Popeye Village - a film location on Malta's coastline

Do you know Popeye… yes, the spinach-eating sailor with his wife Olive.
For me, Popeye was and is one of the most beautiful comic series I read as a child.
But Popeye also exists as a feature film. To be honest, I had not seen it before I came into contact with Popeye Village in Malta.

Film: Popeye

In 1980, the American musical comedy Popeye was released in cinemas. Writer Jules Feiffer based his screenplay on the cartoon series that was already on the market. Directed by Robert Altman, Robin Williams played Popeye and Shelley Duvall was Olive Oyl.

In summary, the film plot is as follows:
Popeye has grown up an orphan. He searches for his missing father. In the process, Popeye and Olive Oyl meet Swee’pea. There are kidnappings, fights and a treasure hunt, in which Popeye always looks good, of course.

The press was not enthusiastic about the film version and there was a lot of criticism.

Film location

There is a filming location for the feature film on Malta. About 2 kilometres from Mellieħa in the north-west of the island, the setting village was built in 1979 in the small bay of Anchor Bay. After seven months of construction, 19 warped wooden houses, paths and a small harbour were finally built.

After the film was shot, the place was preserved. Unfortunately, Popeye Village burnt down twice. But fortunately the houses were rebuilt and offer visitors to Malta a varied stay.

Come with us to Popeye Village

We have already been to Malta a few years ago. At that time we stayed in Mellieħa and unknowingly ended up in the small bay during an evening walk. The sun was just setting, the village was closed and the houses looked dilapidated and unused. For me at the time, it was almost an enchanted place that fascinated me and that I wanted to discover.

The chance came almost 10 years later when I was back in Malta for a few days.
From our hotel, we took the bus towards Mellieħa. From here, a bus (number 101) goes directly to Popeye Village – but not very often. We therefore set off on foot and arrived at our destination after a leisurely 30-minute walk.

First we enjoyed the view of the village from above. Just like 10 years ago, we look down on the warped colourful houses of the small film town – but this time, music is playing and Olive Oyl is dancing in the street with a group of children.
We pay our entrance fee and walk downhill towards the dancing group. In the meantime, Popeye has joined them and the bearded Bluto greets us with his distinctive voice.

Popeye begrüsst seine Gäste in Popey Village

We walk through the small village and discover the settings. In one house there is a small comic museum. Besides many comic drawings, you can watch a small film clip and discover many exhibits from the comic scene. In another house, the interior decoration is shown, which is also shown in the film. There is even a small cinema with 40 seats where we can see a film about the set construction and the film shoot.
Not all the houses in the small filming location are open to the public. Some had already been built for the shoot as mere facade buildings.

In addition to the visit to the houses, the price also includes small shows, the use of a mini-golf course, a small boat trip in good weather, a bag of popcorn and a postcard. In summer, there is also the possibility to swim in the bay and use the parasols and sun loungers.

We enjoyed our visit to Popeye Village. However, I think that younger children who don’t know Popeye don’t have as much fun. In my opinion, there are too few activities for younger children. If you’re expecting an amusement park, you shouldn’t go to Popeye Village. Fortunately, you won’t find any roller coasters or anything like that here. Popeye Village is really a film set with some additional offers. A place full of discoveries for film fans.