Popeye movie poster: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Movie poster from Popeye, 1980. Photograph of Robin Williams as Popeye and Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl with blue background framed in rope in center of poster. Popeye is holding a can of spinach in one hand and has a white thought bubble coming from his head that says "I YAM / WHAT I / YAM!" in red. "BLOW ME DOWN! IT'S COMINK FOR CHRISTMAS!" is printed at top of poster in black ink.

Popeye the Sailor Man is one of the most recognizable and long-lived comic strip characters in American history. The character has been featured in adaptations in a variety of media and used as a notable spokesperson for consumer products, licensed toys and other goods, and political and social causes. Popeye has been a remarkably popular comic character from his first appearance in 1929 to today, loved by his fans for his anti-authoritarian sense of justice, self-reliant courage under fire, and his confident, good-humored authenticity. From his use as a mascot during World War II, through fans’ proud self-identification in purchasing Popeye merchandise, to his use as a spokesperson for social causes, Popeye has become a representation of American values and spirit, both at home and abroad.

The Popeye character was created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who first wrote him in to a storyline in his King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929. Popeye is a sailor, usually depicted with a sailor’s cap, pipe, prominent cleft chin, one squinty eye, and bulging forearms bearing anchor tattoos. He is distinguished by the superhuman strength and combat prowess he gains from eating spinach. Popeye is often depicted as unsophisticated, his working class New Jersey accent peppered with humorous malapropisms, but he possesses a strong moral compass and seeks to right wrongs and defend and champion underdogs from bullies and unjust authority. Popeye courts the lanky, headstrong Olive Oyl, often rescuing her from the brutish sometimes-romantic rival Bluto, and is occasionally shown caring for a child named Swee-Pea said to be either a founding, relative, or son of Olive Oyl.

Popeye proved to be a fan favorite and breakout star of Thimble Theatre, making the strip one of the most popular in the country by the early 1930s, with Popeye ranked Fortune magazine readers’ second favorite comic character after Little Orphan Annie in a 1937 poll. The strip – renamed Popeye in the 1970s, continued to be published daily until 1992, after which it continued as a Sunday strip to today, making it one of the longest running comic strips in American history.

Fleischer Studios licensed Popeye and the other Thimble Theatre characters for a series of animated shorts released by Paramount Pictures from the 1930s-1950s, and these popular cartoons expanded the character’s universe and popularity. The shorts introduced Popeye’s theme song (“I'm strong to the ‘finich’, 'cause I eats me spinach! I’m Popeye the sailor man!”) and cemented his reputation as a brave and virtuous brawler; many 1940s entries in the series featured Popeye fighting the Axis Powers on behalf of the United States. The cartoon series was adapted for television as Popeye the Sailor, which aired from 1960-1962, and has been revived several times in the decades since. Popeye has also been the star of a number of comic book series, web comics, radio programs, video games, and a 1980 live action musical film by Director Robert Altman starring Robin Williams as Popeye and Shelley Duval as Olive Oyl.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1980
• Object Name: poster
• Physical Description: paper (overall material)
• Physical Description: ink (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 37 1/2 in x 25 1/2 in; 95.25 cm x 64.77 cm
• associated subject: Motion Pictures
• associated subject: Entertainment, Film
• ID Number: 2024.0153.08
• accession number: 2024.0153
• catalog number: 2024.0153.08
• Credit Line: Gift of King Features Syndicate
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.