Superman

This is the first of a series of Superman shorts done by the Fleischer Studios and the only one of the series nominated for an Oscar. The animation style is different and recognizable as Fleischer work and the cartoons hold up reasonably well, but there's nothing terrifically remarkable or special about this particular cartoon. Worth watching.

A few notes on the historical importance of the Fleischer Superman cartoons.

1. The Superman cartoons formed the first action/adventure/sci-fi cartoon series ever, thus setting the stage for all anime, Saturday morning TV action 'toons, video games and such to come.

2. The Superman series quietly helped disseminate art-deco and other modernist design styles into popular culture.

3. "The Arctic Giant" episode predates the 'giant dinosaur' film cycle by some ten years; the design of the Arctic giant itself was clearly an inspiration for Toho's Godzilla design.

4. The drawing style for the Superman comic books was rather rough, as with most action comics of the type of that era. The Superman cartoons, on the other hand, present a smooth-line style, using dark shadows for modeling. This style was to have a great impact on the "illustrated novel" comic book style that developed in the late '70s - roughly about the time the series was rediscovered by comics/cartoon fans.

5. Fleischer studios apparently simply ignored the Superman live-action serials of the time. Thus rather than pursing convoluted plots only resolved by dialog, they chose a compressed narrative style, with hardly any dialog, which emphasizes the plot as realizable only through action.

6. Because of this compressed narrative style, the Fleischer story writers were the first to be confronted with the perennial Superman dilemma - namely, how to actually threaten a character who is all-powerful and invincible at least to the extent of creating a plot-motivating conflict. They are not always successful - the episode about the escaped circus gorilla is especially unconvincing - but the effort is fascinating, especially since the comic book Superman writers would not really confront the problem until the 1970s (having used the kryptonite ploy to evade the issue for 20 years).

7. Interestingly, the Fleischer Superman series, with its stronger violence and deeper themes, and its commitment to a kind of visual realism, is clearly intended for a more mature audience than the comic books or the live-action serials - despite the fact that it appeared just as major studio cartoon workshops began resigning themselves to entertaining younger audiences.

8. "The Eleventh Hour" episode, with Superman acting as saboteur in a personal war against Japan, was released nearly 3 weeks BEFORE Pearl Harbor. The Fleischers thus had Superman join the fight against Fascism world-wide before the US was finally drawn into the battle.

9. It is true that the cartoon series defines its character and history differently than the comic book version; but this was when the Superman mythos was still in development, and the Fleischers pursued possibilities for the character the comic book writers had not yet considered (for instance, his ability to fly, his invulnerability, the curiously playful relationship between Clark and Lois - which in the cartoons has a real edge of adult romantic attraction that was unavailable to the comic book writers).

It is easy to see why the Superman series did not salvage the Fleischer studios from their ultimate dissolution - they are dark, violent snippets of science fiction drama at a time when audiences were coming to expect cartoon animals playing gags on each other. But it is more difficult to figure out why it lasted for as many episodes as it did. My guess is that the Fleischers realized they were breaking new ground, and were willing to give it as much a chance for success as possible. Unfortunately, they were literally decades ahead of their time. As a particular animated cartoon style, we would not see its like again until the Warner Bros. Batman television series of the 1990s - and by then the idiom was simply accepted as one of many available to animators and cartoon artists.

One day, I was on YouTube trying to find these old Superman shorts that had been my childhood (we borrowed then from the library and watched them on VCR). And they were so fascinating I watched the entire Youtube series in a sitting. Here are my thoughts:

Highs: Animation is gorgeous. I guess the budget was higher in he 40s, because actual effort was put into every scene. Compare this to something like the 60s Spiderman or some of today's kids shows and you will see a gigantic difference. The stories are exciting and easy to follow. Lois is an intrepid character and really is the Lois we know and love today. Superman is unchanged from today, other than his lack of heat vision. The shorts are exciting throughout.

Lows: There is propaganda against the Japanese, but it was 1941! What do you expect?

Verdict: One of the best animated cartoons ever made. Do yourself a favor and try to find these.

A SUPERMAN Cartoon.

A mad scientist turns his death ray on Metropolis to begin destroying bridges & buildings. Intrepid reporter Lois Lane crashes her plane directly in the madman’s front yard. With Lois a prisoner & the death ray once again in operation, it looks like a job for SUPERMAN!

This was the first in a 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.

I have no idea why Superman's logo looks the way it does, (probably something to do with one of Joe Shuster's original drawings) but this is still excellent. There is very little dialogue in these films, and the little dialogue that is played is almost inaudible. These shorts are more for the action fan. In the beginning, Superman can only leap (leap tall buildings in a single bound as it were) but before long, the narrator reveals that flight is also one of his attributes (soar higher than any plane!). During the course of these film-noir cartoons, we see Superman battle robot jewel thieves, a dinosaur, the Japanese, and even some Nazis (Hitler himself appeared at the end of that episode)! This probably might not appeal to fans of the modern day Superman, because the guy we see here is the tough, take no prisoners hero of the golden age. Nevertheless, a great series of cartoons, and as a Superman fan, I must say, I enjoyed them.