combines The Hearst Corporation's cable network partnerships, television programming activities, newspaper syndication, and licensing. King Features Syndicate is the world's premier distributor of comics, syndicated columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games. It is also one of the largest licensing agencies in North America representing both classic and new properties such as "Popeye," "Betty Boop," "Krazy Kat," "Dennis the Menace," "David & Goliath" and "Mutts."
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 3:57 am
by Jeff
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 4:02 am
by HerrSchreck
Ambrosia.
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 4:46 am
by zedz
Yikes! I missed Jeff's initial post way back when. This is fantastic news - it's great to see this body of work get treated with such respect.
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 6:29 am
by htdm
Absolutely marvelous!
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 2:33 pm
by Lino
Warner Bros., may the gods be with you for many, many moons still.
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 4:28 pm
by patrick
I can't wait for this, it's nice to see these being treated with some respect and not just thrown on discs destined for the dollar bin in the supermarket.
It's a shame that Mighty Mouse will probably never get the same treatment since Paramount/CBS owns the rights. I'd especially like to see the Bashki series from the 80's on DVD.
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 5:57 pm
by Lino
Jerry Beck:
Only all the Fleischer cartoons will be released this year (in two boxed collections released separately). The Famous cartoons will be released in 2008.
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 7:35 pm
by filmnoir1
I just recently watched a few of these on TCM's cartoon alley and they were alot better than I remembered from my childhood. I am really interested in acquiring this set. Once again Warner's has done an excellent job of fulfilling the wishes of those of us who still believe that classical Hollywood films/cartoons are of value.
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:22 pm
by whaleallright
Does this mean there's a chance the Betty Boop and earlier Fleischer cartoons may see some quasi-official release? or are the rights issues completely different?
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:29 pm
by Lino
I think the Betty Boop ones belong to Paramount or something. If this is true, there's little chance to see them properly released on DVD.
Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 5:40 pm
by Cinephrenic
Warner has control over early Paramount catalog, no? Isn't Popeye Paramount's?
Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 5:55 pm
by Matt
Cinephrenic wrote:Warner has control over early Paramount catalog, no? Isn't Popeye Paramount's?
In short,
no and
no.
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 6:02 pm
by The Fanciful Norwegian
Lino wrote:I think the Betty Boop ones belong to Paramount or something. If this is true, there's little chance to see them properly released on DVD.
Lionsgate owns the video rights to Betty Boop.
Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 2:45 am
by Ashirg
Disc 1
1. Popeye The Sailor (1933)
2. I Yam What I Yam (1993)
3. Blow Me Down@ (1933)
4. I Eats My Spinach (1933)
5. Seasin's Greetinks! (1933)
6. Wild Elephinks (1933)
7. Sock-A-Bye, Baby (1934)
8. Let's you and Him Fight (1934)
9. The Man On The Flying Trapeze (1934)
10. Can You Take It (1934)
11. Shoein' Hosses (1934)
12. Strong To The Finich (1934)
13. Shiver Me Timbers! (1934)
14. Axe me Another (1934)
15. A Dream Walking (1934)
Disc 2
1. The Two-Alarm Fire (1934)
2. The Dance Contest (1934)
3. We Aim To Please (1934)
4. Beware of Barnacle Bill (1935)
5. Be Kind To “Aminalsâ€
Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 4:10 pm
by bufordsharkley
Oh, wow-- this is going to be great.
...No major ommissions on that list: "Axe Me Another" is about as close as Popeye ever got to ballet, while "I Wanna Be a Lifeguard" probably has the neatest use of the Tabletop 3D effect outside of the color mini-features.
These 1930s Popeyes are near perfect, especially compared to the bland cartoons that followed. Working inside a rigid formula, the Fleischers piled in the inventiveness-- and at times, the overload of violence and cruelty becomes nearly surreal. They have probably the greatest example of that here: "Be Kind to 'Aminals'"-- Bluto is overburdening his horse, who just wants to drink from a tub of water. Instead, Bluto drinks the whole damned tub and punches the horse in the face for good measure! Gee! And on the subconscious level, it works perfectly.
God, Popeye is really the greatest.
Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 6:31 pm
by souvenir
Full specs at
DVD Times:
[quote]Popeye Commentaries – Including historians, animators and filmmakers
“Behind the Toonsâ€
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 2:59 pm
by Lino
Cartoon Brew has a complete rundown of the entire extras to be included in this must-own set:
[quote]Disc 1
Commentaries:
• Popeye the Sailor by Michael Barrier with Animator Dave Tendlar
• I Yam What I Yam by Animator Mark Kausler
• Blow Me Down! by Animators Jorge Gutierrez and Sandra Equihua
• I Eats My Spinach by Michael Barrier with Dave Tendlar
• Wild Elephinks by Historian Jerry Beck
• Sock-a-Bye, Baby by Historian Glenn Mitchell
• Can You Take It by Filmmaker Greg Ford
• A Dream Walking by Director Eric Goldberg
Full Length Documentary
I Yam What I Yam: The Story of Popeye the Sailor
Popumentaries
• Mining the Strip: Elzie Segar and Thimble Theater
• Me Fickle Goyl, Olive Oyl: The World's Least Likely Sex Symbol
From the Vault
• Colonel Heeza Liar at the Bat
• Domestic Difficulties [1916 Bud Fisher Short]
Disc 2
Commentaries:
• Beware of Barnacle Bill by Jerry Beck
• Choose Yer “Weppinsâ€
Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 2:15 am
by Jeff
Lino wrote:Jerry Beck has posted some truly amazing screengrabs on his blog. Check them out now!
And this
blog has even more. Gorgeous!
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 7:39 pm
by Lino
Does anyone know if the cartoons on the set are subtitled?
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 11:17 pm
by patrick
I'm watching disc 4 right now and it does indeed have English subs.
Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:06 pm
by The Elegant Dandy Fop
I ordered it s soon as this was announced. I finally got it yesterday, and it's one hell of a set.
I've had the two Technicolor cartoons (Sinbad and Ali-Baba) on a cheapie VHS for about 14 years now, since I was a kid, and the DVD looks absolutely amazing. I never remembered that many colors in the cartoon. The sound is excellent. You can actually hear what Popeye is trying to say. The old VHS's I had sounded like a mess, and now you can hear the music in pristine quality.
The commentaries by Jerry Beck are very informative (like always), but the other commentaries don't hold up as well. The ones with John K. would be a lot better if it was JUST John K. talking, when he has something to say, it's usually interesting and funny, but he doesn't talk much.
These made a great double feature with Bicycle Thieves, made me feel good before getting depressed.
Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 11:47 pm
by htdm
The Best Buy exclusive tin is really nice.
Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 11:50 pm
by The Elegant Dandy Fop
dmkb wrote:The Best Buy exclusive tin is really nice.
Anything extra? Got any images?
Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 12:46 am
by htdm
The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:dmkb wrote:The Best Buy exclusive tin is really nice.
Anything extra? Got any images?
No extras, yes images:
here.
