Alice the Goon

Last updated
Alice the Goon
Popeye character
First appearance Thimble Theatre (December 10, 1933)
Created by E. C. Segar [1]
Voiced by Marilyn Schreffler
In-universe information
SpeciesGoon
GenderFemale

Alice the Goon is a fictional character in E. C. Segar's comic strip Thimble Theatre and in the Popeye cartoon series derived from it. [2]

Contents

History

Alice made her debut in the Sunday, December 10, 1933, Thimble Theatre strip, part of the "Plunder Island" storyline. Initially unnamed and of unspecified sex, she works as a guard for the Sea Hag, a vicious pirate and the last sorceress on Earth. Alice is portrayed as an Amazonian giantess (8 ft 0 in (2.44 m) tall), bald, with a large nose (reminiscent of a proboscis monkey, or of Rastapopoulos from The Adventures of Tintin ), no visible mouth, and extremely hairy forearms and legs. Her name and sex are given in the January 14, 1934, strip, after she captures Wimpy.

Alice first appears when the Sea Hag returns to Sweethaven searching for a former slave named Cringly, the only one who knows the location of her lair, Plunder Island. After capturing Wimpy and locking him in the deck of her ship, the Black Barnacle, the Sea Hag orders the goon, "Keep an eye on him, Alice!" The characters and readers now realize Alice is female. Upon arriving at Plunder Island, Popeye and Alice fight violently and Popeye threatens to throw Alice off a cliff, until her child (also of unspecified sex) appears and shouts, "Mama!" Realizing that he is fighting a woman, which goes against his principles, Popeye releases Alice and discovers that she became the Sea Hag's slave only because the Hag had threatened her baby. Alice is the leader of a race of goons enslaved by the Sea Hag; Popeye and Alice lead them in a successful Spartacus-like slave rebellion.

At the time, Alice caused controversy with protective parents, who claimed that her frightening appearance alarmed their children. Alice was therefore toned down to become a gentler and more motherly apparition.

In later appearances, Alice starts wearing a skirt and flowered hat. Her tribe live on Goon Island and the Goons are indistinguishable from each other. When Alice speaks, her words appear as a series of meaningless squiggles. Wimpy is the only one who can understand her language. After being liberated from the Sea Hag, Alice comes to live with Olive Oyl and becomes a nursemaid to baby Swee'Pea.

Alice was a main character in the later Private Olive Oyl shorts, where she and Olive join the Army with humorous results; see The All-New Popeye Hour . [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olive Oyl</span> Character from Popeye

Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by E. C. Segar in 1919 for his comic strip Thimble Theatre. The strip was later renamed Popeye after the sailor character that became the most popular member of the cast; however, Olive Oyl was a main character for a decade before Popeye's 1929 appearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluto</span> Fictional character from Popeye franchise

Bluto, at times known as Brutus, is a cartoon and comics character created in 1932 by Elzie Crisler Segar as a one-time character, named "Bluto the Terrible", in his Thimble Theatre comic strip. Bluto made his first appearance on September 12 of that year. Fleischer Studios adapted him the next year (1933) to be the main antagonist of their theatrical Popeye animated cartoon series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. C. Segar</span> American cartoonist (1894–1938)

Elzie Crisler Segar, known by the pen name E. C. Segar, was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of Popeye, a pop culture character who first appeared in 1929 in Segar's comic strip Thimble Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugene the Jeep</span> Fictional character from Popeye franchise

Eugene the Jeep is a character in the Popeye comic strip. A mysterious animal with magical or supernatural abilities, the Jeep first appeared in the Thimble Theatre comic strip. He was also present in animated versions of Popeye's adventures, including three of the Fleischer Studios shorts of the late 1930s/early 1940s, with more extensive appearances in later Popeye cartoons produced for TV.

<i>Popeye</i> (film) 1980 film by Robert Altman

Popeye is a 1980 American musical comedy film directed by Robert Altman and produced by Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Productions. It is based on E. C. Segar's Popeye comics character. The script was written by Jules Feiffer, and stars Robin Williams as Popeye the Sailor Man and Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl. Its story follows Popeye's adventures as he arrives in the town of Sweethaven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castor Oyl</span> Fictional character from Popeye franchise

Castor Oyl is a fictional character, created in 1920 by cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar for his comic strip Thimble Theatre, now known as Popeye.

<i>Popeye and Son</i> American TV series or program

Popeye and Son is an American animated comedy series based on the Popeye comic strip created by E.C. Segar and published by King Features Syndicate. Jointly produced by Hanna-Barbera and King Features subsidiary King Features Entertainment, the series aired for one season of thirteen episodes on CBS. It is a follow-up to The All New Popeye Hour. Due to Jack Mercer's death in 1984, Maurice LaMarche voiced Popeye, while much of the cast of The All New Popeye Hour reprised their respective roles, with the exception of Daws Butler. However, Nancy Cartwright, who was trained by Butler, voiced Woody in the series.

<i>Popeyes Voyage: The Quest for Pappy</i> American TV series or program

Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy is a 2004 animated Christmas television special produced by Mainframe Entertainment for Lions Gate Entertainment and King Features Entertainment, in association with Nuance Productions. The special, created to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the Popeye the Sailor comic strip character from E. C. Segar's Thimble Theatre, first aired on Fox on December 17, 2004, and was rebroadcast on the same network on December 30, 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poopdeck Pappy</span> Fictional character in Popeye franchise

Poopdeck Pappy is a fictional character featured in the Popeye comic strip and animated cartoon spinoffs. Created by E. C. Segar in 1936, the character is Popeye's father, who is between the ages of 85 and 99.

Swee'Pea is a character in E. C. Segar's comic strip Thimble Theatre / Popeye and in the cartoon series derived from it. His name refers to the flower known as the sweet pea. Before his addition to the animated shorts, the name "Sweet Pea" was a term of affection used by main character Popeye. In the cartoon We Aim to Please, he addressed girlfriend Olive Oyl that way.

<i>I Yam What I Yam</i> 1933 film

I Yam What I Yam is the second Popeye theatrical cartoon short, starring William "Billy" Costello as Popeye, Bonnie Poe as Olive Oyl and Charles Lawrence as Wimpy. The source of the quote is the comic strip, Thimble Theatre by E. C. Segar, in which Popeye first appeared. This is a paraphrase of words spoken by Popeye in the comic strip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bud Sagendorf</span> American cartoonist, 1915–1994

Forrest Cowles Sagendorf, better known as Bud Sagendorf, was an American cartoonist, notable for his work on King Features Syndicate's Thimble Theatre Starring Popeye comic strip.

<i>Popeye the Sailor</i> (TV series) American TV series or program

Popeye the Sailor is an American animated television series produced for King Features Syndicate TV starring Popeye that was released between 1960 and 1963 with 220 episodes produced. The episodes were produced by a variety of production studios and aired in broadcast syndication until the 1990s.

<i>The All New Popeye Hour</i> American animated television series

The All New Popeye Hour is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and King Features Entertainment. Starring the comic strip character Popeye, the series aired from 1978 to 1983 Saturday mornings on CBS. Despite the series' mixed reception, it was a hit for King Features Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Hamgravy</span> Fictional character from Popeye franchise

Harold Hamgravy, better known as Ham Gravy, is an American comics character from the Thimble Theatre series, created in 1919 by E. C. Segar.

Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter, also known as The Man Who Hated Laughter, is a 1972 American animated one-hour television special that was part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie. This film united characters from almost every newspaper comic strip then owned by King Features Syndicate in one story. The show aired on October 7, 1972, and was repeated in February 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea Hag</span> Fictional character in Popeye franchise

The Sea Hag is a fictional character owned by King Features Syndicate. She is a tall, masculine-looking witch featured in comics/cartoons as a nemesis to the character Popeye. The Sea Hag was created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1929 as part of the Thimble Theatre comic strip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popeye</span> Fictional character

Popeye the Sailor is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar. The character first appeared on January 17, 1929, in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre. The strip was in its tenth year when Popeye made his debut, but the one-eyed sailor quickly became the lead character, and Thimble Theatre became one of King Features' most popular properties during the 1930s. Following Segar's death in 1938, Thimble Theatre was continued by several writers and artists, most notably Segar's assistant Bud Sagendorf. The strip continues to appear in first-run installments on Sundays, written and drawn by R. K. Milholland. The daily strips are reprints of old Sagendorf stories.

<i>Popeye: Rush for Spinach</i> 2005 video game

Popeye: Rush for Spinach is a Game Boy Advance video game based on the comic strip of same name created by E. C. Segar, licensed from King Features Entertainment. It was developed by French studio Magic Pockets and published by Namco Hometek in 2005, and Atari Europe in 2006.

Ralph Stein was a writer, cartoonist and illustrator.

References

  1. The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories. Merriam-Webster. 17 August 1991. p. 200. ISBN   9780877796039 . Retrieved 17 August 2017 via Google Books.
  2. Grandinetti, Fred M. (21 May 2012). Popeye: An Illustrated Cultural History, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 185. ISBN   9780786426874 . Retrieved 17 August 2017 via Google Books.
  3. Grandinetti, Fred M. (21 May 2012). Popeye: An Illustrated Cultural History, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 186. ISBN   9780786426874 via Google Books.
  4. Perlmutter, David (28 March 2014). America Toons In: A History of Television Animation. McFarland. p. 180. ISBN   9781476614885 via Google Books.