Fleets of Stren'th (1942)
Popeye's unconventional torpedo-loading technique get him a mild punishment: he's ordered to stand at attention. Just then, the enemy attacks. He remains at attention, even as a bomb throws him to the top of the mast, where his commander finally notices and orders him to get the planes. Popeye fires on them, but this only draws return fire. He eats his spinach, then turns into a plane himself and attacks.
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The Worst Film Ever
For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
Fleets of Stren'th (1942) *** (out of 4)This WWII era short has Popeye getting screamed at by his senior officer and he is forced to stay in attention. Just as this happens some planes start attacking his ship and it's battle time.FLEETS OF STREN'TH isn't nearly one of the better Popeye shorts but there's enough action to make it worth sitting through. Obviously the ship comes under attack and before you know it Popeye is pretty much battling everyone on his own. The highlight of the film is when Popeye pretty much becomes a plane and flies into the sky to take on the enemies. As you'd expect, the animation throughout is top-notch and there are some funny moments sprinkled throughout the short.
Of the three "wartime" Popeye cartoons thus far (more was on the way), this was the wildest and most entertaining.It is more cartoon-like in that it's one absurd scene after another, the kind you only get with a cartoon.In here, Popeye, by himself, battles an entire fleet of airplanes off an enemy ship. It's unbelievable! Some of the earlier scenes are very funny and clever before the whole thing really gets frenetic with Popeye downing his spinach and turning into an airplane himself! This is really wild, scenes that will sound ridiculous if I described them in detail. Suffice to say, it's definitely a fun one to watch.