Popeye Meets Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (1939)

This film is the 3rd installment in a run of 3 extended length, color features of Popeye by Fleischer studios. The longest of the 3, it tells the story of Aladdin and the magic lamp with familiar characters placed into important roles. Unique characters include the Genie and the Evil Wazzir who are memorable for their goofy portrayals.

Although Fleischer Studios famously used advanced 3d effects, this entry did not use them, as the run of films was meant to compete with Disney and their style at the time. Some information exists about 3d sets that were built but not released in the final version.

Time has shown that Popeye Meets Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp has had surprise predictions about the future of Disney. The first foreshadowing Disney's success 60 years later with the film Aladdin, which succeeded (in part) for borrowing the visual style of competitor film The Thief and the Cobbler, much of the copying being described as a direct rip off.

In another odd prediction, Popeye makes a comment seen as inappropriate later about "making love in technicolor," foreshadowing the inappropriately shaped tower in Disney's promotional art. The tower in Disney's art is said to have not been intentional and only noticed much later.

The latest prediction lies in the plot, as Olive Oyl is a terrible writer, shown to be bad because she self inserts her own personality into the princess and adds her friends as characters. This is such a bad practice that she is fired at the end of the film. This is a common criticism of Disney and other studios today, and shows the tone deaf nature of studios who allow this terrible writing.