Cartoon Madness: The Fantastic Max Fleischer Cartoons

Leonard Maltin was one of several animation experts who was interviewed on the documentary "Out of the Inkwell: The Fleischer Story"...a documentary about the work and innovations of the Fleischer Brothers, the folks who brought us Ko-ko the Clown, Betty Boop, and Popeye. Well, Maltin also made his own documentary years before...and both are available on YouTube.

"Cartoon Madness: The Fantastic Max Fleischer Cartoons" is more than twice as long as the other documentary and only features Maltin instead of a group of experts. But what really makes it different is that it doesn't feature clips but entire cartoons. This could be a good or bad thing depending on whether you've seen these cartoons already. I had, so I almost wish the film had just used shorter clips, as you can easily download free copies of the cartoons to see for yourself, like I have. But I do appreciate how the homage does seem to pick out some of the very best of the brothers' films. Overall, an enjoyable film where Maltin's love of their work is celebrated and it's hard to watch this and not appreciate the work the Fleischers did.