Any news on Warners continuing the Popeye cartoons? (1 Viewer)

[John Morgan]

I was hoping we would have had some news by now. Anyone hear anything about the next release? I am sure the very best Popeye's are the black and white ones and I have enjoyed them very much in the fantastic restoration Warners has done. I hope they continue through the color shorts...at least all those produced by Paramount. I don't know how many sets that would add, but I am waiting to spend my dollars on them. I just hope they are not abandoned.

 

[Bradskey]

Well there won't be anything this year, not for Looney Toons either. If we're lucky we may start to here some indication of what, if anything, we'll be getting next year and beyond. I think the consensus is pretty pessimistic about further Popeye release, as sales of Volume 3 were supposedly rather poor (although they wouldn't have been if they had gotten their act together and been able to release Volume 2 as the 4-disc collection it was supposed to have been).

Mr. Beck has hinted that we can look forward to some animation coming out (eventually) through the Warner Archive, so at the very least maybe the further adventures of Popeye will show up there (although I would still want them fully restored). Its less than ideal, but would be a lot better than nothing. But I don't know anything, maybe they really will continue the DVD releases... eventually. Fingers crossed, hopefully they will be released in some form. Although the Fleischer Popeye's are great, I saw those color Paramount Popeye's a lot more than the black and whites when I was a kid and would love to have them.

 

The first Popeye set is being dumped at Big Lots all across the nation for $3 each this very week. I can't believe they would be prepping a fourth set that will be priced at ten times that.

 

[Traveling Matt]

The Popeye sets, all three, have sold very well according to what can be garnered from Amazon’s sales rankings. Warner’s move to reduce them to two-disc sets was, in my opinion, very smart. That could have only helped, not hurt, those sets as the dollar was already tightening by that point.

Formally, Jerry Beck has said both Looney Tunes and Popeye are on hold for this year, due to the economy. Hopefully we’ll hear more late this year or early next.

 

[AnaJu]

yeah its very nice document.write("");

 

[Kevin Martinez]

At this point, why doesn't Warner just wait until they've restored all of the Popeyes and then come out with one big set with all of the color ones. It ties in with the "complete series" thinking that is occuring with TV on DVD sets recently.

 

[Kevin Martinez]

A friend on another forum with industry ties has said on several occasions that Warner has a contract with King Features that states that they have to release all of the Popeyes. I haven't heard much more than that, however.

 

[TravisR]

^ I doubt that. Why would a company as big as Warners paint themselves into a corner where they have to release something that potentially would lose money for them?

 

[Traveling Matt]

Right. No company would put themselves out like that. Complete sets exist only due to overstock from previously-released season or volume sets. There's no motivation to do all that work without overstock, unless very careful planning and negotiating circumstances among those involved allow it to happen from the start (such as with TimeLife and their sets). Unfortunately, that's not the case with WB and King Features.

However, I too have heard on numerous occasions that WB is obligated to release all the Popeye shorts. All things considered, I'm hoping their decision to delay will allow them the ability to continue them down the road with the same restoration and presentation standards the previous three enjoyed. If that's the case, I'm more than happy to wait.

 

[Kevin Martinez]

Most of the sets showing up at Big Lots are a minimum of two years old, and have most likely sold all that they're going to sell. And like I said, many of the sets sold well when they first came out, particularly stuff like The Flintstones.

Jerry Beck said on one of his interviews that Popeye Vol 1. sold "well", as much as Looney Tunes Vol. 2. But Warner expected sales to be as much as LT Vol. 1.

 

[Corey3rd]

108 shorts left. They ought to just put them out on a 5 dvd set and get it over

 

[Bradskey]

It is true that some TV series have been released in gargantuan complete box sets: Time Life sets like Get Smart, the various Star Trek series, etc. It almost seems like there should be a mega-box for all the Looney Toons and a large one for Popeye would have been fine also. The problem is most of those TV shows don't require anywhere near the level of restoration they've been putting into these animated short subjects. They're doing 60 shorts a year for Looney Toons and hopefully still restoring Popeye cartoons. They've restored less than half the WB cartoons so far. So even if they were inclined to do something like that, it will take years before the material is ready.

I've heard of this contract obligation between WB and KFS before also, but have no idea if its really true. I still contend that Warner Archive might end up being their escape or "plan B" in that event.

 

[Kevin Martinez]

Originally Posted by Traveling Matt

Right. No company would put themselves out like that. Complete sets exist only due to overstock from previously-released season or volume sets. There's no motivation to do all that work without overstock, unless very careful planning and negotiating circumstances among those involved allow it to happen from the start (such as with TimeLife and their sets). Unfortunately, that's not the case with WB and King Features.

Ally McBeal is going to complete series right away (and that's a show that MANDATES extensive music clearance and/or cuts and substitutions for any sort DVD release. And it's a Fox (not Time Life) release that's never been released on DVD in its entirety before), as is It's Garry Shandling's Show and the rereleases of Transformers and G.I. Joe. Those were 2009 sets I had in mind when I wrote that.