Well, ain't I a klutz. I accidentally ordered the DVD version of Popeye volume 3 from WBShop*, when I meant to purchase the Blu-Ray...hoping to get a refund and just order the BD elsewhere.

*Not ordering from WBShop for the full price again, anyway--no way, no how.

I keep buying from WBShop because of what Jerry said; that only WBShop sales "count" when WAC is determining how well a set is selling.

I got a shipment confirmation last night. Still grateful for these because if it wasn't for the Archive, there would be no classic animation coming out at all.

My DVD copy arrived today and I've watched a few of the cartoons on it. I am very happy with it. Mine came from Warner's fullfilment center.

My personal favorite cartoons Popeye Meets Hercules and Symphony in Spinach look absolutely gorgeous. One thing I would like to mention is that it is unfortunate that Wolf In Sheik's Clothing was discovered to have negative damage and missing the Magenta reel altogether when they got into the vault. When I was growing up in the SF bay area in 1971, I seem to recall KBHK TV 44 had an absolutely gorgeous color print of this cartoon they were airing at 4:30 or 5:00 in the afternoon right after the Captain San Francisco show. This is the cartoon that really got me interested in Popeye back in the day. The colors on that print were outstanding.

So, which was the first cartoon to use the shortened variation of the 1943-1948 Popeye theme?

So, which was the first cartoon to use the shortened variation of the 1943-1948 Popeye theme?

That would be “Pre-Hysterical Man”

I really can't wait to watch "Pre-Hysterical Man" because when I used to watch this cartoon on Boomerang as a kid, it was always so faded and you could see very little detail of the color.

One thing I would like to mention is that it is unfortunate that Wolf In Sheik's Clothing was discovered to have negative damage and missing the Magenta reel altogether when they got into the vault. When I was growing up in the SF bay area in 1971, I seem to recall KBHK TV 44 had an absolutely gorgeous color print of this cartoon they were airing at 4:30 or 5:00 in the afternoon right after the Captain San Francisco show. This is the cartoon that really got me interested in Popeye back in the day. The colors on that print were outstanding.

Glad it's not just me. While the color has turned on my 16mm print, it also has better range than what's seen on Popeye Vol. 3. I don't fault the Warners folk, though, as I'm sure they did their best in a very short window of time. The audio glitches are getting harder to forgive, though, especially when they're as obvious as the theme starting on a black screen.

Again, I'm guessing that Spinach vs. Hamburgers is the first Technicolor Popeye cartoon to have the red-and-blue Paramount logo with the clouds in the background, seeing that it was released five months after Pre-Hysterical Man, which was the first Polacolor short to use it.

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Pre-Hysterical Man uses the cloudless mountain.

One thing I would like to mention is that it is unfortunate that Wolf In Sheik's Clothing was discovered to have negative damage and missing the Magenta reel altogether when they got into the vault. When I was growing up in the SF bay area in 1971, I seem to recall KBHK TV 44 had an absolutely gorgeous color print of this cartoon they were airing at 4:30 or 5:00 in the afternoon right after the Captain San Francisco show. This is the cartoon that really got me interested in Popeye back in the day. The colors on that print were outstanding.

Glad it's not just me. While the color has turned on my 16mm print, it also has better range than what's seen on Popeye Vol. 3. I don't fault the Warners folk, though, as I'm sure they did their best in a very short window of time. The audio glitches are getting harder to forgive, though, especially when they're as obvious as the theme starting on a black screen.

Jeez, so there ARE alternative prints in existence which were done with the full color range? I wish they could increase the time between each of these releases just a little.

It's a faded 16mm print, ffs, they wouldn't be able to get decent PQ out of it and it would stick out worse than it does now.

It's a faded 16mm print, ffs, they wouldn't be able to get decent PQ out of it and it would stick out worse than it does now.

I didn't mean they should have used your print, just that maybe there could have been a chance to find a print that was usable (i.e. without faded colors etc) if they had more time between releases. Oh well. The chance of that was probably not huge in any case.

Pre-Hysterical Man uses the cloudless mountain.

So that would make Popeye Meets Hercules the first Polacolor Popeye to have the Paramount logo with the clouds.

But about Spinach vs. Hamburgers: does it have the Paramount logo with the clouds?

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How many Popeye cartoons were made in Polacolor?

Pre-Hysterical Man uses the cloudless mountain.

So that would make Popeye Meets Hercules the first Polacolor Popeye to have the Paramount logo with the clouds.

But about Spinach vs. Hamburgers: does it have the Paramount logo with the clouds?

Yes

How many Popeye cartoons were made in Polacolor?

9 of them were, all cartoons from “Wigwam Whoopee” through “Hot Air Aces”, except for “Spinach vs. Hamburgers” and “Popeye’s Premier” both of which had to be produced in Technicolor as both those shorts recycled footage from previous cartoons.

Popeye cartoons made in Polacolor:

Wigwam Whoopee
Pre-Hysterical Man
Popeye Meets Hercules
Wolf in Sheik's Clothing
Snow Place Like Home
Robin Hood-Winked
Symphony In Spinach
Lumberjack and Jill
Hot Air Aces

The audio glitches are getting harder to forgive, though, especially when they're as obvious as the theme starting on a black screen.

This brings me back to the question of how are we, as customers, supposed to react to things such as this? Should we even have a reaction? I've ordered my copy of Vol. 3, since I don't want these releases to stop for lack of sales, but how can we (or at least I) signal that we'd be willing to wait a few more weeks (or months, if necessary) in order to avoid such shortcuts without getting dismissed as ungrateful nitpickers?

This brings me back to the question of how are we, as customers, supposed to react to things such as this? Should we even have a reaction? I've ordered my copy of Vol. 3, since I don't want these releases to stop for lack of sales, but how can we (or at least I) signal that we'd be willing to wait a few more weeks (or months, if necessary) in order to avoid such shortcuts without getting dismissed as ungrateful nitpickers?

Good question.

Warner at least tried to find the missing audio for V2, even though the effort was for naught.