Popeye Table Topics

Popeye the Sailor

Popeye born in a typhoon in Santa Monica to Poopdeck Pappy and unnamed mother Popeye was left an “orphink” when Poopdeck Pappy left for a pack of cigarettes, his mother’s fate was unknown.

As infant with a corn-cob pipe would only remove from mouth for bottles of malted hardtack.

Before spinach, Popeye rubbed a Whiffle, a magical white hen for his superpowers.

• The ability to punch someone to the Moon
• Close the Grand Canyon by pulling it together with a rope
• virtuoso dancing, piano playing
• super sleuth, deduction ability

Uses for Popeye’s pipe:

• As a cutting torch to open a can of spinach
• A spinning propeller to give him the ability to fly
• Jet engine
• Periscope
• Whistle with his trademark toot
• Can suck an entire can of spinach through his pipe

Popeye’s love interest is Olive Oyl and he is determined to overcome any obstacle to please Olive Oyl – usually his rival Bluto who also loves Olive Oyl. Popeye Often says

• “Well, blow me down!”
• “That’s all I can stands cause I can’t stands no more!”
• “I’m strong to the finich, cause I eats me spinach!”
• “I’ll take you all on one at a time!”
• yam what I yam, and that’s all what I yam

1937, the city of Crystal City, Texas, erected an official “Popeye” statue, marking the first time in world history a city had erected a statue in honor of a cartoon character.

Alice the Goon

She is bald, with hairy forearms, laughs a lot and is intent on feminine work. She appears in a flowery dress and hat after protests by parents who said the hairy monster frightened children.

Love is spiritual meat and drink to her. Alice a slave worked as the guard to the Sea Hag, a deadly pirate, and the last remaining sorceress on the planet.

Popeye rescued her and Poopdeck from Goon Island. He introduced a “Goon family”, featuring Alice the Goon. Goons are a group of strange, odd-looking creatures. This gave “goon” its other meaning of “weird or strange-looking”. The word “goon”, slang for a criminal or thug, did not originate with Popeye.

Goon Traits

• Goons have no unique traits among individuals, and even the males and females are indistinguishable.
• Goons are alien species that originated from the Moon but now live on Earth.
• Goons produce a strange speech often depicted as wavy lines that can olny be understood by Wimpy.

Alice the Goon (originally depicted as a slave of the Sea Hag) officially became Swee’Pea’s babysitter

Poopdeck Pappy

Poopdeck Pappy abandoned Popeye at birth. A sullen, quarrelsome, ladies’ man, irritable, impolite and brutal. mysterious ‘Commodore’ of Sweethaven

At between 85 – 99 years old however he is in perfect form.

Gets kidnapped by Captain Bluto and held captive in the bizarre realm of Goon Island. When Popeye rescues the “ol’ goat” from Goon prison, he refuses to acknowledge Popeye as his son, but when Popeye himself is captured by the Goons, he eats Popeye’s mislaid can of spinach to rescue his only child.

Meeting Popeye as an Adult says, “You look like something the cat dragged in… I don’t like relatives.”

Song: Kids, Children:

Bless their little hearts, if they was made out of gold, I’d like to sell ’em on the open market. I could make me a fortune.

Kids! Eh, they don’t what they’re doing. Kids, dad blast ’em!

They’re gonna lead you to ruin. That’s what they’re gonna do, lead you to ruin. They cry at you when they’re young, they yell at you when they’re older, they borrows from you when they’s middle-aged and they leave you alone to die. Without even paying you back. Children, phooey.

You give them everything they want, and what do you get back in return? You get nothing! Why they’re just smaller versions of us you know, but I’m not so crazy about me in the first place, so why would I want one of them. I’m asking ya.

Children.

Ah, children. Little children. You’ll pour your heart to them, you give them everything they want. Give them candy and a lot of toys, and what do you get in return? You get a lot of noise: Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, my poppa’s a mean old man!

I’m through with children, I’m through with kids. They ain’t nothing I’m never gonna do about it.

Swee’pea – Swee’Pee

Popeye’s adoptid “infink”,Swee’pee an orphan child, Crown Prince of Demonia, the most superstitious country in the world, heir to the throne of Roccaverza,

Because a group of moles on his back look like the number 7 on a pair of dice, Swee’pea was left with Popeye for protection by his mother from superstitious Demonian enemies

Swee’ Pee doesn’t speak, only says “Gloop” but can emit high-pitch squeals and strange sounds.

Skills:

• Has the ability to predict outcomes which is taken advantage of by Olive Oyl and others to gamble for ill-gotten-gains. Popeye rescues him.
• Popeye officially finalized the adoption of his Swee’Pee in a special ceremony hosted by the National Council For Adoption in New York City on November 21, 2004
• Popeye declared, “I yam so happy that me li’l SWEE’PEA and I will offickially be Pappy and son. I have raised him as me own since that fateful day when I founds him at me door and now I yam proud to legally adopt him.”

Olive Oyl Love Interest of Popeye

Popeye’s girlfriend, thin, peevish, self-assured, idiot and sometimes endowed with great tenderness. She is the only character Popeye will permit to give him a thumping.

In printed comics, Olive played the role of “only sane person” usually ignored voice of practical reason

Physically described by Popeye as a perfect 57 : 19 bust 19 waist 19 hips

Olive Oyl is a fickle, unreasonable and demanding girlfriend who quite often, renounces Popeye for Bluto’s dime-store advances.

Popeye has a tendency to fall for passive-aggressive tricks and emotional manipulations. Olive insults and berates Popeye regularly; is unfaithful routinely; and in general treats him like dirt.

Olive hits, strikes, and/or beats the heck out of Popeye in many cartoons. Despite this Popeye’s undying love for Olive Oyl persists.

Often says

• “Ohhhhhhhhhh, Popeye!”
• “I’ve had enough and enough is too much.”
• “Keep your hands to yourself, you, you, you, that’s what you are!”
• “Help, Popeye! Save me!”
• “I think family is more important than dumb morality.”

Bluto the Terrible

Bluto, also known as Brutus, is a sometimes friend and business partner of Popeye’s – but Bluto has crush on Olive Oyl so when Olive Oyl’s around, he becomes Popeye’s rival or enemy.

Bluto is a big, rough and mean bully of a sailor who pesters Popeye on a daily basis. His voice is loud, harsh and deep, with bear-like growls between words and sentences.

Rules the village of Sweethaven with an iron fist, uses threats and violence and the Tax Man to punish unruly citizens.

He frequently kidnaps Olive Oyl in the hopes she will fall for him. Olive Oyl flirts with Bluto when Popeye is around to get he and Popeye to fight over her.

Bluto has immense strength for a person, and can lift roughly 30-50 tons alone.

His skin is also very hard as shown in a few Popeye episodes when a blade couldn’t cut him and Popeye’s punches wouldn’t hurt him.

J. Wellington Wimpy

Wimpy is a pleasant, friendly man, fond of tall tale, but also apathetic, overweight, hamburger-loving coward and friend of Popeye’s

Wimpy is almost a tramp, but pretends to be a member of a high social status

Consumes an extraordinary amount of hamburgers daily, but somehow never had the money to pay for them

Always on the look out for suckers, unknowing victims, to help him out and cover his costs.

“I’ll gladly repay you Tuesday, for a hamburger today”. Tuesday is never far away and because he seemed like a nice enough guy, characters (usually Popeye) typically fall for it. Of course Tuesday never came and repayment was never made.

J. Wellington Wimpy, first appears (nameless) as a referee in one of Popeye’s fights.

Understands the language of the Goons
Often says:

• “I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. – J. Wellington Wimpy “
• “Let’s you and him fight.”
• “I’d like to invite you over to my house for a duck dinner.”…”You bring the ducks!”
• When asked what are you eating, says: “It’s a soup burger. These are difficult times. Burgers can’t be choosers”

Eugene the Jeep

This strange and little creature comes from the fourth dimension. has magical, indestructible powers, including the power to evaporate through walls.

Speaks only one word: Jeep

Is able to answer any questions about the past, the future and the present.

Acts out answers to questions:

• One step forward for “Yes”
• Stand straight upright for “No.”

The Jeep eats a lot of orchids; there are 363 fellow Jeep living on “Jeep Island”

Popeye uses the mysterious Eugene the Jeep’s supernatural knowledge to find his father.

Alice the Goon

• Tell us about yourself, why you are the right person for this job.
• Can you explain the gaps in your employment history?
• Why did you leave your last position?

Bluto

• What will your manager tell us about your strengths and weaknesses?
• What accomplishments make you particularly proud?
• How do you deal with conflict?

Jeep:

(Assume we all understand the language of Jeep)

• What gets you out of bed in the morning?
• What do you do when you’re running late?
• What is the first thing you’d put on your new desk?

Olive Oyl

• How would you describe yourself?
• What is your management style?
• How would your boss/co-workers describe you?

Poopdeck Pappy

• What motivates you?
• Describe your ideal job.
• Why should we hire you?

Popeye

• Give an example of a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.
• What steps have you taken to address your weaknesses?
• How do you deal with stress?

Swee’Pee

• How do you motivate people?
• Where do you see yourself in two years?
• Explain why you’ve held so many positions in such a short period of time?

Wimpy

• What are your salary expectations?
• How do you define success?
• Other than hamburgers…What motivates you to do your best work?