Shiver Me Timbers! Review

Shiver Me Timbers! is a 1934 Popeye the Sailor animated short film that is visually and thematically unique, but lacking in terms of action.

This short started off strong with such a superbly created atmosphere. Popeye visits the haunted ship with Olive and Wimpy and they all start experiencing nightmarish occurrences. The first half is great and comedic, but the second half disappointed me as it was too action-oriented and the action itself is typical and forgettable with Popeye basically just fighting all these skeletons with no inventiveness ever to be found.

But Popeye is great as is Olive and Wimpy in particular is the highlight. Wimpy’s scene with hamburgers is simply hilarious and such a great use of his character whereas Olive’s scene with Popeye in which he mistakes her for a ghost is of course very funny, albeit expected. The humor is good and the animation particularly is very good, but the action and the second half are uninspired.

Shiver Me Timbers! is visually great and it has a great premise solidly explored and although the action is weak and disappointing, the humor is superb and at times hilarious.

My Rating – 4