The Fistic Mystic

Popeye and Olive enter the city of Badgag and spot Bluto doing magic tricks. He hypnotizes Olive like a snake charmer. Bluto introduces himself as the Great Bourgeois and gives Olive a fancy dress, turns Popeye into a donkey, and sits on a bed of nails. Popeye pounces on the bed and turns it into springs. The boys next compete in snake charming; Popeye blows a hornpipe on his pipe. Bluto next turns Popeye into a parrot. Bluto then locks Olive in a basket and does the sword trick; Olive escapes and gives parrot Popeye his spinach, which revives him. Bluto escapes with the rope trick and a flying carpet, but Popeye uses his pipe like a rocket to get aloft. Another battle, with Popeye using Bluto's own magic to turn Bluto into a canary. Popeye and Olive fly the carpet home, past the Statue of Liberty.

Directed by Seymour Kneitel, The Fistic Mystic leans on a strong ensemble — Harry Welch, Mae Questel, Jackson Beck — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about animation titles of 1946.