Volcano

As part of sitting through the old 1940s "Superman" animated stories, I came upon the 1942 "Volcano".

I have watched it before, during my childhood in the 1980s, so it wasn't exactly anything new and undiscovered for me. However, I will say that it was nice to get to sit down and watch it again. I watched it for the first time about some 40 years after it was initially released, and then watched it against some 40 years after my first time watching it. I am sort of seeing a pattern here.

The storyline in "Volcano" was pretty straight forward. However, I found the story that Bill Turner and Carl Meyer wrote for this particular short animated feature to be a bit too simplistic. Sure, it is limited what you can manage to accomplish in just 8 minutes, but some of the other stories from the same era were more well-rounded.

Sure, "Volcano" was watchable and enjoyable, and definitely felt like something in the spirit of "Superman". The narrative was just a bit too generic and predictable.

All in all watchable for what it was. My rating of "Volcano" from directors Dave Fleischer and Willard Bowsky lands on a six out of ten stars.

Lois Lane acts in the most selfish of ways, endangering the life of Clark Kent for her own gain. Yes, she is a successful reporter, but if it weren't for Superman, she would be in a cemetery. In the one she steals his press pass, not allowing him to investigate the eruption of a major volcano which endangers a whole village and herself. She doesn't know that Clark is Superman (one of those amazing things, but that's the way it is). Superman is there, naturally, but her actions make it incredibly hard to do his job. He must divert a lava flow and keep a mass of the molten rock off our fair maiden's head. There are some nicely drawn scenes concerning the erupting volcano.

"Volcano" is a very weak installment of the short-lived Superman series from the Fleischer Brothers. I say weak because they made Lois very despicable and I really found myself rooting for her to die! This is because Lois and Clark are sent to cover the same story--a volcano is about to erupt (WHY WOULD YOU NEED TO GO NEXT TO THE MOUNTAIN TO COVER THIS?!). However, Lois wants the story for herself and deliberately sabotages Clark so he will be left out in the cold. So, when the volcano explodes, she is about to die and Clark jumps to save her. She learns NOTHING from the situation other than selfishness and stupidity pays! I really wish they'd made Lois less a jerk and victim and more a tough-as-nails and resourceful lady like they did in "Secret Agent" (1943). Overall, a rather weak installment, as fomenting hatred for your female lead is NOT a positive thing!

Mt. Monokoa (located on a nice little island) seems like it's about to erupt. Naturally there's a town right at the base of the mountain. Reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane are sent to cover the story for the Daily Planet. While there Lois hides Clark's press pass so she can see the mountain for herself and "scoop" him on the story. While Lois is at the top of the mountain it explodes! She's trapped up there with the lava flowing all around. Superman is around but how can he save her and the entire town?

Very good cartoon--quick-moving, beautifully animated and some very nice sequences when the volcano explodes. Never a dull moment--I especially like how Lois tries to escape from the lava! Worth catching.

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.

Mt. Monokoa, which has been dormant for about 300 years, is getting ready to erupt. In order to save the town at its base, some scientists plan to blow away the rim of the volcano facing away from the town. The hopes being the lava would flow towards the sea and spare the town. Lois and Clark are sent to cover the story, but Lois has stolen Clark's press pass so that she can have the story to herself. While Lois is being given a tour of the volcano, it erupts (of course). In the town below, Clark changes into Superman and tries to save Lois and finish the job the scientists started with altering the lava flow away from the town.

This is the eighth in the series and, while it's still entertaining, some noticeable flaws stand out more than usual. For starters, the action isn't quite as good as you might expect given that a freaking volcano is erupting. Then there's some rather sloppy animation in the later parts of the cartoon. They also try to replicate the spectacular sequence from The Magnetic Telescope where Superman picks up two ends of wire and conducts electricity through his body. It does not have the same impressive impact as the earlier cartoon, however. It's not one of the series' best but still enjoyable.