On a visit to the sailor Popay: an authentic village on the island of Malta
On a visit to the sailor Popay: an authentic village on the island of Malta

Video: On a visit to the sailor Popay: an authentic village on the island of Malta

Video: On a visit to the sailor Popay: an authentic village on the island of Malta
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Popeye village on the island of Malta
Popeye village on the island of Malta

Popeye the sailor - one of the most popular heroes of American comics and cartoons. Among his fans are not only children, but also adults: some are happy to follow his adventures, others erect monuments to Popey for the popularization of spinach, and still others go to the island of Malta to visit Popeye Villagebuilt for the filming of the musical.

Popeye village on the island of Malta
Popeye village on the island of Malta

The musical comedy Popeye, produced by Walt Disney and Paramount Pictures, has received real acclaim from Americans. The fictional village of Sweethaven was specially built for filming; today it is a real open-air museum. The village of Popeye is located on the Mediterranean island of Malta near the village of Mellieha.

Popeye village on the island of Malta
Popeye village on the island of Malta

Construction on Sweethaven began in June 1979 and lasted seven months. A team of 165 workers worked to recreate the entire village, drawn by cartoonist Elsie Chrysler Segar, author of the Popae comic strip. Nineteen authentic wooden buildings were built, including not only houses, but also a post office and a fire station. Building materials were delivered from the Netherlands and Canada, in addition to the boards, the workers needed 8 tons of nails and 2 thousand gallons of paint. A special pier was built in Ankor Bay, which during the filming protected the village from the surf.

Popeye village on the island of Malta
Popeye village on the island of Malta

Filming began in January 1980 with Robin Williams debuting in the title role. In December, the film was released and grossed $ 49 million. Despite the fact that this amount was three times the budget of the film, Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney called it a "failure" because, of course, the film about the adventures of the sailor Popeye was far from a real blockbuster.

Popeye village on the island of Malta
Popeye village on the island of Malta

After the filming of the film, the village of Sweethaven was not used for a long time, but after years it was reconstructed. Today it is a family entertainment complex. Visitors can learn about the history of filming the legendary comedy, go boating in the picturesque bay, have fun on water trampolines, play mini golf and visit a cozy restaurant. There are animators in the village who helped organize the children's leisure time. The little ones will surely be delighted by the enclosures with pets, as well as the mechanized installation "City of the Dwarfs". Here you can see gnomes who eat, sleep, exercise, sew stuffed animals, do carpentry and sort mail. In short, a real Disneyland of the Maltese scale.

19 wooden houses were built for filming
19 wooden houses were built for filming

You can find out more about the unusual village on the Popeye Village personal website.

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