View source for Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter

{{Infobox television
| image                =
| image_size           =
| image_alt            =
| caption              =
| genre                = [[Television film]]
| creator              =
| based_on             = {{based_on|''[[Popeye (comic strip)|Popeye]]''|[[E.C. Segar]]}}, among others.
| story                = [[Lou Silverton]]
| screenplay           =
| director             = [[Hal Seeger]]<br>[[Jack Zander]]
| voices               = {{ubl|[[Bob McFadden]]|[[Jack Mercer]]|[[Corinne Orr]]}}
| narrated             =
| theme_music_composer = Elliot Chiprut
| country              = United States
| language             = English
| num_episodes         =
| producer             = [[Al Brodax]]
| editor               =
| cinematography       =
| runtime              = 60 minutes
| company              = [[King Features Syndicate]] <br>[[Hal Seeger|Hal Seeger Productions]]
| budget               =
| network              = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
| released             = {{Start date|1972|10|07}}
| related              = {{Plainlist|
* ''[[Nanny and the Professor (film)|Nanny and the Professor]]''
* ''[[Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid]]''}}
}}
'''''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]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Erickson |first1=Hal |title=Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 |date=2005 |edition=2nd |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=978-1476665993 |page=55}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |access-date=6 June 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/310/mode/2up |page=310}}</ref>

This film marked the first time that [[Steve Canyon]], [[The Phantom]], [[Tim Tyler]], or [[Flash Gordon]] appeared in animation. In the 1980s, the cartoon series ''[[Defenders of the Earth]]'' would feature Flash Gordon, [[Mandrake the Magician]], and The Phantom as freedom fighters united against a common enemy, [[Ming the Merciless]].

==Plot==
Professor Morbid Grimsby is an evil genius who has won the prestigious "Meanie" award six years in a row; to guarantee a seventh, he plots to eliminate all laughter by getting rid of the Sunday funnies, with the aid of his henchman [[Bluto|Brutus]].

[[Popeye]] is given a job as captain of the Professor's [[yacht]], the ''SS Hilarious'', and all the characters from the humorous comic strips are informed that they have won a free ocean voyage upon this boat. Once out at sea, the boat is pulled to a remote island by the Professor's [[tractor beam]], and in the chaos Popeye's stash of [[spinach]] is lost at sea; thus, he and all the passengers are prisoners of the Professor.

Being a huge fan of the Sunday funnies, the [[President of the United States]] takes action by calling together the heroes of the adventure comics to rescue the prisoners. The rescue attempts go wrong, and the adventure characters also end up as prisoners.

The prisoners eventually decide that the only way to free themselves is to make the Professor laugh, to convince him that the world needs laughter. They put on a [[talent show]] which fails to have an effect, but then the younger characters get him to laugh by showing him his own reflection in a [[mirror]] while he's trying to scare them; the Professor has a change of heart, and decides to let everyone go.

At that moment, however, a [[volcano]] on the island begins to erupt; the Professor uses his [[submarine]] to get the comic characters off the island, but it gets stuck in a cavern. Popeye finds his spinach in the water, eats it, and frees the submarine. The story ends with the comic characters and the Professor being treated to a party on the [[White House]] lawn; they're told that the President will join them shortly. Unbeknownst to the guests, he is actually at that moment enjoying the comics page of his newspaper.

==Voice cast (uncredited)==
*[[Bob McFadden]] - [[Bluto|Brutus]], Dagwood Bumstead, Mr. Beasley, Beetle Bailey, Sergeant Snorkel, Otto, Lieutenant Jackson Flap, Snuffy Smith, Jiggs, Hi Flagston, Inspector, Flash Gordon, Phantom/Kit Walker, Mandrake the Magician, Lothar, Tim Tyler, Steve Canyon, Professor Morbid Grimsby, President of the United States, News Reporter
*[[Jack Mercer]] - [[Popeye]], [[J. Wellington Wimpy]]
*[[Corinne Orr]] - [[Olive Oyl]], [[Swee'Pea]], Blondie Bumstead, Loweezy, Maggie, Lois Flagston, Dot Flagston, Mama, Hans, Fritz, Little Iodine, Quincy, Tiger, Dale Arden

==Comic strips==
Characters from the following comic strips appeared in this film:
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* ''[[Barney Google and Snuffy Smith]]''
* ''[[Blondie (comic strip)|Blondie]]''
* ''[[Beetle Bailey]]''
* ''[[Bringing Up Father]]''
* ''[[Flash Gordon]]''
* ''[[Henry (comic strip)|Henry]]''
* ''[[Hi and Lois]]''
* ''[[The Katzenjammer Kids]]''
* ''[[Little Iodine]]''
* ''[[The Little King]]''
* ''[[Mandrake the Magician]]''
* ''[[The Phantom]]''
* ''[[Popeye]]''
* ''[[Prince Valiant]]'' (cameo)
* ''[[Quincy (comic strip)|Quincy]]''
* ''[[Steve Canyon]]''
* ''[[Tiger (comic strip)|Tiger]]''
* ''[[Tim Tyler's Luck]]''
{{div col end}}

==Production==
[[Jack Mercer]], best known for being the voice of Popeye, provided the voices of Popeye and [[J. Wellington Wimpy|Wimpy]] in this movie; [[Bob McFadden]] and [[Corinne Orr]] provided all the other voices.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0256274}}
* [http://www.crazedfanboy.com/npcr06/crisispcr321.html Nolan's Pop Culture Review #321]

{{King Features Syndicate Comics}}
{{Popeye}}
{{Blondie (comic strip)}}
{{Flash Gordon}}
{{Phantom}}
{{Mandrake the Magician}}
{{Prince Valiant}}
[[Category:1972 animated films]]
[[Category:1972 films]]
[[Category:1972 television films]]
[[Category:Animated crossover films]]
[[Category:The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie]]
[[Category:Popeye]]
[[Category:Flash Gordon films]]
[[Category:The Phantom]]
[[Category:The Katzenjammer Kids]]
[[Category:1970s American films]]
[[Category:Blondie (comic strip)]]