I found this colorized version of "Pop Goes the Easel" on YouTube. While colorizing stuff was very popular back in the 90s, this one was colorized more recently and you can tell as the process is better than usual...though the skin tones could have been better and more realistic. Unfortunately, the short itself if pretty limp...and it seems odd that they'd colorize this one and not one of the better shorts by this trio.When the story begins, the boys are trying to do a good deed but are accused of being thieves. A cop chases them through the city and they end up taking refuge in an art school. There they pretend to be art students and all sorts of unfunny mayhem ensues. Ultimately, there is a clay fight that ends the picture.The problem with this one is that I never once found myself laughing. It seems that the team could have used better writers than they got in this one.

This short is important in stooge history for many reasons, not the least of which is that it's the first to establish the basic character personae that would follow them through their entire careers.It begins with the stooges as beggars, trying to find food or work on the street. This is the first time where we see them as common men, trying to make sense of the real world--a recurring theme in most of their movies. Chased by cops, they end up in an art school and soon create chaos with a clay-throwing fight, a precursor to the pie-throwing spectacles which became their trademark throughout their careers. We see the boys mixing with high society and dragging it down to their level, another common theme.This short also shows the beginning of how their characters evolved in relation to each other. We clearly see Moe and Curly (or Curley) as adversaries, with Larry as the man in the middle, for the first time. We also see Moe adding his familiar--and painful--slapstick reaction each time Larry or Curly makes a wisecrack. We hear Curly saying "I'm a victim of coicumstance!" and Moe's trademark windmill bonk on the top of the head for the first time. And it's the first time we hear Larry say "Sorry, Moe, it was an accident!", a line that was repeated throughout his entire career. It also lets us know that Moe is the team's leader--and the one to be afraid of.About the only thing that tips us off that this is still an early short is that Curly is not yet using his manic, high-pitched voice. And some of the direction is slow, as when the boys are smearing clay in each other's faces.Overall, it's a fun short and a good introduction to the 3 Stooges' brand of humor.

Many times the theme of the Great Depression begins one of the Three Stooges films, and that's certainly the case here as the boys are all out on the streets wearing big signs proclaiming their plight. Their signs are corny but the message is the same on all three: need a job and money. As usual, though, they don't have much luck getting either.A rich man stops in front of Curly and inquires about him. "I haven't had a bite of food in three days, mister," says Curly. "Well," the man answers, "I wouldn't worry about it. It still tastes the same." Wow - it's a cold world out there!The boys, through circumstances, wind up being chased by a cop, a familiar storyline, filled with gags as the latter is never able to catch our three heroes. The guys wind up in an art studio posing as artists....and the cornball jokes and sight gags really begin in earnest. Most of them, to be honest, aren't the greatest. However, the story is redeemed in the last three minutes when a mud- fight (at least it looks like big gobs of mud) ensues in the studio and all mayhem breaks loose, leading to some funny slapstick.

I didn't think this short was as funny as the majority of their shorts. I just found this to be a little dull at points and not too funny overall. Then again, I just might not be an art kind of person. Woo Woo Woo!