One might think that remaking Popeye would be in the interest of those that have been trying to remake and redo everything that’s been within reach for the last decade or so, but then they might start to think about it and wonder why since, to be honest, Robin Williams was probably one of the only guys that could really nail this character down without butchering him too badly. As far as turning a remake into a musical that feels as though it might not be the brightest thing to do since making it into a musical back in the day was kind of an odd choice. But bringing it back is something that might be kind of awkward all the same since this movie wasn’t all that well-received when it came out and it’s easy to think that it might not be again since we haven’t seen a whole lot of demand for it. At the moment it does sound as though Sony has plans for an animated remake, which would be a lot better of an idea since keeping Popeye as an animated character gives a lot more leeway to the type of action that occurs when he and Bluto start to get physical.
The 1980 movie was unique, there’s no doubt about that, but it was also something that a lot of people decided wasn’t all that great, and to be realistic it was kind of disturbing in some ways since one might have expected it to defy certain reason and logic since it was based on a cartoon, but the manner in which it was done left some people cringing simply because it could have been done so much better. But let’s say this: Robin Williams was the guy to do it since he had the comedic chops and the type of personality that made the character come to life in a very big way. From Popeye’s shorter size to his constant mumbling and gravely voice he was about as perfect as could be since he took the role and did the best he could with it, which is to say that he did great since he was the high point of the movie, as he should have been. The movie did manage to bring the most important elements that made the cartoon so great, but the manner in which this was done was just, strange. It’s a matter of perspective as to whether the strangeness was good or bad, but it was definitely an odd movie. Bringing it back as a remake would be a tough proposition simply because finding the titular character would be kind of rough given that there might be some actors that could attempt it, but thinking that anyone would be as good as Williams is hard to do. That’s why if this project ever was done that it would need to find a way to be its own thing and not worry too much about trying to be better than the 1980 version.
Sometimes a movie doesn’t have to be improved upon to create something new and exciting, but it’s simple to think that making Popeye into a live-action movie today would be handled with a lot more care and would possibly use a different setting and a different storyline. So it might not be a remake, but a different adaptation of the old idea in a way that would translate well to the current era. That might have been one reason why the old version didn’t really connect well with the fans since Sweethaven was a pretty backward town that was out of the way and felt almost entirely closed off from the world. Allowing Popeye to interact with the rest of the world in a way that’s far more inclusive would likely open up the story just a little more and perhaps even give the characters more to work with. But what the story would be about is anyone’s guess since the cartoons were fairly open to ideas and there’s no telling just what the animated feature will be covering. For all that he’s been a popular character over the years, Popeye is still one that doesn’t feel like he’s been given enough development. Maybe a reboot would remedy that, or perhaps it would give him at least a bit of background about him that would make sense and bring him a little further into the public consciousness.
Whatever could be done with Popeye it’s easy to think that a live-action version isn’t in the cards right now, but the animated version is supposedly coming in 2022 and has been in development for a while. What to expect when it gets here is anyone’s guess, but at this time it’s kind of interesting to think of what could happen and how it might play out.
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