| Puppet Love | |
| Number 128 | |
 | |
| Guide | |
| previous Spinach Packin' Popeye |
next Pitchin' Woo at the Zoo |
Puppet Love is Popeye's 128th cartoon, released by Famous Studios on August 11, 1944. It features Popeye as the protagonist, Bluto as the antagonist and Olive Oyl as the love interest.
Plot[]
The scene opens with Bluto putting the finishing touches on a marionette he has crafted that is an exact likeness of his nemesis, Popeye. In putting the figure through a trial run, the big fellow reveals that he is not only a skilled woodcarver, but also a mimic and ventriloquist.
The scene shifts to Popeye, preparing for shore leave and his date with Olive. Next we see Olive, waiting in rapt anticipation on a park bench that is to be her rendezvous point with her suitor. We hear the familiar strains of Popeye's theme song and then see that it is "sung" by the dummy, controlled by Bluto from his perch on an overhanging tree limb. "Popeye" exchanges initial pleasantries, but then proceeds to knock her off the bench twice and ensnare her nose with a mousetrap. As a crowning insult, "he" deposits her in a trash receptacle and pushes her into a lake.
Just then, the unsuspecting Popeye shows up and is met by an irate Olive, who nails him with her purse. She saunters off with Bluto, and Popeye is left to ponder the intricacies of female behavior. But at that moment, the dummy falls down from the tree and Popeye realizes Bluto's perfidy. He proceeds to sneak on the other two and, while Olive is applying makeup, beats Bluto unconscious and affixes wires of his own (Popeye, it seems, also possesses the ability to mimic Bluto's voice). This live "dummy" then performs more rude actions on Olive, stomping her foot, flinging her into a water fountain, and also threatening her with a carving knife.
The conniving Bluto bites the dust
At this point, Olive screams for Popeye to rescue her. The sailor emerges from his arboreal perch and challenges Bluto, but at this point the larger man has woken from his slumber and snapped off his puppet strings. He gives Popeye a big blow into a lamppost, and adds insult to injury by turning on the current. But as Bluto makes threatening advances toward Olive, Popeye devours his spinach. He gives Bluto a good beating that leaves the villain draped over the park bench, down for the count.
Popeye returns from the fight to find Olive kissing the wooden dummy and pleading with it to return her affections.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Puppet Love at the Internet Movie Database