Popeye: The Sailor Returns in Wilco Music Video

These days, most of the public likely relates the name Popeye with a fast food chicken franchise more than a comic strip character. The sailor has been around since 1929 but isn’t seen as much these days.

The daily Popeye comic strip ended in 1994 and only Sunday strips are produced these days for a limited number of newspapers. Popeye was once a staple of kids’ TV schedules but a new TV series hasn’t been produced since CBS’ Popeye and Son back in 1988. A CGI special, Popeye’s Voyage: The Quest for Pappy, was released in 2004 for Popeye’s 75th anniversary but that’s been it for new material.

Until now. There’s a new animated music video for Wilco’s “Dawned on Me” that incorporates Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto, Wimpy, and even baby Swee’Pea.

The cartoon is done in the style of the classic black and white Fleischer Studios shorts that were first released in 1933. The short is all hand-drawn and is supposedly the first Popeye cartoon to be made this way since Popeye and Son. It’s also the first music video for the Chicago band since 1999.

Take a look and share your thoughts below:

What do you think? Do you like the new video? Do you think that new Popeye carttons have a place in today’s world?