Popeye the Sailor is an American
animated series of comedy
short films based on the
titular comic strip character created by
E. C. Segar. In 1933,
Max and
Dave Fleischer's
Fleischer Studios adapted Segar's characters into a series of
Popeye the Sailor theatrical cartoon shorts for
Paramount Pictures. The plotlines in the animated cartoons tended to be simpler than those presented in the comic strips, and the characters slightly different. A villain, usually
Bluto, makes a move on Popeye's "sweetie,"
Olive Oyl. The villain clobbers Popeye until he eats
spinach, giving him superhuman strength. Thus empowered, the sailor makes short work of the villain.