Wilco Meets Popeye

By Octavia Silva / January 27th, 2012 in Music / Chicago / 184 views

It looks like anyone that was upset over Popeye’s thirty-year long absence can breath a sigh of relief. Wilco recently released their newest music video for Dawned on Me from 2011 release ‘The Whole Love‘ and the result is nothing short of genius. They’ve brought back Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto, Swee’ Pea, and Wimpy in all of their black and white cartoon glory. Wilco stars in the video as well—bringing new meaning to the terms “animated performance”—and Jeff Tweedy charms as Olive Oyl’s love interest.

Just like a classic Popeye cartoon short, Dawned on Me illustrates a storyline involving Olive Oyl being kidnapped by Bluto, her wailing silent but no doubt heard by Popeye. He runs to her rescue despite Bluto’s greatest villain attempts. Of course, Popeye couldn’t succeed without downing some prime spinach, which in this case is Wilco-branded. All is right with the world until Oyl decides she likes Jeff Tweedy more. With those vocals and lovely melody, who could blame her?

Directed by Darren Romanelli and art-directed by longtime Popeye cartoonist Frank Caruso, the video is spectacularly done. Peach Blossom Media certainly brought together a great group of creative tours-de-force for this one. Wilco is setting the bar pretty high; we can’t wait to see what they do next!