Product Review

Popeye (DVD)

Based on the long-running comic strip created by E.C. Segar (and less on the animated cartoons created by Max Fleischer, which were decidedly di fferent in tone and approach), Popeye follows the sailor man with the mi ghty arms (played by Robin Williams in his first major film role) as he arrives in the seaside community of Sweethaven in search of his long-lo st father. Popeye meets and quickly f alls for the slender Olive Oyl (Sh elley Duvall, in the role she was born to play), but Olive's hand has al ready been promised to the hulking Bluto (Paul Smith), of whom Olive ca n say little except, well, he's large. Eventually, Popeye and Olive are brought togethe r by Swee' Pea (Wesley Ivan Hurt), an adorable foundling , and Popeye finally meets his dad, Poopdeck Pappy (Ray Walston). Direct or R obert Altman in no way tempered his trademark style for this big-bu dget family opus, crowding the screen with a variety of character s and allowing his cast to overlap as much dialogue as they want.