The story begins at Popeye’s ranch, where he is trying to get his nephews to eat their spinach. When they refuse, Popeye tells them a tale of his early days in the West, how he arrived to work on a ranch and was humiliated by the foreman (Bluto). As part of the story, there’s a boxing match between Popeye and Bully Boy, a humanoid bull used by Bluto to embarrass Popeye. Popeye is defeated, trapped, but eventually uses his spinach (even through water barrels) to transform into “Pop‑A‑Long Popeye,” overcoming Bully Boy and Bluto. At the end, the nephews free a wild horse and in order to save their uncle, they finally eat their spinach.