Japoteurs

A SUPERMAN Cartoon.

When America unveils its colossal new bomber, the JAPOTEURS, an elite force of Japanese spies & saboteurs, strikes. Stealing the behemoth, with intrepid girl reporter Lois Lane aboard, and the destination either Tokyo or destruction, it's time for Superman to get involved...

This was another in the series of excellent cartoons initially created by Max Fleischer for Paramount Studio. They feature great animation and taut, fast-moving plots. Meant to be shown in movie theaters, they are miles ahead of their Saturday Morning counterparts. Bud Collyer is the voice of Superman; Joan Alexander does the honors for Lois Lane.

"Japoteurs" is interesting because now, suddenly, Superman can fly. In the earliest Fleischer Brothers Superman cartoons, he could only JUMP. Big jumps, but certainly not flying. But, soon he added a new ability to his repertoire and so the intro was changed and he flies about in this one in order to thwart evil Japanese espionage.

The cartoon begins with an announcement that the Americans now have made a super-bomber--one that is pretty ridiculous as it's about 5 to 10 times bigger than a B-17 bomber! But, the evil Japanese spies are lurking behind every corner and soon sneak aboard the plane. And, Lois being a complete moron, she also sneaks aboard and is soon about to be killed for her trouble. Of course, Superman saves her and the city is grateful...and Lois has learned absolutely nothing.

This is an interesting curio, as it shows us the sort of propaganda they used in the States to bolster the war effort. Reinforcing the notion that enemy agents are lurking behind EVERY corner, the show drives home the less than subtle message with extremely nice animation.

I love the Fleischer Superman cartoons. The animation is smooth and fluid with vivid colors. The distinct art-deco style, vintage science fiction imagery, and use of noirish shadows gave them a look unlike any other cartoons. The music and voice work is superb. They're fun, accessible, enduring animation classics. While this is a cartoon from Fleischer Studios' successor, Famous Studios, it still tries to maintain the Fleischer style.

In addition to being the first Superman cartoon from Famous, this tenth cartoon in the series is also the first with a World War II theme. The plot is that a new American bombing plane (world's largest, according to a newspaper headline) is hijacked by Japanese saboteurs. Lois Lane is on board the plane, of course. Superman must save Lois, stop the saboteurs, and safely bring the expensive plane down. This first effort from Famous Studios is a nice WW2 thriller with some good action, particularly the climactic scene of Superman catching the plane. It's a good effort, about equal to the last couple of Fleischer toons, but not a patch on the best of the series.

In WWII, America has developed a brand-new HUGE bomber plane. Lois Lane and Clark Kent go to cover the story when the plane is going on its first mission. Lois stows away on the plane before it takes off. There are also some Japanese saboteurs on board who have every intention of flying the bomber to Tokyo. Will Lois be able to warn Superman? What do you think?

Fast-moving, colorful cartoon. The animation is a little jerky but much better than anything we see today. The color and sound have been beautifully restored. Just two problems--the lousy music score and the racism (especially in the title). That aside this is pretty good. An 8.

Superman does his bit for the war effort.

Japoteurs is a world war 2 propaganda cartoon.

The Japanese plan to steal a US super bomber. Lois Lane steals a ride in its maiden flight by hiding in a locker.

It certainly is a job for Superman to save Lois Lane and the plane.

The villain looks a lot like Mr Moto.