El Gigante del Ártico

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!

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.

In my humble opinion, these Fleischer cartoons represent not only the best of the Fleischers' extensive body of work, but for me, they're the only true Superman. When I hear that wonderful theme, trumpets blaring and blazing, I sink back into being a little kid, gazing up with wonder at Superman's next big adventure, fighting this, that, or the other baddie, and saving Lois Lane, while Clark Kent always conveniently disappeared! It's a wonder he never got fired from the Daily Planet, the way he always disappeared while Lois and Jimmy were getting the big scoop and getting saved by Superman! Anyhow, the dinosaur is actually really cool in this by any standard, and it's a gem for any fan of Superman or classic cartoons!

"The Arctic Giant," a 1942 Superman cartoon by the Fleischer brothers, is significant in its portrayal of a giant dinosaur on the rampage in a major city (New York--we see the "Museum of Natural Science," a dead ringer for the Museum of Natural History, and a baseball stadium that sure looks like Yankee Stadium). As such it looks forward to both THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953) and GODZILLA (1954). BEAST featured Ray Harryhausen's debut as a special effects director, as he animated a stop-motion dinosaur on the loose in Manhattan. Ishiro Honda's GODZILLA featured a giant dinosaur (created by an actor in a rubber dinosaur suit) looking very much like the one in this cartoon on the loose in Tokyo. As in the other Paramount Superman cartoons, the animation is absolutely breathtaking.

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...