==Theatrical cartoons==
Starting in 1933, he was the subject of a long-running cartoon series, ''Popeye the Sailor'', created by [[Fleischer Brothers|Fleischer Studios]] (headed by brothers Dave and Max Fleischer) and distributed by [[Paramount Pictures]]. These cartoons are praised by critics for their excellent [[animation]] and three-dimensional backgrounds in certain cartoons. In 1942, when Paramount assumed ownership of Fleischer Studios and released the Fleischer brothers, they renamed the company as Famous Studios (later Paramount Cartoon Studios) and took over production. Their cartoons were not as good as the Fleischer cartoons, since they were usually remakes of earlier ones and tended to be formulaic. The last Famous Studios ''Popeye the Sailor'' short, ''[[Spooky Swabs]]'', was made in 1957. During its theatrical run, ''Popeye the Sailor'' became hugely popular with young moviegoers, particularly at Saturday matinees.
In 1956, television distribution company Associated Artists Productions (AAP) bought the black-and-white theatrical ''Popeye the Sailor'' shorts from Paramount and began airing them on television, followed by the color shorts a year later. At Paramount's request, AAP altered the opening and closing credits to the ''Popeye the Sailor'' shorts to remove references to the Paramount logo and the "Paramount presents" tag in the opening credits, though the Famous Studios name and Paramount copyright notices were left in. [[United Artists]] bought AAP in 1958 and assumed ownership of the shorts, followed by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] when it bought and merged UA in 1981 to form MGM/UA.