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Boomerang Swabs December Fridays with Popeye Salute

Fridays in December, Boomerang, Cartoon Network's 24-hour, commercial-free classic animation cable/satellite network, will host four consecutive all-day tributes to showcase original POPEYE THE SAILOR six-minute shorts from the golden age of theatrical animation. More than 200 of the original Max Fleischer and Famous Studios theatrical cartoons produced from 1933-1954, known as "two-reelers," will be spotlighted in color within the month-long salute. The television event will commence on Dec. 3, at 8:00 am to run for 24 uninterrupted hours and then repeat the pattern the following Fridays -- Dec. 10, 17 and 24. This programming special also will be available nearly entirely in Spanish! on Boomerang's SAP option.

"Popeye and his supporting cast of characters are truly some of the best-loved cartoon characters around the world," says Mark Norman, svp/gm of Boomerang. "Kids today, however, might not be aware of or have many opportunities to enjoy Popeye as their parents likely did when these shorts were screened on television as syndicated packages in the '60s,'70s and '80s. This is a rare chance, then, for families to enjoy these wonderful cartoons together, presented back to back and without commercial interruption."

Based on the popular E.C. Segar "Thimble Theatre" comicstrip of the 1910s-20s, the ever-muttering, spinach-gulping cartoon swabbie first appeared onscreen in 1933's POPEYE THE SAILOR. Paramount Pictures commissioned 211 shorts from the Max Fleischer and Famous Studios that concluded with 1954's SPOOKY SWABS. Both Jack Mercer and William Costello ("I Yam What ! I Yam!") portrayed the good-natured Popeye onscreen, while Mae Questel became forever linked with her inimitable interpretation of Olive Oyl.

Along with the rich collection of theatrical shorts, Boomerang also will present three Technicolor two-reelers starring Popeye and his friends in familiar, if somewhat re-purposed, tales of classic literature. These include POPEYE THE SAILOR MEETS SINBAD THE SAILOR (1936), POPEYE MEETS ALI BABA AND HIS 40 THIEVES (1937) and POPEYE MEETS ALADDIN AND HIS WONDERFUL LAMP (1939). These three special presentations will air back-to-back in chronological order on Friday, Dec. 3 (8:00 9:00 am, 4:00 5:00 pm and 12:00 1:00 am) and Dec. 12 (12:00 1:00 pm, 8:00 9:00 pm and 4:00 5:00 am).

Boomerang is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.'s (TBS, Inc.) 24-hour cable/satellite network offering classic animated entertainment. Drawing from the world's largest library of more than 4,000 cartoons, Boomerang showcases Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Warner Bros. classic characters with stylized sensibility tailored to their standing in television's pop culture. Famed characters include The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Yogi Bear and more. Currently in more than 14 million cable and satellite households, the network arranges its weekly schedule into three different programming categories designated by character strips, year (television season) and action-adventure genre. Boomerang's official Web site is located at http://Boomerang.CartoonNetwork.com.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., an AOL Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
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