甜蜜港湾村：大力水手的故乡

袁瑞

Tucked away1） in the small European country of Malta is a place you'd probably never expect to find in the real world—Popeye's Village. Also known as Sweethaven Village， it is an ideal family-vacation spot and one of Malta's major tourist attractions. The fun park is modeled on the theme of the favorite children's cartoon character， Popeye the Sailor Man. Interestingly， this village was the actual set used by Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Productions to shoot the 1980 film Popeye， based on the comic strips by E. C. Segar.

At Sweethaven， you can expect to see models of all the main characters of the popular children's cartoon—Popeye the Sailor Man， Olive Oyl， Bluto， Swee'Pea and Wimpy. You can also go on joy rides and visit play houses， puppet shows， museums， and cinema sessions featuring the film Popeye and the construction of the set. You can even star in your own film， record it and take it home. But that's not all， there are a host of2） other things to see and experience， like face painting， balloon modelling， storytelling， open-air barbeques， crafts and Wii3） games. There's also a mini golf course4） and a free wine tasting for adults. The season-specific activities are a huge hit5） as well； these include water trampolines6）， play pools and boat rides during the summer， and a Christmas Parade along with Santa's toy town in December.

Although Popeye was created way back in 1929， the popularity of this character has remained intact7） through the decades. I remember many happy hours of my childhood spent watching reruns8） of the old 1960s Popeye cartoons on TV； it was the only way my mother could get me to eat spinach9）！ The film version was made by Robert Altman starring Robin Williams， and was shot at Sweethaven in 1980. The construction of the set started in 1979 and it took seven months to build with the help of 165 workers. There are 19 real wooden buildings， the materials for which were imported from Holland and Canada， because Malta doesn't have any forests. The all-wooden village was constructed to give it a 1920s look and feel. 8 tons of nails were used to make the structures stand， and 2000 gallons of paint to make them look cartoony. They also built a huge breakwater10） in Anchor Bay， to protect the set from high seas.

Popeye village is well-connected and a short bus-ride away from Mellieha Bay. The fun park is accessible all year round， but opening times vary according to the season.

在歐洲小国马耳他藏着一个你可能从未想过地球上会真实存在的地方——大力水手村。这里也被称为甜蜜港湾村，是家庭度假的理想去处，也是马耳他最主要的旅游景点之一。这个乐园是以大力水手这个小朋友们最喜欢的卡通人物为主题而建造的。1980年，派拉蒙电影公司和华特·迪士尼制作公司拍摄了以E. C. 西格（编注：美国连环漫画家）的连环画为蓝本的电影《大力水手》，有意思的是，该电影的真实布景就是这个村子。

在甜蜜港湾村，你可以看到深受小朋友们欢迎的卡通片中所有主角的模型，包括大力水手、奥丽弗·奥莉、布鲁托、小豆子和威皮。你也可以驾车游玩，参观剧场，看木偶戏，游览博物馆，参加以电影《大力水手》和布景建筑为特色的电影活动。你甚至可以出演自己的电影，并把它拍摄下来带回家。但这还不是全部，这里还有很多其他活动可以去观看和体验，比如脸部彩绘、用气球做造型、讲故事、露天烧烤、做手工、玩任天堂的游戏等。这里还有一个迷你高尔夫球场，还会提供葡萄酒供大人们免费品尝。特定季节的活动也很受欢迎，包括夏季特有的水上蹦床、打水球和划船，以及12月份才有的圣诞游行和在圣诞老人玩具城的活动。

虽然大力水手的創作可以追溯到1929年，但几十年来这一人物还是那么受欢迎，热度丝毫不减。我记得小时候看电视上不断重播20世纪60年代的那些关于大力水手的经典动画片，这让我度过了许多美好的时光，而这也是妈妈能让我吃菠菜的唯一办法。1980年，罗伯特·奥尔特曼导演在甜蜜港湾村拍摄了这个动画片的电影版，担任领衔主演的是罗宾·威廉斯（编注：美国著名喜剧演员）。电影的布景从1979年开始搭建，由165名工人用了七个月的时间建造完成。布景共有19个实木建筑，因为马耳他没有任何森林，所以木材都是从荷兰和加拿大进口来的。这样一来，整个村庄就全由木材搭建而成，看起来给人一种20世纪20年代的感觉。为了使所有建筑能够矗立在那里，工人们用了八吨重的钉子来固定，而为了使这些建筑看起来很卡通，他们又用了2000加仑的涂料来涂色。工人们还在锚湾建了一个巨大的防浪堤，以保护这些建筑免受巨浪的冲击。

大力水手村交通十分便利，离梅利哈湾（编注：马耳他的一个度假胜地）也不远，乘坐巴士很快就可以到达。这个乐园全年都可以游玩，只是开放时间会因季节的不同而有所不同。210445.png

1. tuck away： 藏入，隐没

2. a host of： 许多

3. Wii： 日本任天堂公司于2006年推出的家用游戏机

4. course [k??s] n. 高尔夫球场

5. hit [h?t] n. 成功而风行一时的事物

6. trampoline [?tr?mp?li?n] n. 蹦床

7. intact [?n?t?kt] adj. 完整无缺的，未受损伤的

8. rerun [?ri?r?n] n. （影片的）重新放映

9. spinach [?sp?n?t?] n. 菠菜

10. breakwater [?bre?kw??t?（r）] n. 防波堤；防浪墙