Far West Post
1953
Or: Popeye in the Wild West
Oranjeboom Beer advert.
Far West Post
Or: Popeye in the Wild West - possibly a more apt title for this 1953 Oranjeboom Beer advert.
When pitching ideas, Joop Geesink had no problem applying the same successful concept to different products. This "Popeye concept" is a good point in case.
Where cartoon hero Popeye gets sudden superpowers simply by eating spinach, here it is alcohol that does the trick. And even though we now have different sensibilities about mixing alcohol and violence, it's still a charming little film.
Trivia
The experiment to apply cartoon humour to puppet characters doesn't really work that well here. Popeye's 2D cartoon violence in which he makes buildings literally shake on their footings and villains dive through the air doesn't translate as well to 3D puppet animation of that time.
Then there's the voice-over, almost literally telling us what we see happen on the screen. Nowadays the adage is "Don't tell 'em, show 'em!"
In the USA Oranjeboom Beer was also known as Queens Beer.
Far West Post (1953)
| Title: | Far West Post |
|---|---|
| Commissioned by: | Oranjeboom beer / Queens Beer |
| Duration: | 2 minutes |
| Year of production: | 1953 |
| Director: | Unknown |
| Animation: | Unknown |
| Puppets: | Harry Tolsma |
| Format: | 35 mm, Technicolor |
