Popeye's Bridge Ahoy episode: was sex involved?

[Lupin1]

Ok, let's hear if anybody had similar thoughts about the famous tickle scene where Bluto mercilessly torments Olive's foot while she's dangling from the girder...

My idea is that the whole sequence, despite its funny tone, is a thickly veiled, non consensual sex scene where Olive's foot is an extension of her pussy and Bluto's probing finger is an extension of his penis.

Considering Olive's dangerous predicament, it's strongly implied that she could not avoid Bluto's torture without the risk of loosing her "grip" to the beam and falling from a deadly height. At the same time, she tried to lessen the maddening sensations Bluto was creating through her foot by wiggling frantically her toes and by punching herself in the head. It all could be seen as her desperate attempt to prevent the tickling from becoming (more) sexual and saving herself at the same time... or at least to buy time before each of those circumstances occurred.

 

[Volsung1]

*Blinking... a moment later I raise my hand and begins to wave it casually in the air, as though I'm signaling somebody.*

"Check please..."

 

[arachnid95]

Or...
OOOOOR...
Maybe...
Bluto was just tickling her.

...You sound like my high school English teachers, bro. XD

 

[DarthGrinn]

*blinking... A moment later i raise my hand and begins to wave it casually in the air, as though i'm signaling somebody.*

"check please..."

 

[Krugrsgrl]

I see what you're saying... especially with the 2nd part of she was knocking herself in the head because she might like it too much. I thought that as well... but I also thought she was tryin to knock herself out so she didn't have to take anymore. Either way... that's a serious foot tickling in progress... 🙂

 

[Feather189]

I think the writers and animators got together at an early tickle party and just worked from there. Bluto, head on his non-tickling hand is just too relaxed and too deliberate In his obvious enjoyment of Olive's screams and toe writhing. Olive on the other hand (or under it as it were) can't help but show her fear that Popeye will discover that she enjoys having her big feet tickled, thus the head banging. Her profuse toe wriggling is the clue that she just loves the tickling (I think). This is the second time Popeye has observed her toes being tickled and she seemed to like it . One cartoon featured Olive feeding birds on a park bench and the ravenous birdies were eating so fast that they were pecking at her boots and tickling her toes causing her to giggle sweetly.
Popeye also had a run in with Olive's tootsies. He was wearing armor and she was asleep on a bed with one bare foot on the floor. As he went to wake his sleeping beauty with a kiss, he stepped on her corn. Oh boy, she woke up screaming "My CORN"!
Many of these episodes were done by one or two directors I think. and all were done in the fuller animated style that I loved. The newer style animations didn't give poor Olive's tootsies much air time. And that's all I have to say about that

 

[Sandisk444]

I mean, some people would feel sexually assaulted if some random person were to tickle them without their permission. I wouldn't go as far as a penis allegory but you could spin a narrative that makes it sexual for one or both of the characters and it's the same situation.

In reality though, dude was just tickling her foot as a joke about how precarious her situation was. You're just reading too far into it as someone who has a sexual interest in tickling. It would have been the same thing had he been pricking her foot with a needle or something but tickling it was much more tame and light hearted.