Popeye – Giddy Gold
& Other Fun Fan Favorites (Koch)
Picture: B-
Sound: B- Extras: D Animated shorts: B
Giddy Gold is one of three new single DVDs
Koch has issued for fans of Popeye, particularly those who missed out on the
terrific 75th Anniversary set of the 1960-61 TV shorts, as
reviewed elsewhere on this site. There
are still copies out there, some still brand new, but if you cannot find that
set or did not want to spend the money on the set, these singles are fine
alternatives. The titles for this set
are:
1) Track
Meet Cheat
2) Scairdy
Cat
3) Popeye’s
Trojan Horse
4) Aladdin’s
Lamp
5) Crystal
Ball Brawl
6) Out Of
This World
7) Swee’pea
Soup
8) Two-Faced
Paleface
9) Spare
Dat Tree
10) Frozen Foods
11) Weight For Me
12) Tiger Burger
13) Old Salt Tale
14) Seer-ring Is Believer-ring
15) Popeye Revere
16) The Glad Gladiator
17) Jeep Is Jeep
18) Strange Things Are Happening
19) Popeye’s Testimonial Dinner
20) Popeye The Ugly Duckling
21) Giddy Gold
22) My Fair Olive
23) Kiddie Kapers
24) Popeye Thumb
25) Barbecue For Two
26) Popeye’s Used Cars
27) Popeye’s Tea Party
28) The Wiffle Bird’s Revenge
29) Bullfighter Bully
30) Fleas A Crowd
31) County Fair
32) Popeye & Buddy Brutus
33) Lighthouse Keeping
34) Butler Up
35) Popeye’s Cool Pool
36) Oil’s Well That End’s Well
The titles are as funny as they are politically incorrect,
yet the shows are not offensive or problematic. Despite the fights between Popeye and his opponents, these are
literally TV safe and as good as any later incarnation of the characters. The only other set we can recommend at this
time is VCI’s collection of the original theatrical Fleischer studios shorts,
including all three original color shorts that went from the studios through
Paramount Pictures at the time. This
set runs about 205 minutes long.
The shorts are presented in their original ratio of 1.33
to 1, but cel dust is still visible with some print flaws here and there. At least Koch did not over-digitize and
manipulate the detail and color quality out of them. There is also a the small amount of interlacing errors that show
up from time to time as they did in the set.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is also better than you would expect for any
TV material from the early 1960s. The audio levels remain balanced
throughout here as well, proving that these are the same transfers as the
original set. After all, why change them? Some companies often degrade titles when
they re-release them, but that did not happen here. Now, you have new options in how to get them without compromise.
- Nicholas Sheffo
