Popeye the Sailor is a fictional cartoon character created by E.C. Segar. The character first appeared on January 17, 1929, in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre. Originally he was written as a side character, but he was so popular that in 1931, he became the main character of the comic strips.
The 1929 Popeye comics entered the public domain in 2025. His arch nemesis Bluto is confirmed to be public domain also, as a renewal hasn't been found for his 1932 strip. other characters are rumored to be in the public domain as well as no renewals are seen for their debut strips and are currently being researched.
The cartoon version of Popeye is under copyright. However, 34 Popeye cartoons are in the public domain due to copyright failure.
Filmography[]
- Let's Sing with Popeye (1934; includes clips of Popeye's cartoon debut) ©️
- Little Swee'Pea (September 25, 1936)
- Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (November 27, 1936)@
- I'm In the Army Now! (December 25, 1936; includes clips of Blow Me Down!, Shoein' Hosses, Choose Your "Weppins" and King of the Mardi Gras) ©️
- The Paneless Window Washer (January 22, 1937)
- I Never Changes My Altitude (August 20, 1937)
- Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's 40 Thieves (November 26, 1937)@
- A Date to Skate (November 18, 1938)
- Customers Wanted (January 27, 1939; includes clips of Let's Get Movin' and The Twisker Pitcher) ©️
- Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (April 7, 1939)@
- Me Musical Nephews (December 25, 1942)
- Toys Will Be Toys (July 29, 1949; cameo) - released as part of the Screen Songs series
- Shuteye Popeye (October 3, 1952)
- Big Bad Sindbad (December 12, 1952; includes footage of Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor with redubbed soundtrack)
- Ancient Fistory (January 30, 1953)
- Floor Flusher (January 1, 1954)
- Popeye's 20th Anniversary (April 2, 1954; includes clips of Tops in the Big Top and Rodeo Romeo) ©️
- Taxi-Turvy (June 4, 1954)
- Bride and Gloom (July 2, 1954)
- Greek Mirthology (August 13, 1954)
- Fright to the Finish (August 27, 1954)
- Private Eye Popeye (November 12, 1954)
- Gopher Spinach (December 10, 1954)
- Cookin' With Gags (January 14, 1955)
- Popeye for President (March 30, 1956)
- Out to Punch (June 8, 1956)
- Assault and Flattery (July 6, 1956; includes clips of A Balmy Swami, How Green Is My Spinach? and The Farmer and the Belle) ©️
- Insect to Injury (August 10, 1956)
- Parlez Zous Woo (October 14, 1956)
- I Don't Scare (November 16, 1956)
- A Haul in One (December 14, 1956)
- Nearlyweds (February 8, 1957)
- The Crystal Brawl (April 5, 1957; includes clips of Quick on the Vigor and Alpine for You) ©️
- Patriotic Popeye (May 10, 1957)
- Spree Lunch (June 21, 1957)
- Spooky Swabs (August 9, 1957)
©️ - Popeye's cartoon debut (1933), Blow Me Down (1933), Shoein' Hosses (1934), Choose Your "Weppins" (1935), King of the Mardi Gras (1935), Let's Get Movin' (1936), The Twisker Pitcher (1937), Tops in the Big Top (1945), Rodeo Romeo (1946), A Balmy Swami (1949), How Green Is My Spinach? (1950), The Farmer and the Belle (1950), Quick on the Vigor (1950) and Alpine for You (1951) are under copyright. They will be in the public domain in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, 2033, 2041, 2042, 2045, 2046 and 2047 respectively. @ - Clips of the Fleischer Popeye color cartoons used in Spinach Packin' Popeye (1944), Popeye's Premiere (1949) and Popeye Makes a Movie (1950) are under copyright. They will be in the public domain in 2040, 2045 and 2046 respectively.