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Olive Oyl is a character created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1919 for his comic strip Thimble Theatre. Thimble Theatre was later renamed after Popeye ever since the sailor character became the most popular member of the strip's cast. Olive debuted in the first strip, dated December 19, 1919. She had already been a main character for the 9 years predating Popeye's introduction in January 1929. Olive is said to have been inspired by real-life Chester, Illinois local Dora Paskel, while her mannerisms and voice in the subsequent cartoons were an impression of ZaSu Pitts, including her catchphrase, "Oh Dear!".
Voiced/Portrayed by
- Bonnie Poe (1933-1934,1938)
- Mae Questel (1934-1938,1944-1962)
- Margie Hines (1938-1943)
- Olive LaMoy (radio)
- Corinne Orr (1972)
- Marilyn Schreffler (1978-1988)
- Cheryl Chase (1998)
- Shelley Duvall (live-action film)
- Kelly Hu (Robot Chicken)
- Tabitha St. Germain (The Quest for Pappy)
- Lani Minella (2011)
- Grey DeLisle (2014 animation test)
- Marjorie Kouns (Fleischer Cartoon digital remix series)
- Alex Borstein (commercials)
- Tara Strong (Robot Chicken)
Quotes
- "Oh Dear!" (Mannerism taken from ZaSu Pitts)
- [clinging to the hull] "Oh! Oh, oh dear, what happened?" (Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor)
- "Help! Popeye, save me!"
- [singing] "My heart's palpitatin'/Whenever I'm skatin'/With Popeye the Sailor Man!" (A Date to Skate)
- [singing, in Popeye's voice] "I knock the dame sky-high that tries to take my guy - Popeye the Sailor Man!" (Hill-billing and Cooing)
- "(Crying) Oh, my poor house burned down! I only cleaned my dress in a gallon of gasoline!" (The House Builder-Upper)
Fictional character biography
In the strip as written by Segar, Olive was something of a coy flapper whose extremely thin build lent itself well to the fashions of the time; her long black hair was usually rolled in a neat bun, like her mother's. She was the more-or-less fiancée of Harold Hamgravy, a "lounge lizard" or slacker type who did as little work as possible and was always borrowing money. His attraction to other women—particularly if they were rich—naturally incensed Olive, and she once succumbed to a fit of "lunaphobia" (a kind of angry madness) over one of his amours. When she recovered, she continued to pretend to have the disorder to win him back. She was not immune to flattery from other men, but remained committed to Ham until Popeye's appearance. Olive and Popeye actually hated each other when they first met (her first words to him were "Take your hooks offa me or I'll lay ya in a scupper"), and they fought bitterly---and hilariously---for weeks until finally realizing that they had feelings for each other.
The version of Olive Oyl most widely recognized is the one from the theatrical animated cartoons, first created by Fleischer Studios, and then produced by Famous Studios. Unlike most modern damsels in distress, Olive Oyl has her hair in a bun and is tall and skinny, with oversized feet. In the films and later television cartoons, Olive is Popeye's girlfriend, although she could be extremely fickle, depending on who could woo her the best or had the flashier possessions, and was prone to get angry over the tiniest things. She constantly gets kidnapped by Bluto/Brutus, who is Popeye's arch-rival for her affections, but Popeye always rescues her, winning her affection in the end.
In the cartoons, she helps to take care of a baby named Little Swee'Pea; it is not made clear if Swee'Pea is Olive's biological or adopted son. In the comics, Swee'Pea is a foundling under Popeye's care. Later sources, mostly in the cartoon series, say that Swee'Pea is Olive Oyl's cousin or nephew that she has to take care of from time to time.
History
Olive after consuming some of Popeye's spinach.
Olive is named after olive oil, used commonly in cooking or in salads. Segar's newspaper strips also featured a number of her relatives named after other oils, including her brother, Castor Oyl, their mother, Nana Oyl (after "banana oil", a mild slang phrase of the time used in the same way as "horsefeathers," i.e. "nonsense"), their father, Cole Oyl, Castor's estranged wife, Cylinda Oyl, and more recently, Olive's niece, Deezil Oyl (a pun on diesel oil) appears in the cartoons. Also among Olive's family are her cousin, Sutra Oyl and various uncles such as Otto Oyl and Lubry Kent Oyl.
The voice for Olive Oyl was created by character actress Mae Questel (who also voiced Betty Boop and other characters); Questel styled Olive Oyl's voice after that of actress ZaSu Pitts. (The first few cartoons, however, featured Bonnie Poe as the voice of Olive Oyl.) In 1938, Margie Hines took over as the voice of Olive Oyl, starting with the cartoon Bulldozing The Bull. Questel returned as the voice of Olive Oyl in 1944, starting with the cartoon The Anvil Chorus Girl; she would remain so until the King Features Syndicate made-for-TV Popeye shorts in 1960.
Marilyn Schreffler replaced Mae Questel as Olive Oyl when Hanna-Barbera obtained rights to produce new made-for-TV Popeye cartoons for The All-New Popeye Hour in 1978.
In the 1980 film version, Olive is played by Shelley Duvall. One reviewer called her performance "eerily perfect."
Rivals
Olive Oyl has had many rivals in the animated Popeye cartoons. In the cartoon series she might have been often perceived as a "helpless female", but in the original E.C. Segar comic strips she is shown to be quite the scrapper and will fight for her man.
- Mae West caricature (Fleischer Studios)
- Bluto's girlfriend (Fleischer Studios)
- Possum Pearl (Famous Studios)
- Blutessa (Hanna-Barbera)
- Lizzie (Hanna-Barbera)
The only cartoon female to get let off without a single cat-fight from Olive would have to be Betty Boop. In the first Popeye cartoon, entitled Popeye the Sailor, Betty is shown onstage doing a seductive dance together with Popeye while Olive dances in the crowd. In Myron Waldman's official artworks both Olive and Betty are shown to be quite good friends even when Popeye is flirting with Betty. King Features continues to feel this way about both characters, which they portrayed as a Twitter message between the two.
Songs
Since her debut in animation, Olive Oyl has been given a few unique songs.
- I Want a Clean Shaven Man
- Why Am I So Beautiful
- By a Waterfall
- Brotherly Love
- It's a Hap-Hap-Happy Day
Urban legend
Rumor has it that in September 1938 head of Fleischer Studios Max Fleischer, as a thank-you to all artists who moved to his new animation studio in Florida, animated a graphic sexual encounter between his two stars Betty Boop and Popeye. Reports on this supposed film, known as “Welcome to Miami,” range from it being 30 seconds of pencil drawings to a full-color short film.
Reception
A common criticism refers to how Olive Oyl was employed in the animated adaptation of the original comics, which was making her the center of a love triangle that included Popeye and Bluto. Thus, the finesse and complexity of Thimble Theatre was almost always superseded by simplistic conflict between two rivals for her favor. Some of her critics have taken issue with her appearance, regarding her as too ugly, old-looking or plain for such a role as an object of desire, ignoring the fact that she was chiefly meant to be a humorous character by her creator. However, while some disregard her as a love interest, others such as author Steve Bierly argue for the character's attractiveness.
The animated Olive was often drawn to appear more attractive
A visually different Olive began appearing in later Famous Studios releases. Meant to be more appealing to the eyes of the public, this Olive is noticeably changed, having bigger, more expressive eyes and a modern hairstyle. At the same time, she would demonstrate more empowerment, as she would often put up more of a fight towards her abductor(s) or other female characters trying to woo Popeye. This incarnation, however, is found by some to have more of an unlikeable personality.
In Olive's original appearances, she was made to appear very fickle, which was meant to play up her comedic attibutes. In the cartoons, she could often be seen flirting with Bluto and giving in to his advances before changing her mind in Popeye's favor. In some setups, she would favor Bluto even when she already was in a relationship with Popeye.
Gallery
Olive Oyl's gallery can be viewed here
See Also
External links
- Popeye | The Home of Popeye the Sailor Man website
- Olive Oyl Loves (Olive's official website)
- Don Markstein's Toonopedia Popeye page
- Olive Oyl at the Internet Movie Database