Superman: El gigante del Ártico

Foreshadowing Godzilla and certainly inspired by King Kong.

Superman comes to the rescue of Lois Lane and Metropolis as a T Rex entombed in ice is thawed out due to a malfunction.

While the T Rex destroys a dam, a bridge and many buildings. Superman is right behind repairing the damage.

Somehow Lois Lane gets from A to B quicker than Superman.

A SUPERMAN Cartoon

A tremendous tyrannosaurus rex, discovered in Siberian snows, is put on display in Metropolis encased in a huge block of ice. A freak accident causes a thaw and the monster reawakens - with intrepid reporter Lois Lane nearby. Escaping, the dinosaur cuts a huge swath of destruction across town. With its unbelievable prehistoric strength, is even SUPERMAN any match for THE ARCTIC GIANT?

This was another in the series of excellent cartoons Max Fleischer produced 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.

When an earlier poster commented that this cartoon exceeded Saturday morning cartoons, I had an immediate flashback of the old GODZILLA cartoon from NBC's Hanna Barbera connection...and in many ways, the tyrannosaurus found in this cartoon can be considered an ancestor to that cartoon--their composition color and total LACK of one standard size of the beast (I cringe when the beast changes size with EVERY scene!).

While the Fleischer SUPERMAN series is one of the most adventurous, ambitious and advanced statements in animation, this one ain't one of them. From its simplistic plot to Lois pausing to change her flashbulb while mere FEET from the tyrannosaur' jaws, it lacks the believability that was a vital part of the series. It's watchable, but not memorable.

Plus, my nine-year-old daughter (who is a SERIOUS dinosaur buff) is furious with the lack of realism with the dinosaur's design!

It was nice to revisit the 1942 animated short "Superman" story titled "The Arctic Giant" here in 2023. I have watched it before, back in my childhood somewhere in the early to mid 1980s.

The storyline, whilst running at only 9 minutes, was actually good. I am amazed how writers Bill Turner and Tedd Pierce could managed to concoct such a wholesome story in just 9 minutes to tell the tale. It worked and it definitely felt like a "Superman" story.

Now, it is said that it was a Tyrannosaurus that was unearthed and thawed, but truth be told it looked more like an ofspring from Godzilla than it did look like a Tyrannosaurus.

The art and animation style in "The Arctic Giant" was good.

If you enjoy "Superman" cartoons, then director Dave Fleischer's 1942 short animated movie "The Arctic Giant" is definitely well-worth sitting down to watch.

My rating of "The Arctic Giant" lands on a six out of ten stars.

THE ARCTIC GIANT has Superman tangling with a gargantuan dinosaur in downtown Metropolis.

Fans of the GODZILLA or BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS films will love seeing their predecessor stomp through the cityscape. Superman certainly has his hands full!

A true wham-bam, monster-on-the-loose brawl for all kids and kids at heart...