The Many Hues of Popeye the Sailor Man

In the still of Bluto (what a punk) from the Popeye cartoon, he is standing at the corner of the boxing ring, trying to look tough before his face-off with Popeye.  The hue of his skin tone is a fairly average tan for portraying a Caucasian in a cartoon.  His skin tone however is a bit more saturated and bronze than Popeye’s.  Aside from that, black seems to be his overall color scheme.  His black boxing shorts in conjunction with his thick black beard and black hat send the message that this guy is a crook.  The background is fairly bright and very plain, with the floor of the boxing ring and the background sporting the same tan-ish green-ish color.  The dark area obstructing view on the left side adds contrast to the overall picture.  The image contains no shadows.  The mood of the photo is fairly positive as it contains many bright neutral colors, but Bluto’s dark colors portray some darker feelings.  This relates to his deceptive character and how the boxing match to come is highly unfair because Bluto has sabotaging any of Popeye’s chances of winning on the way to the fight.

In the image of Olive Oyl feeding a disheveled Popeye some trusty spinach, the overall image has a much darker hue.  This is probably due to them being underneath the boxing ring that Popeye just fell through.  In the background, contrast is made between the brightness and saturation of the floor and the dark underside of the ring.  As the outside walls of the ring are totally black, to allow for a sense of space and shape, their “ceiling” is a dark gray.  As far as the characters, Popeye and Olive Oyl both sport a red hue of different saturations.  This continuity links the two characters as a team or partnership.  Olive Oyl’s dark skirt and heels allow for a very conservative look.  Popeye’s bright white hat lets the audience know that he is the loveable protagonist.  This image contains some shadows as it takes place in a dark crevasse with little light.  The green spinach represents hope and a release from the tension in the episode because it gives Popeye the power he needs to defeat Bluto.  The mood is one of hope.  It is somewhat dark and scary where they are, but brightly colored Olive Oyl has a big smile on her face as she assists Popeye to his victory.