It's the Natural Thing to Do (1939)*** (out of 4)Popeye and Bluto are involved in a violent fight when Olive receives a telegram from the Popeye Fan Club. The telegram asks the three to quit fighting so much and act more mature. The three decides to give it a try.I'm sure there were some complaints from people back in the day. I'm sure there were some who thought these cartoons were a bit too violent and sent the wrong message at times so it's pretty funny seeing this short address that issue. Of course, it's all done in a funny way as the three characters were really stupid when it came to acting normal. The title song is certainly the highlight of the film as Olive really gets to shine. The rest of the film is certainly entertaining but the laughs aren't as big as the sarcasm.

With this episode, the Fleischers were, in effect, flipping the bird at those saying their pictures were "too violent." When Popeye, Bluto and Olive receive a pointed telegram, then comically show up as "proper" society types, they're saying, very sarcastically, "Maybe you'd rather have THIS, you sissies?" As the three realize they're making idiots of themselves, give in and hilariously revert to the violence, the viewer understands that without some fisticuffs tossed in when needed, the Fleischer tunes might as well have gone down the Disney path and sacrificed humor for beauty.Make no mistake, both humor and beauty have always had their place in animation, but the Fleischer 'toons and, later, those of Warner Brothers (to whom many of Max and Dave Fleischer's best writers went after Paramount took over and ruined Popeye), were far funnier than Disney's. And yet, with their meticulously crafted backgrounds, Fleischer pictures had a unique beauty of their own. I love both the Fleischer and Disney creations from the 1930s, but given the choice of either, I'd take the Fleischer creations in a heartbeat.All this installment lacks is the far-better voices of Gus Wickie as Bluto and Mae Questal as Olive, but Max lost both when he moved his studio to Florida. Such is life.

In the 1930s, the Fleischer Studios made a ton of Popeye cartoons. And while the quality of the animation was amazingly good, the cartoons suffered from two things. First, despite great animation, until WWII, they still were black & white--even when other studios were making full-color cartoons. Second, for the most part, when you've seen one, you've seen them all, as the same basic plot was recycled again and again. This time, however, the cartoon starts off normally BUT Popeye receives a letter from his fans saying they wanted a nice and non-violent cartoon--one that is sophisticated. So, Popeye, Bluto and Olive decide to be sophisticated and they try so hard--and fail so miserably! It's quite clever and worth a look--even if you hate Popeye.

This is a Max Fleischer Popeye cartoon. As such, there is a lot more inventive humor than in the more formulaic Famous Studios ones from many of the same animators. I guess the real difference is in the presence of Max and his brother Dave, as usual credited as director. The short begins with Popeye and Bluto fighting outside. Olive Oyl, washing dishes inside, gets a telegram that she passes to the boys that says in essence to stop fighting and act more civilized as signed by the Popeye Fan Club. So they do while getting some food service that results in the three of them trying to balance various food and drinks literally on their hands! They then try to make conversation about conversing and language. Eventually, it ends with a gradual slapstick scene that ends with them all singing, "It's the Natural Thing to Do!"...Hilarious from beginning to end, it's a shame that perhaps because of the black-and-white imagery, this and other Fleischer cartoons have not been seen by many of the public in nearly 30 years. Perhaps this will be rectified when Warners finally releases a Popeye collection later this year. Anyway, if you're interested in seeing Popeye outside of the formula plots of the Popeye/Bluto/Olive triangle then It's the Natural Thing to Do is as good a start as any...