Popeye is on a quest to find his missing father Poopdeck Pappy. Popeye is dogged by nightmares warning him that his Pappy, who abandoned him as a child, is in danger and needs him, so he bravely sets out on the open sea to find his long-lost father and reunite with him for the Christmas holidays. Accompanied by the admiring Olive Oyl, the brawny Bluto, the hungry Wimpy, and little Swee'Pea, he heads for the Sea of Mystery, which happens to be in the evil Sea Hag's domain. Strange things begin to happen along the way, as the group encounters sirens, serpents, and menacing mists. This was clearly all of the Sea Hag's attempts to destroy Popeye for good.
Originally this special was set to be produced by Will Vinton, but when Vinton lost his studio in 2002, it was taken over by Mainframe Entertainment.[1] Prior to the release, animator Joel Brinkerhoff wrote about Vinton's initial version of the CGI special (in response to an April 12, 2004 Cartoon Brew post which showcased an image from MainFrame's production):
"I have mixed emotions looking at the Popeye still you posted. It was a project that I personally had worked on with great anticipation; it was also the project that helped remove Will Vinton from his studio after 27 years.
It's true that Paul Rieser [sic] wrote a version of the script, and not to discredit his input, he is a name that people will recognize. Jim Hardison wrote the last draft that I am aware of and I know he went back to the original Thimble Theater strip that Segar created for his characterizations.
I would have been a lead animator and co-animation director had the projected [sic] stayed with Vinton. I did models from the Fleischer models sheets and mouth charts for the cg modelers so the look would have the same integrity as the classic cartoons, (see below). I don't know if any cg models from Vinton are being used.
Time will tell how successfully MainFrame made their translation; it's all speculation as to what Will Vinton Studios would have done."[2]
Billy West described the production as "the hardest job I ever did, ever" and the voice of Popeye as "like a buzzsaw in your throat."[3]
