Olive Oyl in the context of "Thimble Theatre"

Popeye the Sailor Man is a cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, first appearing on January 17, 1929, in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre. The strip was in its tenth year when Popeye made his debut, but the one-eyed sailor quickly became the lead character, and Thimble Theatre became one of King Features' most popular properties during the early 1930s. Popeye became the suitor of longtime Thimble Theatre star Olive Oyl, and Segar introduced new supporting characters such as adopted son Swee'Pea and friend J. Wellington Wimpy, as well as foes like the Sea Hag and Bluto.

Following Segar's death in 1938, Thimble Theatre (later renamed Popeye) was continued by several writers and artists, most notably Segar's assistant Bud Sagendorf. The strip continues to appear in first-run installments on Sundays, written and drawn by R. K. Milholland. The daily strips are reprints of old Sagendorf stories. In 1933, Max Fleischer adapted the Thimble Theatre characters into a series of Popeye the Sailor theatrical cartoon shorts for Paramount Pictures. These cartoons proved to be among the most popular of the 1930s, and Fleischer Studios, which later became Paramount's own Famous Studios, continued production through 1957. Cartoons produced during World War II included Allied propaganda, as was common among cartoons of the time. These cartoon shorts are now owned by Turner Entertainment and distributed by its sister company Warner Bros.

Swee'Pea (alternatively spelled Swee'pea and Sweapea on some titles and once called Sweep Pea) is a character in E. C. Segar's comic strip Thimble Theatre / Popeye and in the cartoon series derived from it. His name refers to the flower known as the sweet pea. Before his addition to the animated shorts, the name "Sweet Pea" was a term of affection used by main character Popeye. In the cartoon We Aim to Please, he addressed girlfriend Olive Oyl that way.

As the years went on, Swee'Pea apparently aged enough to speak normally, and could throw punches if necessary; however, his appearance remained that of a crawling baby. In the strip for August 17, 1933, Popeye christens Swee'Pea as "Scooner Seawell Georgia Washenting Christiffer Columbia Daniel Boom". Although Swee'Pea remains his most common sobriquet, he is occasionally referred to as Scooner by Popeye and others in later strips. In the Sunday strips, which did not coordinate with the dailies, Swee'Pea is not introduced until 1934.

Popeye the Sailor is an American animated series of short films based on the Popeye comic strip character created by E. C. Segar. In 1933, Max and Dave Fleischer's Fleischer Studios, based in New York City, adapted Segar's characters into a series of theatrical cartoon shorts for Paramount Pictures. The plotlines in the animated cartoons tended to be simpler than those presented in the comic strips, and the characters slightly different. A villain, usually Bluto, makes a move on Popeye's "sweetie", Olive Oyl. The villain clobbers Popeye until he eats spinach, giving him superhuman strength. Thus empowered, Popeye makes short work of the villain.

The Fleischer Popeye cartoons proved to be among the most popular of the 1930s, and would remain a staple of Paramount's release schedule for nearly 25 years. Paramount would take control of the studio in 1941 and rename it Famous Studios, ousting the Fleischer brothers and continuing production. The theatrical Popeye cartoons began airing on television in 1956, and the Popeye theatrical series was discontinued in 1957. Popeye the Sailor in all produced 231 short subjects that were broadcast on television for several years.