In viewing most of the color Popeye cartoons from the Famous Studios era, I've noticed that the vast majority of them--or, at least, the currently circulating copies thereof--are available only in their faded, A.A.P. prints. When Turner and company bought the rights to these Popeye films, did they not create new syndication masters in the 1990s, as is the case with the pre-'48 Looney Tunes and the MGM cartoons?

They did, in the sense that they transferred everything to video as opposed to just running 16mm film prints. But at first they left it pretty much "as is." Eventually, they made new video masters creating "fake original titles" by taking them from another cartoon with Paramount titles. For the black and whites, they cued past the a.a.p. intros and "slowed down" the remaining portions of the openings, so the opening and closing door sound effects were out of sync. The priority seemed to be to eliminate the a.a.p. name, as opposed to actually restoring anything.

It was the same with the pre-1948 Warner cartoons. Initially they were just transferred to video, and some were transfers made for VHS/Beta masters with the LT/MM intros left off. Eventually they redid most of them to eliminate any trace of a.a.p. I wonder why that was so important.

I, for one, hope that, when Paramount sold the Popeyes to A.A.P, the cuts made to each installment's title sequences weren't made to the negatives...

I, for one, hope that, when Paramount sold the Popeyes to A.A.P, the cuts made to each installment's title sequences weren't made to the negatives...

That would be nice, but unfortunately, at least for the majority of the color ones, it seems like they were. Unless those elements were retained by Paramount. Because I am pretty sure that's the reason for the long delay in releasing them

Sounds believable... I mean, obviously, Warner would be marketing a set containing these to die-hard cartoon buffs like us, and they obviously know how stickler a lot of us (myself included) are about the original title sequences being preserved.

That having been said, I find it rather strange that Turner actually gave the MGM cartoons better treatment than they did with those in the A.A.P package (Paramount and Warners).

The M-G-M cartoons were not subjected to having titles changed for syndication (though they were for Saturday morning network TV, as were Warner). Some were changed for reissues, as were the Warner Blue Ribbons. But the M-G-Ms did have the issue of many negatives lost in a vault fire.

Over the years, M-G-M was pretty protective of their films. They weren't subject to overexposure.

I think most Famous Studios Popeye cartoons did have their negatives cut, but some did not. Remember, Paramount sold the cartoons to tv, but retained theatrical distribution/exhibition rights. I believe that means they may have kept some original titled prints/negatives handy for the times when a cartoon was booked for theatrical showings. It might be worth a check into what elements UCLA might be holding onto.

But don't forget, it could be worse: NTA or U.M. & M. titles could have been hacked in like some of the other Famous Studios series were.

When Jerry Beck help set up Cartoon Network's "The Popeye Show" in 2001, he and the rest of the staff oversaw that both the Fleischer and Famous shorts shown on the program were restored with their original title cards. Over 35 Famous Studios cartoons were shown on that program.

When Jerry Beck help set up Cartoon Network's "The Popeye Show" in 2001, he and the rest of the staff oversaw that both the Fleischer and Famous shorts shown on the program were restored with their original title cards. Over 35 Famous Studios cartoons were shown on that program.

Which ones?

I think most Famous Studios Popeye cartoons did have their negatives cut, but some did not. Remember, Paramount sold the cartoons to tv, but retained theatrical distribution/exhibition rights. I believe that means they may have kept some original titled prints/negatives handy for the times when a cartoon was booked for theatrical showings. It might be worth a check into what elements UCLA might be holding onto.

But don't forget, it could be worse: NTA or U.M. & M. titles could have been hacked in like some of the other Famous Studios series were.

IIRC, when "The Baby Huey Show" was syndicated in the 1990s, Harvey asked Paramount to let them use the public domain "Quack A Doodle Doo," which had been part of the NTA package. Paramount let them use it, and still retained elements.

I, for one, hope that, when Paramount sold the Popeyes to A.A.P, the cuts made to each installment's title sequences weren't made to the negatives...

When Jerry Beck was still part of Cartoon Brew, he confirmed that aap did NOT cut the negatives when they made TV prints of the Popeye cartoons.

Also, "bozo" (Barry Mills), producer of "The Popeye Show" on Cartoon Network, posted on the GAC Forums that the print of "Wotta Nitemare" that aired on "The Popeye Show' was "the real deal". He said that the original negative was retrieved from the Library of Congress and it still had the original titles.

I think all that has been "lost" is the original opening and closing music for some of the Technicolor Popeyes. When the original openings and closings for some of the 1943-45 Technicolor Popeyes were recreated for later episodes of "The Popeye Show", "bozo" posted on the GAC Forums that he had been pointed in the direction of the "surviving" original soundtracks for the Technicolor Popeyes.